So while this color can wreck havoc when used improperly, there's quite a case for it being used well. Painters have an intuition that just a few powerful colors might be able to get them great color results, and it's just intriguing that phthalo green rarely makes it onto the short-lists for super-minimal palettes. However, their intuition that a few well-chosen colors can be maximized is not wrong. It's interesting to pan over to the world of paint manufacturers, and to take a look at what they are using in their blends-- and that is Phthalo Green PG7.
One of the most frequently used ingredients in paint blends besides white across the oil paint industry just so happens to be phthalo green blue shade. Part of the reason could be that it is inexpensive-- however expense is also a concern of many painters, so perhaps this really is a color to consider on the palette, even a limited palette.
These are a few of the colors we had in the studio that show how versatile PG7 can be in mixes. The outer edge of the palette: Charvin Celadon Green Light, Gamblin Permanent Green Light, Schmincke Norma Permanent Green, M Graham Permanent Green Light, Winsor and Newton Permanent Green, Utrecht Permanent Green Light, Willliamsburg Turquoise, Vasari Video Blue, (with a bit of Vasari Video Blue Extra Pale shown for comparison- which does not list PG7 as an ingredient), and a string of mint green mixes made with Michael Harding Titanium White No. 2 and Michael Harding Phthalo Green Lake.
The inner row of colors next to the string of mint mixes are Sap Greens made with PG7. These include Michael Harding Permanent Sap Green, Holbein Sap Green, and Old Holland Sap Green. On the opposite side of the palette are a string of neutrals made with PG7 and Cadmium Red, PR108. There are also three kinds of Phthalo Green as a single pigment shown (Michael Harding Phthalo Green Lake, Vasari Phthalo Green, and Old Holland Scheveningen Green Deep).
Various blends that contain PG7. Paints named Permanent Green often contain Phthalo Green PG7, as do many Sap Greens, as well as phthalo-based turquoise colors. (The Vasari Video Blue is just a guess- the pale version does not list PG7 so it is shown next to the mint string for comparison). However there are many cyans that use PG7 as an ingredient alongside Phthalo Blue. As an aside, we also mixed several of these green blends with Old Holland Yellow Ochre Light, as Phthalo Green is often modified with earth tones in painting.