Cadmium Orange vs. Benzimidazolone Orange

Along with Cadmium Orange, which we see as somewhat of a gold standard for oil paints (and very hard to replace), Benzimidazolone Orange is one of the few interesting orange pigments out there.

Here's a 150ml tube of Williamsburg's Cadmium Orange, PO20, next to Gamblin's Permanent Orange, PO62, which we re-tubed.

Here's a brief overview. Cadmium Orange tends to be lightfast (all 8's) on the BWS, which means highest ratings.The high quality versions of Cadmium Orange have an absolutely stunning, opaque, chromatic masstone, and a lot of body to the paint.

Most other orange pigments can't even begin to compete, and the contestants-- not shown here-- range from woefully fugitive to downright poisonous.

PO62 is interesting. It's a bit less chromatic than the highest quality cadmium oranges. Benzimidazolone Orange is a bit less lightfast as well, about 7 out of 8 in tints, so while imperfect, it's pretty lightfast. While PO62 quite likely more toxic than its label suggests (reference Monona Rossol's work on pigments for more on that point), it's nowhere near the hazard of some of the other inferior oranges out there. We're not toxicologists though, so you'll need to consult the proper authorities for details.

If, for some reason, you're not able to use cadmiums, PO62 is a contender for a single-pigment yellow-orange. We'll take a look at where PO62 falls in the range of cadmium oranges soon!

Happy Painting!