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Top Pigment

Cobalt Titanate Green

PG50

Alternate Names

Cobalt Titanium Oxide

Cobalt Titanium Nickel Zinc Oxide

Light Green Oxide

Cobalt Green Light

Pigment Description

This is a superb teal green (or teal blue) that is opaque and has some native lightness to the color. Once a person starts to paint with this color it's hard to go back to a blend, though several good approximations have been created if a person has need of them. This pigment comes in a range of teal and green colors, and it can be a bit tricky to sort out the exact shade from paint name alone. We’ve read that there is a blue shade and a yellow shade but these are almost never labeled as such. There is a notably greener variety that crosses out of the teals into a dark kelly green, though it's less commonly found. Like other cobalts, PG50 dries quickly.

This is listed as toxicitiy "B" but we would go ahead and list it as toxic. It is a great paint to experiment with once a person has mastered the basic palette, as it can yield some surprising colors in mixes. It is also extremely helpful in mixing those greens which are not the highest chroma, and yet are still chromatic.In the Artist's Guide to Health and Safety Monona Rossol has information on working with pigments containing Nickel as well as those containing Cobalt. Her most recently updated work can be found via her site.

Cobalt titanate green is a spinel pigment.

Resources

PG50 pigment data from David G. Myers, The Color of Art Pigment Database, Artiscreation.com

Information about PG50 from Bruce MacEvoy, Handprint Guide to Watercolors, General information about this class of pigments from Handprint,

Rossol, Monona. The Artist's Complete Health and Safety Guide. New York, NY : Allworth Press, 2001. The book is rather dated, updated information is available from her website.

Stats

Lightfastness

Excellent

Considered to be ASTM I. Suppliers list BWS 8 (highest marks). This particular pigment was not mentioned in Golden’s recent testing with mixing whites. It may be useful to compare with other cobalts.

Transparency

Semi-Opaque

Toxicity

Hazard, Treat as toxic

Rated as "B" by Artiscreation, meaning "Hazard if carelessly handled, ingested in large amounts or over long periods of time," however he has some helpful comments about keeping it on the painting and nowhere else. In the Artist's Guide to Health and Safety Monona Rossol has information on working with pigments containing Nickel as well as those containing Cobalt. Her most recently updated work can be found via her site. Treat all pigments and paints with studio safety protocols.

Dry Time

Varies

Some are fast (1-2 days), some list Medium 2-7 days

Oil Content

Low

Approx 18g/ 100g of oil

Particle Size

Very Fine

Chemical Name

Cobalt Titanate Green Spinel, oxides of nickel, cobalt and titanium

Dry Pigments listing PG50

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