This page contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Read the full disclosure.
Yellow can be a tricky colour to paint with in acrylics . It can be easily overpowered by other colours. Enter the yellow earth pigments, like yellow ochre and yellow oxide. These can hold their own on a palette although aren’t as bright or pure-looking as a lemon yellow or many of the cadmium yellows.
Yellow ochre
Yellow ochre is a very common earth pigment. Its exact colour can range depending on where the pigment is sourced but it’s generally a warm, somewhat muted yellow. It’s easily available in most art supply stores and is often used by artists. Yellow ochre is one of the oldest art pigments, alongside raw and burnt Sienna, and raw and burnt umber.
I’m using Golden Yellow Ochre today, which is PY43. The label says it’s a natural hydrated iron oxide, also known as limonite. It leans a bit redder than the yellow oxide.
Yellow oxide
I wasn’t able to find a ton of information on paints labelled as yellow oxide, however it seems to essentially be a synthetic type of yellow ochre.
The Kroma Acrylic yellow oxide uses PY42. It is less red than the yellow ochre and has a hint of grey to it.
I haven’t used this colour much. I happened to have it when I purchased a set of acrylic colours at a store in Vancouver called Kroma. This is a small store on Granville Island that makes its own artist quality acrylics.
Pigment numbers
A note about the pigment numbers above. PY43 used to designate a natural clay, however it rarely does anymore. Golden labels theirs as natural but for many paint producers, it’s a synthetic, similar to or possibly the same as PY42.
Mixing tests
I am testing how yellow ochre and yellow oxide mix with other colours to see the difference between the two and get to know the colours a little better.
Watch me test colour mixes of yellow ochre and yellow oxide on my YouTube channel.
I’m using the following palette today:
- Hansa yellow lemon
- Cadmium-free yellow medium
- Cadmium-free red medium
- Quinacridone magenta
- Ultramarine blue
- Phthalo blue (green)
- Dioxazine purple
- Sap green hue
- Cadmium orange
Results
Ultimately, there’s not a huge enough difference for me to really be concerned about which one I use. If you are an artist who is very particular about your colours, then you may prefer yellow ochre for its red hues or yellow oxide for its grey-ish lean. With the labelling issues of what pigment is actually being used, I won’t be fussed over which I choose. Yellow ochre is easy to find, so I’ll likely continue using it in the future but I won’t be concerned if I use yellow oxide. In many cases, the two are the same anyways. The price for each is about the same so that doesn’t factor into the choice at all.
I also did a couple quick paintings in a sketchbook. They show that both paints are essentially the same and provide a nice, warm feel to a painting.
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 some yellow ochre or yellow oxide at your local art supply store or on Amazon:
US
Canada
