Phthalocyanine Green BS

PG7

Alternate Name

Phthalo Green Blue Shade

Pigment Description

Phthalo Green Blue Shade. We have an article on Phthalo Green Blue Shade over in the articles section. One of the power pigments of the palette, this is a deep, transparent, high-chroma green that shows up in a staggering number of convenience blends from leaf greens to mints to green earths. This green is like some kind of mythical emerald that when broken into a million pieces creates an emerald rainbow of colors. It takes some work to divide it into all its may forms in mixes as it tends to be quite potent.

We found that Phthalo Green BS (as it's sometimes abbreviated) is frequently added to convenience greens of all kinds-- which makes it possible to mix your own convenience colors on the palette. This color also has a special role in teals and can help to mix approximations for some of the more expensive mineral-based colors. See also the note on Viridian. It tends to be dark, almost black in masstone, but reveals high chroma in tints and glazes. We have a deep dive on Phthalo Green as well as a comparison of PG7 paints in oils. It can sometimes be contaminated with PCBs, so please seek out Monona Rossol's information (her site can be found here) on phthalos and PCB contamination. Her book, the Artist's Guide to Health and Safety, contains information about the hazards of working with pigments that contain copper.

Phthalo Green only requires a moderate amount of oil, however it seems to frequently be found with modifiers, additives, stabilizers, and extenders.

Resources

PG7 pigment data from David G. Myers, The Color of Art Pigment Database, Artiscreation.com,

Spurgeon, Tad. Living Craft: A Painter's Process. Mt. Airy, Philadelphia, PA: Zoetrope, 2018. Newer version available here: https://www.thomaskitts.com/page/36804/tad-spurgeons-living-craft,

Information about PG7 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.

Read an in-depth article

https://ahwcewydosunjjzejaze.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/paintlist-images/review_images/2024-08-02-PG7/Phthalo%20Green%20Blue%20Shade%20PG7%20on%20Paint%20List.png

Phthalo Green Blue Shade PG7

The essence of green, this is an elemental gem of the palette

Stats

Lightfastness

Excellent, but perhaps not in some Flake Whites. See note.

In general this pigment gets solid highest marks on the BWS (all 8’s) however new research sheds light on its behavior in different mixing white. In Golden’s lightfastness testing, there were some interesting lightfastness variances depending on mixing white. Golden found that this pigment did not perform well in Flake white in linseed oil, however this may be brand dependent. In most mixing whites, it had excellent performance, though it did slide to an ASTM II in Flake white in Safflower as well as pure zinc white. Lightfastness was excellent (ASTM I) in Titanium White in linseed oil and safflower oil, Lithopone in safflower oil, and a few others.

Transparency

Transparent

In oil we have seen single-pigment paints range from opaque to transparent depending on the formulation, but the pigment is transparent.

Toxicity

Previously thought to be in the category of Low Concern but may contain toxic contaminants

May be contaminated with PCBs and toxic contaminants. Tubes before 1982 or even 1986 may have PCBs, and current phthalos may also contain contaminants depending on country of manufacture or other variables. Monona Rossol’s datasheets have more information. Her book, the Artist's Guide to Health and Safety, contains information about the hazards of working with pigments that contain copper. Treat all pigments and paints with studio safety protocols.

Tinting

Very High

Dry Time

Slow

Dry times may be as long as 6-18 days. However, many oil paints list dry times of less than 5 days, with some as abrupt as 1-2. If a fast dry time is listed, the paint probably contains driers

Oil Content

Medium / Moderate

Varies. Some say moderately low by volume. Some versions when made into a paint are listed as having a high amount of oil. This may also have to do with extenders, which might have different oil requirements. Somewhat lean seems to be the consensus for the pigment. By weight, Artiscreation lists a wide range of approximately 22-62g/100g of oil, but your pigment may have different measurements.

Particle Size

Very Fine

Chemical Name

Polyclorinated Copper Phthalocyanine, or chlorinated copper

Dry Pigments listing PG7

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