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Cobalt Violet Pale
Update: Unfortunately this color appears to have been discontinued due to changes in the wider pigment industry. We are sad to loose this unique color. This is an absolutely smashing electric violet. This pigment is not made for tinting, rather it is one of the few single pigments with decently good lightfastness in this area of the spectrum. As most cobalt violet lights tend to be affected by the natural yellowing of linseed oil, long-term comparisons of how this pigment yellows in different binding oils and different manufacturers are recommended. If a person is ok with not using linseed oil (for paint film strength) a non-yellowing option could be found in Blockx’s cobalt violets, which may be less durable than the safflower options but we do not know. Research on binding oils matters here, and like most things in painting there appear to be some trade offs. So far we love Williamsburg’s Cobalt Violet Light in safflower oil and look forward to Williamsburg’s updates on its lightfastness in safflower oil. This a bright, electric purple leaning red.
For more information about the benefits and drawbacks of using Safflower oil, more information can be found at https: justpaint.org williamsburgs-new-safflower-colors. In 2015, Golden performed lightfastness tests on colors which had not been rated by the ASTM. At that time, PV49 received an estimated equivalent rating of ASTM I. In 2023, Golden published a vital series of tests on their colors and how they performed in mixes with various white paints. There were some surprises which indicated that overall Cobalt Violet Light has poorer lightfastness than was previously thought. More information can be found at https://justpaint.org/astm-lightfastness-testing-for-oil-paints/.
