Mixing Dark Phthalocyanine Green

 

Mixing for the unique 719 pencil

When I was discussing the colors in the Caran d’Ache Neocolor II Botanic set, I mentioned that one I’d really like to see added to the line is Dark Phthalocyanine Green (719) from the Museum Aquarelle pencil line. In these parts, that dark, cool green is useful for both fir trees and for the shadow side of most deciduous trees. I have used up more sticks of 719 than any other Museum Aquarelles. And I have never found it in any other colored pencil.

Although I used three green Neocolor II crayons in this recent sketch (detail shown) at Green Lake,
I still had to use a Dark Phthalocyanine Green Museum Aquarelle pencil for the deepest shadow areas.
It's a unique, versatile hue.

Even as I was drafting that post, the obvious occurred to me for the first time: Why not try to mix it with Neocolor II crayons? A few days later, I pulled out my color journal to work it out. I had firm restrictions, though: I had to be able to mix it with just two crayons because my daily-carry crayon holder is limited to 10. I also knew that if I had to use more than two, I’d probably forget which ones. A final restriction was that the selected colors had to be versatile. Anything in my daily-carry bag must work hard for its living – no lazy, single-purpose colors. (Well, except for Inktense Pink Flamingo, as that’s difficult to mix, and you never know when you’ll need it at the zoo. It’s also handy for unexpected blossoms.)

Why don’t I simply continue using Museum Aquarelle 719? Of course, that’s the easiest and most straightforward solution. But often when I’m using that color, I need a large mass that I want to scribble in quickly and efficiently. Neocolors are usually better for this. Whether still true when mixing two crayons remains to be seen, but it’s worth the experiment.

At the top of my color journal page, you’ll see “MA 719,” the Museum Aquarelle color I was trying to mix. I began by picking out most of the Neo II yellows and some blue candidates. The darkest cool blues seemed to be the closest match in the combos I tried. The combo I decided I liked best is Night Blue (149) with Yellow (020). You can see the blended swatches to the right of the MA 719 swatch.

I didn’t think the red-leaning blues would work, and I was right – the mixes were all too gray or too brown (in the lower right and lower left corners). But I liked the resulting gray when I mixed Yellow (020) with Royal Blue (130). I’ll keep that combo in my back pocket if I need a shadow gray (though usually I’m too lazy to mix shadow colors and go straight to a dark blue or purple).

I’ve removed the Dark Phthalocyanine Green pencil from my bag so that I won’t fall back on it in laziness! I want to give Night Blue + Yellow crayons a fair trial. Stay tuned.