Yellow Mid (Azo) | Matisse Acrylic Paint

Yellow Mid Azo is a magnificent colour using the pigment PY74. In recent years PY74 has become the standard mid-yellow arylide colour. Azo and arylide are often used for a wide range of closely related lake pigments. They form the backbone of the modern high-performance organic pigment industry. Without these colours, cars and plastics would be available in only a limited number of paints, and artists would have far fewer choices than we do now. Yellow Mid Azo is a slightly greener shade than Cadmium Yellow Medium, but it is pretty close to the Cadmium colour. So why have two pigments so nearly the same? There are three reasons - money, transparency and clarity of colour. Sometimes an artist needs this colour, but the budget is small, and Yellow Mid Azo is considerably less costly and cheaper than the Cadmium alternative. It is still an excellent pigment and is classed as ASTM I in terms of permanence and yet achieves that at an affordable cost. That is very important for many artists. The second reason for using this colour instead of Cadmium Yellow Medium is its greater transparency. Sometimes being Opaque and having good covering power is needed, and occasionally transparent effects are to be preferred. The colour also has greater tinting strength than Cadmium and is generally a cleaner colour, leading to the third reason for using it. It is more suitable for making very brilliant and clean colours when used in mixtures.