Colour mixing with dioxazine purple and cobalt violet

Today I’m comparing two secondary colours on the colour wheel – dioxazine purple and cobalt violet hue. The pair of colours are very different straight from the tube, so after I spend some time mixing them with other hues, I expect to see different potential uses. 

Some background on purples and violets. Violet encompasses a range of colours, including purples and mauves. Many people call the range purple, simply because we used the term in childhood.  Purple is a secondary colour because it can be made using red and blue primary colours. Depending on the primary reds and blues you’re using, it can be tricky to mix the colour of violet you want, so some artists use purple paint as a convenience colour. 

A little history as well. When the impressionists first came on the scene, they caused quite a stir because they used violet in their shadows. Since it’s a complementary colour to yellow, or the colour of sunshine, it really made the light pop. Traditional artists at the time looked down on this idea, but now we see the genius behind the impressionists’ ideas.

I’m unapologetically ride-or-die when it comes to using dioxazine purple. I love using it for dark shadows on trees, and mixing with greens to make incredible darks. It’s very powerful, so be careful when you’re mixing with it. It’ll overpower your mixes very easily. It’s also very dark straight out of the tube. 

I’m testing with Golden dioxazine purple, which uses pigment PV23. 

I’ll be honest – I bought this tube years ago and maybe used it once so I’m not familiar with it. It’s very different from dioxazine purple. Cobalt violet hue is a middle value straight out of the tube. 

I’m testing with Golden cobalt violet hue, which is a mix of pigments PW4 (zinc oxide), PV19 (quinacridone violet), PR122 (quinacridone magenta), and PV23 (dioxazine purple). Be aware that the names in brackets aren’t consistent across brands, however it gives you an idea of the colours used to create cobalt violet hue. It’s labeled as a hue because it’s not the original pigments, which were toxic, expensive, and had low tinting strength. It’s a mix of safer and less expensive pigments that mimic the original.  

In my mixing test, I use the following colours:

• Hansa yellow lemon
• Cadmium-free yellow medium
• cadmium -free red medium
• Quinacridone magenta
• Ultramarine blue
• Phthalo blue (green)
• Cadmium orange
• Sap green

Watch me mix dioxazine purple and cobalt violet hue with other colours around the colour wheel on my YouTube channel.

Final thoughts

Each colour is quite different, so it’s no surprise that the colour mixes are quite different from each other. The dioxazine purple mixes are generally much cooler than the cobalt violet hue mixes – not a surprise since they lean cooler and warmer, respectively. Dioxazine purple provides some absolutely wonderful darks, when mixing with quite a few colours.

I will continue to use dioxazine purple on my palette. If you choose to start using it, remember that it is very powerful and to start with just a tiny amount or it may overpower your mix. This is handy because it’s not the cheapest paint to purchase. I recently picked up three tubes of paint at the art store, and it was the most expensive of the bunch. Worth it, in my mind, though.

As for cobalt violet hue, I’ll eventually use it up. I think it’ll be useful when painting florals, but I don’t expect that I’ll pick up another tube.

Learn more

Check out a listing of all my colour mixing blog posts and videos on my colour mixing roundup article.

Get your own

Pick up your favourite purple acrylic paint at your local art supply store or on Amazon:

US

• Dioxazine purple
• Cobalt violet hue

Canada

• Dioxazine purple
• Cobalt violet hue