Golden Alizarin Crimson Hue: 8 Colour-Mixing Experiments
What happens when Alizarin Crimson Hue is mixed with eight different colours?
Alizarin Crimson Hue is a deep, rich red that can take on very different personalities depending on what you mix with it. I wanted to see just how much I could change this colour using some of the other paints in my palette.
For this experiment, I mixed Golden Alizarin Crimson Hue with eight different colours and created three different mix strengths for each combination.
These are my actual paint experiments, so the colours shown are the results I got with my paints and the proportions I used — not colour-chart predictions.
My Alizarin Crimson Hue Mixing Experiment
The eight colours I tested were:
Payne's Gray
Quinacridone Magenta
Phthalo Blue (Green Shade)
Phthalo Green (Blue Shade)
Titanium White
Naphthol Red Light
Hansa Yellow Opaque
Burnt Umber Light
The results ranged from deep purples and almost-black neutrals to pretty pinks, warm reds, burnt orange and warm browns.
1. Alizarin Crimson Hue + Payne's Gray
Adding Payne's Gray to Alizarin Crimson Hue created a dramatic progression of increasingly dark reds and purples.
The first mixture remained a rich, deep red, while adding more Payne's Gray pushed the colour darker. The strongest mixture became an extremely dark colour with a purple quality.
My observation: Mix 3 gives a great darkest colour — great dark purple.
This is a combination I would reach for when I want a deep, dramatic colour without using black. Payne's Gray helps darken the Alizarin while allowing some of the richness of the original red to remain.
You can find Payne's Gray on Amazon here:
1 ounce / 30mL https://amzn.to/4gm1jpj
4 ounce / 119mL https://amzn.to/4gpIQYM
8 ounce / 237mL https://amzn.to/4gmfXwv
16 ounce / 473mL https://amzn.to/4gMkAAz
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
2. Alizarin Crimson Hue + Quinacridone Magenta
This was a beautiful combination of two strong pink-red colours.
Adding Quinacridone Magenta shifted the Alizarin Crimson Hue toward brighter, more vibrant reds. The three mixtures show a progression from a deeper red into increasingly brighter red-pink shades.
My observation: Alizarin makes them brighter reds.
I really like combinations like this because they show that mixing two colours from a similar colour family doesn't necessarily make a colour duller. Instead, you can sometimes increase its vibrancy or shift it toward a different version of the same colour.
You can find Quinacridone Magenta on Amazon here:
1 ounce / 30mL https://amzn.to/3SGZc7D
4 ounce / 119mL https://amzn.to/4xj4hCk
8 ounce / 237mL https://amzn.to/4iqxpma
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
3. Alizarin Crimson Hue + Phthalo Blue (Green Shade)
This combination got dark very quickly.
The addition of Phthalo Blue pushed the Alizarin Crimson Hue toward deep purple and blue-black colours. By the third mixture, the result was an extremely dark colour.
My observation: A touch of blue makes dark purple.
This is a great combination for creating deep purples and dramatic darks.
And, as I've discovered in many of my colour experiments, Phthalo Blue is very strong. A small amount can have a surprisingly large effect, so I'd start with just a tiny touch and build from there.
You can find Phthalo Blue (Green Shade) on Amazon here:
1 ounce / 30mL https://amzn.to/4wLGOZf
4 ounce / 119mL https://amzn.to/4gGFfqC
8 ounce / 237mL https://amzn.to/46clIs1
16 ounce / 473mL https://amzn.to/4hFUFMR
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
4. Alizarin Crimson Hue + Phthalo Green (Blue Shade)
This was one of the most dramatic combinations in the experiment.
The Alizarin Crimson Hue became progressively darker as Phthalo Green was added. By the third mixture, the result was almost black.
My observation: Almost black.
This is a great example of what can happen when you mix strong colours that are opposite or near-opposite on the colour wheel.
Rather than reaching for black paint, you can create incredibly dark, complex colours by combining colours from different parts of your palette.
Again, Phthalo Green is a powerful mixer, so a little goes a long way!
You can find Phthalo Green (Blue Shade) on Amazon here:
1 ounce / 30mL https://amzn.to/4wFfA6y
4 ounce / 119mL https://amzn.to/4wANbhT
8 ounce / 237mL https://amzn.to/4hLrcBe
16 ounce / 473mL https://amzn.to/4gmfM4j
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
5. Alizarin Crimson Hue + Titanium White
Titanium White softened the deep Alizarin Crimson Hue into a lovely range of pinks.
The first mixture produced a muted pink-red. As more white was added, the colour became lighter and softer, eventually producing a pretty pink.
My observation: Muted, pretty pink.
This is a simple combination, but it's a useful reminder of how much range you can get from one strong colour simply by adding white.
The resulting pinks would be beautiful for flowers, fabrics, skies or other areas of a painting where you want a softer version of a deep red.
You can find Titanium White on Amazon here:
1 ounce / 30mL https://amzn.to/4c3ju1E
4 ounce / 119mL https://amzn.to/4wCqR7q
8 ounce / 237mL https://amzn.to/4zyQ8m0
32 ounce / 946mL https://amzn.to/45GfGjd
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
6. Alizarin Crimson Hue + Naphthol Red Light
Mixing Alizarin Crimson Hue with Naphthol Red Light kept the colour firmly in the red family, but created a range of increasingly warm reds.
The mixtures became brighter and warmer as the Naphthol Red Light increased.
My observation: Deep, warm reds.
I think this would be a useful combination for painting flowers, berries, autumn subjects and other areas where you want a rich red that has some warmth without becoming orange.
You can find Naphthol Red Light on Amazon here:
1 ounce / 30mL https://amzn.to/4xSGpoO
4 ounce / 119mL https://amzn.to/4ikAu7h
8 ounce / 237mL https://amzn.to/3Sln7Ju
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
7. Alizarin Crimson Hue + Hansa Yellow Opaque
This was another particularly interesting transformation.
Adding Hansa Yellow Opaque shifted the Alizarin Crimson Hue away from its deep red character and into much warmer territory. The mixtures progressed through warm reddish-brown tones and eventually into a strong burnt orange.
My observation: Strong burnt orange.
I love this combination because it demonstrates how dramatically yellow can transform a deep red.
This could be a really useful mix for autumn leaves, warm landscapes, flowers, sunsets and other subjects where you need warm orange-reds.
You can find it on Amazon here:
1 ounce / 30mL https://amzn.to/3TOd4gI
4 ounce / 119mL https://amzn.to/4wpdtUr
8 ounce / 237mL https://amzn.to/4qegVzM
16 ounce / 473mL https://amzn.to/3RIQ4z3
As an Amazon Associate, Art on Mill Street earns from qualifying purchases.
8. Alizarin Crimson Hue + Burnt Umber Light
Burnt Umber Light took the Alizarin Crimson Hue in a much more earthy direction.
The mixtures became progressively warmer and more muted, moving from deep reddish tones toward rich warm browns.
My observation: Warm browns.
This would be a useful combination whenever you want to take a strong red and make it more natural and subdued.
I especially like these kinds of mixtures for landscapes, tree trunks, earth, shadows and other areas where a bright red would feel too intense.
You can find Burnt Umber Light on Amazon here:
1 ounce / 30mL https://amzn.to/3SJ0kaQ
4 ounce / 119mL https://amzn.to/3SGYzeh
8 ounce / 237mL https://amzn.to/4xWiFAg
16 ounce / 473mL https://amzn.to/4xRiDth
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
What I Learned From Mixing Alizarin Crimson Hue
This experiment showed me just how versatile Alizarin Crimson Hue can be.
Starting with one deep red, I was able to create:
Deep purple
Very dark neutral colours
Brighter reds
Cool purple-reds
Pretty muted pinks
Deep warm reds
Strong burnt orange
Warm browns
Some of the biggest surprises were the combinations with Phthalo Blue and Phthalo Green, which became extremely dark, and Hansa Yellow Opaque, which transformed the Alizarin into a beautiful burnt orange.
The combination with Quinacridone Magenta was also interesting because it pushed the Alizarin toward brighter reds rather than simply making another dark red.
And once again, the Phthalo colours reminded me just how powerful they are. A very small amount can completely change a mixture.
My Favourite Alizarin Crimson Hue Mixes
If I had to choose a few favourites from this experiment, I'd pick:
🎨 Alizarin Crimson Hue + Hansa Yellow OpaqueFor the strong burnt orange.
🎨 Alizarin Crimson Hue + Payne's GrayFor the dramatic deep purple.
🎨 Alizarin Crimson Hue + Titanium WhiteFor the pretty muted pinks.
🎨 Alizarin Crimson Hue + Burnt Umber LightFor the warm, earthy browns.
But that's really the point of doing these experiments — sometimes the combinations you expect to like aren't the ones that surprise you the most!
Try It Yourself
If you have Alizarin Crimson Hue in your acrylic palette, try creating your own mixing chart.
Choose a few colours you already have and experiment with different amounts. Recording the results makes it much easier to remember what you've discovered when you're working on a painting later.
I also find that actually mixing the colours is much more useful than simply looking at a manufacturer's colour chart. You get to see how your own paints behave together.
And sometimes you get a result you never expected!
The Colours I Used
For this experiment, I used:
Golden Alizarin Crimson Hue
Payne's Gray
Quinacridone Magenta
Phthalo Blue (Green Shade)
Phthalo Green (Blue Shade)
Titanium White
Naphthol Red Light
Hansa Yellow Opaque
Burnt Umber Light
You can find Alizarin Crimson on Amazon here:
1 ounce / 30mL https://amzn.to/3Up7RMi
4 ounce / 118mL https://amzn.to/4wENg4p
16 ounce / 473mL https://amzn.to/4czosDo
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
More Colour-Mixing Experiments
This is part of my ongoing acrylic colour-mixing series, where I experiment with the colours on my palette and record what actually happens when I mix them.
I'm gradually building a collection of these experiments as a personal colour reference — and hopefully they will be useful to other artists who are experimenting with acrylic paint too.
Comments