Gamblin 1980 Oils - PV14-Cobalt Violet; PV23-Dioxazine Violet; PV19-Quinacridone Violet

Gamblin’s approach is different. 1980 colours contain pure pigments, the finest refined linseed oil, and marble dust (calcium carbonate). Since oil painting began, these three ingredients have made more affordable colours.

Painters experience true colours without homogenized texture or muddy colour mixtures. Gamblin's approach to using traditional raw materials and processes ensures that artists experience the luscious working properties they expect from their oil colours.

Cobalt Violet is a deep violet that is cool in its masstone (and less red than Manganese Violet). It is a pure hue that cannot be mixed with other colours. Although muted in its tint, it is a marvel as a topcoat colour. Cobalt Violet greys down considerably when mixed with white.

PIGMENT COMPOSITION AND PERMANENCE

• Pigment Name: PV14-Cobalt Violet (Cobalt phosphate, carbazol carbazole dioxazine)
• Pigment Type: inorganic

PROPERTIES

Cobalt Violet is a pure hue that cannot be mixed with other colours. It is cool in its masstone, chemically stable, and semi-opaque. It has a weak tinting strength and is generally offered in a bluish and a reddish-violet shade. Cobalt Violet can be expensive, so it is used mainly as a top coat colour. It is compatible with all painting media, but its light variety can change in oil form. It grays down considerably when mixed with white. Manganese Violet is a less costly substitute for the bluish variety of Cobalt Violet.

PERMANENCE

Cobalt Violet has excellent permanence, and its lightfastness makes it more desirable than older organic dye violets.

TOXICITY

Cobalt Violet is highly toxic by ingestion and inhalation, particularly in dry pigment form. However, much of the material presently used to make paints of this colour is non-toxic cobalt phosphate.

HISTORY

Cobalt comes from the Middle High German word Kobalt, an underground goblin because miners thought cobalt harmed silver ores. Salvetat described Cobalt Violet as the first actual violet pigment in 1859. The light variety of this pigment, developed in Germany earlier in the 19th century, was particularly poisonous due to its arsenic content. Cobalt Violet hues were the only permanent bright violets available to artists until the 1950s.

PIGMENT COMPOSITION AND PERMANENCE

• Pigment Name: PV23-Dioxazine Violet (Cobalt phosphate, carbazol carbazole Dioxazine)
• Pigment Type: Organic

PROPERTIES

Dioxazine Violet is transparent and has very high tinting strength. It is a staining pigment that is very dark when used at full strength. Concentrated, it paints out nearly black, but it mixes with Titanium White to form bright, opaque tints of purple. PV23 produces slightly redder shades than PV37. Because the hue can vary with the conditions of preparation and grinding, it may be offered in a red shade, blue shade, and so forth.

PERMANENCE

Dioxazine Violet has good lightfastness. However, some may be concerned about it fading or shifting colour in tints and washes. Some artists have reported that PV37, a molecular variant, is more lightfast than PV23.

TOXICITY

This material has been classified as non-hazardous—no known hazardous health reactions.

HISTORY

Two molecular variants of Dioxazine Violet, PV23 and PV37, are available. They have similar properties but mix slightly differently.

PIGMENT COMPOSITION AND PERMANENCE

• Pigment Name: PV19-Quinacridone Violet (Cobalt phosphate, carbazol carbazole dioxazine)
• Pigment Type: organic synthetic, quinacridone

PROPERTIES

Quinacridone Red is a high-performance, transparent pigment with an average drying time and uneven dispersal. It is another name for Quinacridone Violet (PV19) and Quinacridone Red (PR192). Quinacridone pigments generally have relatively low tinting strength. For this reason, quinacridone colours are often expensive because more pigment is required in the formulation.

PERMANENCE

Quinacridone Violet has excellent lightfastness and is considered the most lightfast organic pigment in this shade range.

TOXICITY

Quinacridone Violet has no known acute hazards. Overexposure to quinacridone pigments may cause skin irritation. Quinacridone pigments contain a compound found to be a skin, eye, and respiratory irritant.

HISTORY

Although quinacridone compounds became known in the late 19th century, manufacturing methods to make them practical for use as commercial pigments began in the 1950s. Quinacridone pigments were first developed as coatings for the automotive industry but were quickly adopted by artists.