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Irgazin Yellow, Green Gold

PY129

Alternate Names

Green Gold

Azomethine Yellow 56

Pigment Description

This is a super mysterious and weirdly fascinating color is also known as Green Gold. It's magic is not its masstone but rather what it does in mixes-- it is concentrated sort of like how yellow food dye often doesn't look yellow, but a drop of it in white brings out bright color. This transparent color is like the essence of deep yellow-greens, and it is actually necessary to expand the gamut. In masstone, it's actually quite green but it takes on more of a yellow in tints. PY129 shines in the low notes of the yellow-greens and allows some of the highest chroma low-lightness greens in oil paints.

Toxicity is listed as B so handle with care. It has some things in common with PY150, which is like a warmer counterpart.

Unfortunately in the recent Williamsburg lightfastness tests it displayed more reactivity than we would have hoped depending on the mixing white. In that round of testing, it looks like it did not respond well to a handful of things such as Lithopone, Safflower Oil, Zinc, or Flake White. Depending on the brand of Flake/Cremnitz Lead White, PY129 might not fare well. This was interesting news because PY129 is such a great pigment for a hard-to-replace area of the gamut and for us it may be worth it to use it in the ways wherein it performed well. See Golden's Testing for more.

Resources

Stats

Lightfastness

Depends on Variables in oils. Some pigment suppliers showed a pigment that fades slightly in tints. May be reactive to certain formulations with safflower oil, choice of mixing white in oil may be very important.

Golden’s Lightfastness Testing in oils revealed intense variation depending on the mixing whites used. It tanked in Flake White (Linseed and Safflower), Lithopone in Safflower oil, pure Zinc White, and Pure Titanium White in safflower oil. However in the Titanium-Zinc white, as well as a few other scenarios it was an ASTM I. For more details on this pigment see Golden’s report. In watercolor, Bruce MacEvoy recommends testing each green gold to be sure it is indeed lightfast.

Transparency

Transparent, Semi-Transparent

The transparency can vary from Transparent to Semi-Opaque in oils, however the pigment seems to be Transparent.

Toxicity

Hazard, Use more caution

Treat all pigments and paints with studio safety protocols.

Dry Time

Slow, may contain driers

Some paints list a fast dry time (1-2 days), or a medium one (2-7 days). As a slower drying pigment, these may contain driers.

Particle Size

Very Fine

Chemical Name

methine, 5G copper complex of azomethine

Dry Pigments listing PY129

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