Red Oil Paint: Pigments, Basics, and How to Pick the Right Red

Red is the most important color in the world. Why? I have no idea, but for some reason when people of every culture and language were sitting around making up words for stuff, the color that everyone gave a name to first was the color red. Always, throughout time, red is the first and blue is the last.

Red, the color of sin, nobility, authority, ceremony, and revolution, was not a very versatile hue until the 20th century when Cadmium Red become available and then even later in the 1950s when the automobile industry created more dynamic reds with the creation of transparent hues. If only Turner, Friedrich, and Martin had such reds! Not that they did too badly with what they had.



Top Characteristic: Red is one of the hardest pigments to use well. In strict atelier schools painting a red fabric is one of the last things learned due to the difficulty of creating red highlights to not appear bright pink and shadows to not grow too dark and muddy.

Cadmium Red: Made from the same process that creates Cadmium Yellow and Orange, Cadmium Red is almost a neutral opaque red, with a slightly warm cast and creates strong tints.

Boasting a strong masstone, Cadmium Red is usually picked as a primary in most color palettes for its clean mixtures and strong secondaries.

Cadmium Red is the much needed, synthetic replacement for the very toxic pigment Vermillion, also known as Cinnabar, a mercury sulfide mineral and was used throughout ancient China, Greece, and Rome. The Pompeiian baths at Titus and the Villa of the Mysteries used Vermillion. In fact, in ancient Rome prisoners were forced to extract the pigment from mercury mines, who would then die after only a few years of exposure to the heavy metal.

Cadmium Red was used by artists such as Henri Matisse, Franz Marc, and Marc Chagall, and is sometimes marketed as Cadmium Red Medium.

Naphthol Red: An organic red, Naphtol Red (also spelt Napthol and Naphtol) is a warm, semi-transparent red that closely matches Cadmium Red in masstone and produces strong tints.

It is an excellent choice when you want the color of Cadmium without its strong, sometimes overwhelming opaque qualities. It is, however, not as lightfast as Cadmium.
Rothko used Naphthol Red is several of his paintings.

Alizarin Crimson Permanent: Anciently known as Madder Lake, Alizarin is a cool, transparent red with a muted tint.

Originally made from madder root and used to dye clothing, Alizarin is now synthetically produced. Sadly, true Alizarin has a poor lightfastness and should be avoided. Luckily, a few companies do produce permanent, lightfast options. While these permanent options due differ in chemical composition from a true Alizarin, the Permanent option is still an excellent match in masstone and transparency.

As THE cool red, Alizarin is used by everyone. Artists such as Velasquez, Turner, Rockwell, and even Bob Ross used Alizarin.

Quinacridone Red: A product of the automobile industry, Quinacridone Red is a cool, transparent red with a moderate tinting strength.

Quinacridone matches the opaque Cadmium Red Deep in masstone, but is useful when a true transparent red is wanted. Quinacridone also offers a lesser cool option to Alizarin that also provides stronger, brighter mixtures. Since its manufacture in the 1950s Quinacridone is a staple of almost all color palettes.

When wanting an opaque companion to Quinacridone, as stated before, consider Cadmium Red Deep.

How to Pick the Right Red 

Red is the most temperamental of all colors (yellow a close second) and is the color I recommend initially investing in the most. I have six reds: Cadmium Light, Medium, and Deep as well as Alizarin Permanent, Napthol, and Quinacridone and unlike with other colors, I use all six consistently, with the exception of Cad Red Med. I personally prefer the softer quality of Napthol.

As a beginner painter Alizarin, Quinacridone, and Cad Red Med (or Napthol) are a must. Normally I recommend needing only a cool and warm primary, but red is a different story.

Remember when you are picking which red to paint with always consider the following characteristics: color temperature, tinting strength, and opacity.  Of the three mentioned above Alizarin and Quinacridone allow for cool transparencies, while Cad Red Med provides a strong warm, opaque red.

For more about colors and their pigment characteristics take a look at my Tips and Techniques page.