The Shifting Landscape of Oil Paint Formulation: A Focus on Alizarin Crimson
In the dynamic world of oil painting, change is inevitable and often welcome. As artists refine their techniques and materials, paint manufacturers like Gamblin continue to evolve their offerings, guided by a balance between tradition, performance, and longevity. In late 2023, Gamblin announced an update that has caught the attention of many studio painters and conservators: changes to two beloved huesAlizarin Crimson and Indanthrone Blue. The former, in particular, represents more than just a shift in formula; it marks a philosophical evolution in how artists approach permanence in color.
Alizarin Crimson has long been a staple in the palettes of painters who value nuance and emotion in their work. This deeply romantic, transparent red has historical roots tracing back to the extraction of dye from the madder root. Known for its cool, slightly purple undertone and its ability to generate delicately blushed pinks when mixed with white, it has served painters across genresfrom classical portraitists to contemporary abstractionists. Yet despite its charm and chromatic versatility, Alizarin Crimson has always harbored a significant flaw: poor lightfastness. Over time and exposure to ultraviolet light, the color degrades, fading away from the canvas and leaving behind a ghost of its former richness.
To address this, Gamblin has revised its 1980 series, an accessible line designed to offer quality oil paints at a moderate price. The original Alizarin Crimson in this line has now been replaced with Alizarin Crimson Permanent. This update reflects an ongoing commitment to producing artist materials that not only inspire but also endure. Alizarin Crimson Permanent is built on pigment PR177, known for its improved lightfastness and long-term reliability. Though this formulation has existed for over twenty years in Gamblin’s professional Artist Oil Color line, its elevation to the more affordable 1980 range signals a broader commitment to conservation-minded painting.
At first glance, artists might not notice a major change. The new formulation retains much of the romantic transparency that defined its predecessor. However, when applied directly from the tube or analyzed in mixed applications, the differences begin to emerge. Alizarin Crimson Permanent presents a slightly warmer, rosier mass tone compared to the deeper, duskier hue of the original version. Where traditional Alizarin leaned into smoky purples and moody browns, the permanent version offers a cleaner, brighter surface impression. These variations may seem minute to the casual observer, but to the discerning artist, they reveal new avenues of expression and a few adaptation considerations.
How the Reformulated Alizarin Crimson Performs in Practice
The nuanced nature of oil painting means that even small alterations in pigment chemistry can ripple through an artist’s workflow. In the case of Alizarin Crimson Permanent, the differences are most notable in three areas: mass tone, undertone, and tinting strength.
Mass tone, the color observed when the paint is applied thickly and unaltered, is where the new formulation immediately shows its warmer personality. Squeezed straight from the tube, Alizarin Crimson Permanent appears brighter and more saturated, with a subtle vibrancy that sets it apart from the more brooding presence of the traditional pigment. When the paints are tested over a black stripe method often used to assess transparency and true undertone distinctions become clearer. The original formula reads darker and smokier, while the new pigment maintains an airy, rosier hue with a hint of clarity that suggests refined purity.
When thinned using a solvent like Gamsol, the undertone of the two pigments tells a slightly different story. As the paint becomes more transparent, revealing the brush stroke’s anatomy and the priming underneath, both versions soften into cooler pinks and purples. Yet even here, the permanent version leans toward warmth, exhibiting a gentle blush compared to the more muted, gray-violet of the traditional Alizarin. For painters who rely on subtle glazes, these undertone shifts will become apparent during layering, especially when seeking to capture atmospheric effects or delicate transitions of light and shade.
Another critical factor is tinting strength forcefully a pigment influences a mix, especially when combined with white. Alizarin Crimson Permanent shows slightly stronger tinting power, requiring more white to achieve the same pastel effect as its older counterpart. In practice, this means that mixing with the new version may demand adjustments in proportion, particularly when building light pinks or balancing other hues. Still, when viewed side by side, the differences in tint hue are almost negligible in the lightest tints. It’s in the mid-tones and deeper mixtures where the warmer, less earthy quality of the permanent pigment is more apparent. The shift, though not dramatic, alters how the pigment behaves across the tonal range.
While some painters may adjust without missing a beat, those whose work depends on careful color relationships may find themselves recalibrating mixtures. If you often use Alizarin Crimson for moody violets, shaded skin tones, or complex warm shadows, this new version might initially feel less rooted in the earth and more inclined toward a luminous, floral red. That said, many artists may welcome the added clarity and vibrancy, especially in glazes and thin layers where subtlety is essential.
Why the Change Matters: Tradition, Permanence, and the Future of Pigment
Alizarin Crimson’s evolution is emblematic of a broader shift in the art materials industry, one driven by increasing attention to archival quality. In the past, some artists accepted the fugitive nature of certain hues for the sake of historical accuracy or chromatic fidelity. But the modern painter, often more informed and conservation-conscious, now places greater value on permanence alongside aesthetics. This is especially true for artists whose work is meant to outlive museum-level painters, professionals selling to collectors, and those working in public or institutional spaces.
Gamblin’s decision to prioritize lightfast alternatives speaks to this changing landscape. By integrating Alizarin Crimson Permanent into the 1980 line while still retaining the original in the Artist Oil range (for now), they strike a balance between heritage and progress. Artists are not forced to abandon their familiar tools abruptly; instead, they are offered a clear path forward. This approach honors the bond that many creatives have with traditional materials while gently encouraging a shift toward more enduring solutions.
The update also invites reflection on the role of innovation in art. While some changes in the materials world are met with skepticismparticularly when they affect color fidelity or familiarity move toward more stable pigments, it is largely viewed as a positive development. Artists no longer have to sacrifice beauty for permanence. With pigments like PR177, manufacturers can produce colors that resonate emotionally and perform technically, offering depth, transparency, and a longer lifespan on the canvas.
Moreover, this transition has practical implications in the studio. Painters who work intuitively with heavy impasto may find the change nearly imperceptible, while those who rely on careful layering or optical blending may notice the pigment’s increased clarity and warmth. Some might find new expressive potential in these traitsopportunities for light effects, glow, and vibrancy that were previously harder to control with the older pigment.
Ultimately, the update to Alizarin Crimson in Gamblin’s 1980 line is not just a technical tweak but a statement about values. It reflects a growing alignment between artist needs and manufacturing capabilities, where innovation is measured not just in color fidelity, but in longevity and creative possibility. The change offers artists a tool that bridges the past with the future pigment that retains the heart of its romantic origins while standing up to the demands of time.
As more pigment manufacturers follow this direction, it’s likely we’ll continue to see subtle but meaningful updates in other foundational colors. For painters, the key is staying informed and open to these transitionsnot as disruptions, but as enhancements. With awareness and experimentation, the artist’s palette can grow even richer, more responsive, and more resilient.
The Evolving Character of Indanthrone Blue in the Artist’s Palette
In the realm of oil painting, where precision, intuition, and chemistry converge, even the slightest modification to a pigment can ripple outward, reshaping familiar techniques and prompting a reevaluation of long-held practices. Among such transformations, the quiet but significant reformulation of Gamblin’s Indanthrone Blue has recently drawn attention within the artistic community. As a follow-up to earlier developments involving Alizarin Crimson, this shift marks another step in Gamblin’s ongoing commitment to innovation balanced with fidelity to painterly tradition.
Indanthrone Blue, formulated from pigment PB60, has been a staple for artists who rely on its deep, moody transparency and complex tonality. Long considered a modern analogue to the historically revered Indigo, it holds particular value in tonal painting, underpainting, glazing, and the evocation of atmospheric effects. What made the original formulation so compelling was its undertone: a subtle red cast that added warmth and nuance, creating a blue that behaved more like a chameleon than a constant.
With the transition that began quietly in mid-2023, marked by new crimp codes on tube packaging, Gamblin has introduced a reformulated version that still uses PB60 but from a different source or preparation. This revised version, according to the manufacturer, features increased transparency, a higher tinting strength, and a gentle lean toward the greener side of the blue spectrum. These refinements may sound modest, but they introduce meaningful shifts in behavior, feel, and potential in practice.
On first visual inspection, the updated Indanthrone Blue reveals a cleaner, more luminous mass tone. When applied thickly, the older version conveyed a brooding depth, slightly veiled by a soft greyness that enhanced its atmospheric quality. The newer formulation, while equally rich, sheds this veil and presents a purer, more assertive hue. In many ways, this change enhances the pigment’s versatility, particularly in modern, high-chroma compositions where clarity and power are often prized.
Shifting Hue, Evolving Practice: Visual Differences in Action
The real significance of this pigmentary adjustment becomes fully apparent through direct application and studio experimentation. When the old and new versions of Indanthrone Blue are compared side by sideparticularly in controlled test environmentstheir contrasting personalities become unmistakable. A common testing method involves layering the pigments vertically over a horizontally prepared black background. This approach exposes the full gradient from impasto to glaze, showcasing transparency, tint behavior, and undertone shifts.
The earlier version leans violet when thinned, displaying a warmth that makes it an ideal counterpart to cool reds or violets in glazing and layering. It blends seamlessly into moody, muted mixtures and responds beautifully to Alizarin Crimson, producing romantic twilight hues and deep violets with pink undertones. These qualities made it indispensable for artists who sought a midpoint between Ultramarine’s purple bias and Phthalo Blue’s aggressive green.
Conversely, the new Indanthrone Blue presents a cooler undertone, moving away from violet and slightly toward green. While still nuanced, this version projects more clarity when thinned and holds its own as a cleaner, more neutral blue. It mixes with white to produce a fresher, brighter sky blue, edging closer to the primary spectrum without falling into the artificial brightness of Phthalo. This improved tinting strength means that less paint is needed to achieve powerful results, which can be an advantage in both budget and technique.
Yet with such gains come necessary adjustments. Artists who have built palettes around the specific behavior of the older version may find the transition jarring. Mixtures that once relied on Indanthrone’s ability to subtly warm a composition may now need recalibration. For those using it in portraiture or landscapes where mood and softness are paramount, the newer pigment’s clarity may shift the emotional tone of a piece.
However, this very challenge opens the door to exploration. The revised pigment allows artists to revisit familiar mixtures with fresh eyes. It invites experimentation with layering, dilution, and unconventional pairings. The increased transparency, for example, enhances its performance in subtle glazing layers, where it can build gentle shifts in value and hue without overpowering underlying tones. In more graphic or modernist applications, its crispness and assertive color provide a punchier presence that can anchor compositions with contemporary vibrancy.
Understanding the Why: Permanence, Consistency, and Artistic Adaptation
Behind every pigment reformulation lies a complex web of motivations that extend far beyond surface aesthetics. In the case of Gamblin’s updated Indanthrone Blue, the driving force appears to be a dedication to longevity, lightfastness, and environmental responsibility. Changes in global pigment sourcing, increased regulatory demands, and the need for stable, repeatable results in varying conditions all contribute to these shifts.
While the core identity of PB60 remains intact, the subtleties of how the pigment is processed and refined can dramatically influence its final behavior. Differences in grind, vehicle, and pigment particle structure affect opacity, undertone, and drying time. Gamblin’s recalibration seems intended to future-proof the color against fading and variability, ensuring a more reliable experience for professional artists who expect consistency across tubes and years.
This evolution is part of a broader trend in the paint manufacturing industry. Companies are increasingly turning to advanced pigment technology to replace legacy ingredients that may underperform in longevity or present sourcing challenges. As a result, painters must become more agile and informed, approaching each new iteration not as a betrayal of past experiences but as an invitation to deepen their engagement with materials.
Indeed, this shift in Indanthrone Blue can be seen as a metaphor for the painter’s journey itselfone of continuous adaptation, observation, and dialogue with medium and method. The newer formulation may not perfectly replicate the mystique of the original, but it contributes its own virtues. Artists who embrace its clearer voice and stronger presence may discover new approaches to color harmony, contrast, and compositional depth.
The juxtaposition of both old and new pigments in identical compositions underscores the essence of this change. A piece executed with the legacy version may feel nostalgic, dreamlike, rich in atmospheric vibration. The same motif rendered in the reformulated blue may feel brighter, cleaner, more directperhaps even more contemporary. Neither is inherently superior; rather, they tell different stories and serve different moods.
In this light, the update to Indanthrone Blue reflects not only a technical refinement but a philosophical stance. It suggests that art materials must evolve in step with the changing needs of both artists and the world they depict. As natural resources fluctuate and sustainability becomes an artistic concern, pigments must align with ethical and practical demands while still offering expressive depth.
In actuality, the new Indanthrone Blue from Gamblin fulfills a dual role. It honors the tradition of moody, complex blues while offering a refined tool for modern expression. Its altered hue and handling characteristics challenge artists to refine their techniques and trust their intuition. It doesn’t demand conformity but rather encourages discovery.
Ultimately, this pigmentboth in its former and current incarnationsembodies the core tension of painting: the balance between control and spontaneity, permanence and change. Artists attuned to these subtle cues will find in the new Indanthrone Blue a compelling voice. Not louder, just different. Not better or worse, but sharpened in focus and rich with new possibilities. As with any material shift, the key is not in resisting change but in painting through it.
Revisiting Color Harmony: The Impact of Evolving Pigments in the Artist’s Palette
As artists, we understand that even the subtlest shift in a pigment’s formulation can echo across an entire canvas. When a trusted pigment is reformulated, hue adjusted, its tinting strength altered, or its transparency modified entire dynamic of a palette can change. Gamblin’s recent updates to Alizarin Crimson and Indanthrone Blue have initiated such a change, prompting painters to reevaluate established color relationships and rediscover how these colors interact in both foundational and nuanced ways.
Oil painting is, at its core, a conversation among colors. It thrives on the interplay between warm and cool, light and dark, translucent and opaque. When this conversation changes tone, even slightly, the emotional and visual impact can be profound. This latest iteration of Alizarin Crimson, now labeled as Alizarin Crimson Permanent, and the refined Indanthrone Blue have prompted artists to step back and look againclosely and deliberatelyat how these pigments perform not in isolation, but as part of a larger chromatic system.
Historically, the original Alizarin Crimson was known for its slightly brownish undertone and softer character in mixtures, lending a nostalgic, dusky quality especially prized in portraiture and atmospheric scenes. Paired with the former Indanthrone Blue, which carried a muted warmth within its deep blue base, the resulting violets were velvety, with a gentle romanticism that evoked the softness of twilight or fading light. The combination spoke fluently in the language of subtle emotional resonance.
Today, the narrative changes. Alizarin Crimson Permanent emerges with a more assertive pink profile and enhanced saturation, while the updated Indanthrone Blue presents a cleaner, cooler character, tinged with a faint green bias. The resulting mixtures reveal a new identitymore modern, with a clearer definition between components. The once seamless mauve transitions are now more structured, with each hue retaining its individuality within the blend. This doesn’t signal a loss of harmony, but rather a shift toward intentional juxtaposition, offering artists new avenues for expression.
From Canvas to Mixture: Exploring Chromatic Shifts in Practical Use
To fully understand these changes, comparative studies were conducted using two near-identical abstract compositions. The first was created with the legacy versions of Alizarin Crimson and Indanthrone Blue, while the second employed the updated pigments. Immediately, the differences in color behavior and emotional tone became apparent.
In the legacy painting, the violet hues created by mixing the original pigments were soft, slightly warm, and shimmered with a faintly pink glow. These qualities brought depth and nostalgia to the work, making it feel almost cinematic in its rendering of shadow and light. The pigments layered beautifully through glazing techniques, providing subtle variations in tone and depth. This old combination felt intuitively like a well-rehearsed melody.
In contrast, the newer composition felt more deliberate. The same violet mixture, though similar in value, leaned toward a cooler, earthier space. The slightly greenish character of the new Indanthrone Blue neutralized some of the warmth previously present, creating a more muted and contemplative palette. The crimson now possessed more chromatic authority, refusing to fade into the background. This made the mixtures more graphic, perhaps less sentimental, but also more structurally sound in design-focused work.
When mixed with Titanium White, the behavior of these updated pigments became even more distinct. Alizarin Crimson Permanent yielded bright, clean pinksmore vibrant than the older version and with a stronger presence in tints. The updated Indanthrone Blue, when lightened, revealed a surprising clarity. No longer shadowed by underlying warmth, its lightest values reflected a fresh, sky-like blue. This transformation is particularly valuable in creating atmospheric gradients and subtle skies, where nuance in temperature plays a critical role.
Tertiary mixtures offered further insights. When blended with earth tones like Yellow Ochre or Burnt Sienna, the new Alizarin Crimson delivered brighter, rosier results compared to its older counterpart. This behavior offers a distinct advantage in color mixing, especially in skin tones and floral palettes, where subtle saturation can elevate realism. Likewise, when Indanthrone Blue was introduced into green or yellow mixtures, it subtly leaned the outcome toward cool, viridian tonesomething unseen in prior formulations. These shifts in undertone are particularly relevant for landscape artists who rely on intuitive color navigation in the field.
A broader palette test, incorporating colors such as Hansa Yellow Medium, Sap Green, Ultramarine Blue, and Burnt Sienna, further demonstrated how these updated pigments hold their own. The permanent crimson mixed with yellow yielded luminous oranges that appeared cleaner and more vivid, absent of the slight murkiness that could accompany the original formula. Meanwhile, Indanthrone Blue’s interactions with greens produced vibrant forest tones that retained cool vitalityideal for foliage, shadow mapping, and atmospheric depth.
Transparency, Glazing, and the Painter’s Evolving Language
Transparency is a cornerstone of oil painting, especially in glazing techniques and optical layering. The revised versions of Alizarin Crimson and Indanthrone Blue uphold this principle while presenting new opportunities for innovation. Alizarin Crimson Permanent, when used as a glaze, produces a vibrant film that enhances underpainting with a warm, almost illuminated pink hue. Its clarity ensures that underlying brushwork remains visible, preserving the dimensionality critical to complex layering.
The new Indanthrone Blue surpasses its predecessor in terms of transparency and uniformity of glaze. When applied in thin layers, it transitions smoothly across value ranges, creating seamless shadows and rich, velvety depths in nocturnes or moody compositions. These qualities not only serve technical needs but open doors for expressive interpretations that rely on luminous contrast and optical mixing.
One of the most intriguing aspects of this pigment update lies not just in what has changed, but in how those changes reshape the creative process. Artists with a deep familiarity with the older pigments may experience a moment of disorientation kind of chromatic muscle memory disruption. The reds and blues no longer respond quite the same. Familiar recipes may lead to unexpected outcomes. Yet, within this shift lies immense creative potential.
The new pigments prompt us to revisit our methods with a fresh eye, to experiment again with mixtures we thought we knew. They invite exploration of new contrastsbetween warm and cool, saturated and muted, transparent and opaque. These are not simply technical tweaks; they represent an evolution in how we construct visual narratives through color.
Importantly, these changes also support the long-term sustainability of artistic materials. Alizarin Crimson Permanent is significantly more lightfast than the traditional Alizarin, ensuring that artworks retain their intended vibrancy over time. Similarly, the refined Indanthrone Blue supports longevity without sacrificing depth or richness. These improvements align with a broader shift in pigment development that places equal emphasis on permanence and performance.
In the end, these pigment updates challenge us to re-engage with our palettes not as fixed tools but as evolving languages. Where once the crimson and blue blended seamlessly into a unified mauve, they now speak more independently, offering a new kind of visual dialogue. This clarity of interaction can inspire artists to refine their compositions, to play with edges and temperatures in more articulate ways.
These are not mere substitutions but opportunities to expand our understanding of color. Each brushstroke becomes an act of inquiry. Each mixture, a new sentence in a painterly conversation. As pigment technology progresses, so too does the role of the artist, not as a passive user but as an active participant in the shaping of visual culture.
Rethinking Pigments: Tradition, Technology, and the Changing Role of the Paintmaker
The evolution of artist pigments is far more than a technical matter's a conversation at the crossroads of chemistry, creativity, and cultural heritage. With Gamblin's recent adjustments to two cornerstone colorsAlizarin Crimson and Indanthrone Bluepainters find themselves at the intersection of tradition and innovation. This isn't merely a matter of whether a red leans warm or a blue deepens in mass tone. It's about how paint manufacturers and artists collaborate, consciously or not, in defining the future of expressive tools.
The art of painting has always been deeply tied to its materials. Pigments, often viewed as passive or inert, actually carry an emotional and historical resonance. When you reach for a tube of crimson or a shadowy blue, you aren't simply choosing color-you’re engaging with a lineage. That lineage includes the decisions of artists across centuries, from Renaissance masters to modern abstractionists. Altering a pigment disrupts this continuity. Even minor shifts in hue, tinting strength, or transparency can ripple across the studio, affecting composition, technique, and emotional tone.
With these recent changes, Gamblin reinforces a key value: permanence. Alizarin Crimson, beloved for its rich depth and romantic transparency, has long been dogged by a fundamental flawlight sensitivity. It fades over time, especially in works exposed to strong sunlight or less-than-ideal conservation conditions. Indanthrone Blue, while more stable, has also been revisited to enhance consistency and performance. These reformulations aren’t arbitrary; they reflect decades of feedback, testing, and a maturing awareness of the demands today’s artists and collectors place on materials.
In the past, matching a historical hue may have been enough to satisfy an artist's eye. But today, durability, safety, and archival standards are just as crucial. A pigment that dazzles today must also endure for generations. This shift in expectation reflects broader industry trends where manufacturers must meet not only aesthetic benchmarks, but also environmental, ethical, and performance criteria. Pigments must now harmonize with contemporary binders, behave consistently in varied painting styles, and withstand the rigors of time, exhibition, and even digital reproduction.
What Gamblin is doing with these updates is not just refining a colorit’s expanding the definition of artistic integrity. It's about respecting the visual language of the past while equipping artists for a future that demands more from every material we use.
The Artist’s Response: Adapting to New Materials and Evolving Expressive Potential
For painters, the transition to new pigments can be jarring. It may begin with subtle unease favorite mixture feels slightly off, or a layering technique doesn’t yield the same glow. These moments ask the artist to pause, assess, and ultimately adapt. It’s a process that echoes the very heart of creative work: transformation through practice.
The shift from traditional Alizarin Crimson to its more permanent successor offers a clear example. The original pigment is undeniably beautiful, but it comes with a known liability or vulnerability to light. For artists who care about the archival lifespan of their work, this has always posed a difficult choice. Gamblin’s Permanent Alizarin seeks to resolve that tension by offering a visually comparable alternative that stands up to light over time. Similarly, the new iteration of Indanthrone Blue refines the pigment's performance characteristics while remaining loyal to its familiar depth and tone.
Artists are not being asked to abandon their knowledge, but rather to expand it. Every pigment has a personality identity shaped by how it mixes, layers, and behaves on canvas. Changes to that identity require exploration. Painters might need to tweak their techniques, rethink certain combinations, or recalibrate their expectations. But within that process lies growth. Discovering the nuances of a new pigment can deepen an artist’s understanding of color interaction, transparency, and compositional flow.
Instructors and students have a particular opportunity in this evolving landscape. Pigment reformulation opens a door to rigorous comparative study. Workshops and classroom sessions can highlight the differences in undertone, mass tone, and glazing ability between the original and the revised versions. These exercises do more than educatethey illuminate the philosophical evolution of painting as a practice. They teach that change is not something to resist, but something to engage with critically and creatively.
And while these changes are technical, they’re also emotional. A familiar pigment is like a trusted brushstroke that becomes part of the artist's language. When that language shifts, it can feel disorienting. But adaptation doesn't mean forgetting the past. Instead, it means folding history into a broader, more flexible approach to creation. The painter’s palette becomes not just a toolbox, but a terrain of dialogue space where legacy and innovation converse in color.
The Future of Color: Ethics, Ecology, and the Artist as Co-Creator
Beyond aesthetics and technique, the recent pigment updates also signal a deeper ethical and ecological consciousness within the paint-making industry. As more artists grow curious about the origins of their materials, questions of sustainability, sourcing, and toxicity become harder to ignore. Paintmakers like Gamblin are responding to these concerns, sometimes subtly, but with significant long-term implications.
While full details aren’t always disclosed, changes in pigments such as Indanthrone Blue may reflect more than visual refinement. They could indicate a shift to more sustainable raw materials, reduced reliance on heavy metals, or improved manufacturing processes that lessen environmental impact. As awareness grows around the carbon footprint of studio materials, even the most traditional-minded artists are beginning to factor these considerations into their choices.
This ecological awareness adds a new dimension to the role of the artist. Choosing a pigment becomes an ethical actone that balances beauty with responsibility. In asking how a color is made, where its ingredients come from, or how it breaks down over time, the artist enters into a larger conversation about environmental stewardship and social impact. This dialogue mirrors shifts across other creative fields, where sustainability is becoming integral to the definition of quality.
Gamblin’s approachmeasured, transparent, and inclusiveoffers a blueprint for how paintmakers can lead responsibly. They haven’t yanked legacy pigments from shelves overnight. Instead, they’ve allowed overlap, giving artists time to test, evaluate, and adjust. This kind of transition respects the deep trust that artists place in their materials. It recognizes that every change in formulation is also a change in the creative process, and that thoughtful implementation is key to preserving that trust.
Looking forward, it’s likely that pigment updates will continue, spurred by both technological advances and environmental necessity. What matters most is how these changes are introduced. Clear communication, scientific transparency, and continued dialogue with the artistic community will be crucial. Artists, in turn, must embrace their role not just as users of materials, but as participants in their evolution.
The modern painter is not working in isolation. Each brushstroke engages a web of science, history, and future possibility. As updated pigments become standard across studios, their influence will extend beyond color mixing or canvas surface. They will shape the very way we think about painting as a living, breathing art form tied not just to aesthetics, but to ethics, innovation, and shared human experience.
Alizarin Crimson Permanent and the new Indanthrone Blue are just two colors among many. But in their stories lies the blueprint for how paintmakers and painters alike can navigate the future. They challenge us to stay curious, to evolve our craft, and to see change not as disruption, but as opportunity. They remind us that behind every new tube of paint is a chance to renew ocommitment totto quality, to the planet, and to the powerful tradition of visual storytelling.
