What’s the difference between phthalo greens?

Let’s talk phthalo greens. You may have stood in an art store, wondering what the difference between the two shades on the shelf are. Phthalo green (blue shade) and phthalo green (yellow shade) are two colours available from many professional-level acrylic paints. 

Both are very vibrant colours and can seem hard to control. Some artists avoid phthalo green completely because they struggle to get natural hues when they mix it with other colours. 

I had an art instructor who recommended adding a phthalo green to his students’ palettes because when you accidentally mix mud, you can add in phthalo green and bring your mud back to green again. I use it this way, and have learned to control it a little bit, although I still have a lot to learn. 

Phthalo green (blue shade) is pigment PG7. It’s a blue-green which leans more blue but is still very green and is faiirly dark straight out of the tube.

Phthalo green (yellow shade) is pigment PG36, a blue-green which leans more yellow but is still very green. It’s a brighter value straight out of the tube when compared to other phthalo colours.

Let’s take a look at how both shades mix with other colours. Read on below or watch me mix paint on my YouTube channel. 

Mixing acrylic paint colours

Below are the colours I used to mix with the two phthalo greens:

• Hansa yellow lemon
• Cadmium-free yellow medium
• Cadmium-free red medium
• Quinacridone magenta
• Ultramarine blue
• Phthalo blue (green shade)
• Cadmium orange
• Dioxazine purple
• Titanium white

Results

While the two colours are different out of the tube, once I started mixing them with other colours, I didn’t find a dramatic difference in the results. I wouldn’t make room for both on my palette, and I don’t have a particular preference for one or the other. I will use whichever one I have in my acrylic paint stash, and not worry about getting a particular shade in the future.

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 own phthalo green acrylic paint at your local art supply store or on Amazon:

US

• Phthalo green (blue shade)
• Phthalo green (yellow shade)

Canada

• Phthalo green (blue shade)
• Phthalo green (yellow shade)