Comparing Transparent and Opaque Pigments in Oil Colour

Gain a greater command of your oil paint palette with a better understanding of transparent and opaque colour.

You're almost ready to get started. But first, you'll need these items:

• Artists' Oil Colour Cadmium Red

• Artists' Oil Colour Cadmium Yellow

• Artists' Oil Colour Cerulean Blue

• Artists' Oil Colour Mars Black

• Artists' Oil Colour Permanent Rose

• Artists' Oil Colour Transparent Yellow

• Artists' Oil Colour Ultramarine (Green Shade)

• Brush Cleaner

• Palette

• Winton Brush Set

In this demonstration a basic palette of cool and warm primaries is used. Each of the colours is from the Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil Colour range and an opaque and transparent example is used.

The first colour on the palette is Cadmium Yellow, which gives a really opaque yellow with a strong warmth.

The second colour, and second yellow on the palette is Transparent Yellow which is a cooler yellow. It has a good level of transparency as you can see in the video; the black background shows through. This transparent quality makes it an excellent choice for glazing.

Similarly to the Cadmium Yellow, the third colour on the palette, Cadmium Red is completely opaque.

The fourth colour, Permanent Rose allows dark and light to show through, unlike the Cadmium Red. As with the Transparent Yellow, this quality makes it a really good colour to use when glazing.

Similarly to the Cadmiums, the fifth colour, Cerulean Blue has a very strong opacity and is a heavy, solid colour that doesn't allow dark or light to show through.

The sixth colour, Ultramarine (Green Shade) does allow the dark and light to show through, making it another great colour for glazing.

Through examining these colours you should get a greater understanding of your palette and become better acquainted with transparent and opaque colours.

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