New Colors for 2020

We take a deep pride in our color lines here at R&F. Each year we make tough decisions about what to add and what to let go of. We test our colors extensively. We talk about them and solicit feedback. And then, when the time is right, we release them.

For 2020, we are introducing several new colors in our Pigment Stick® and encaustic paint lines. New Pigment Stick® colors include: Ancient Gold, Indanthrone Blue, Nickel Yellow, and Turkey Umber Pale. New encaustic colors include all of the above, plus Magenta Earth, Provence Blue, and Prussian Blue (which previously existed in our Pigment Stick® line).

Why these colors? Well, let us tell you a bit about them.

Ancient Gold is a boldly metallic iridescent gold. Let us say that again. Ancient Gold is bold. There is nothing subtle about this stand alone color. A lustrous top tone with a slightly greenish tint, it demands your attention. New to both our encaustic and Pigment Stick® lines.

“Another blue?” we asked ourselves when considering this color. Yes, another blue. Indanthrone Blue is redder than both Prussian and Phthalo Blue, yet more subdued than Ultramarine. It offers complex grey subtleties in a tint. What is unique about Indanthrone Blue is its neutrality. Its virtue is not its beauty, but its usefulness. As a chromatic black, it enhances the saturation of juxtaposed colors. New to both our encaustic and Pigment Stick® lines.

Is it blue? Is it violet? Provence Blue is elusive. Similar to the soft blues favored by Matisse, it is neutral next to warm hues and violet against cool tones. We already loved this color in Pigment Stick® and know you will love it as a new addition to our encaustic color line.

Nickel Yellow is a soft, cool yellow without the acidity of our Cadmium Lemon or the electrified brightness of our Cadmium Yellows. It’s so quiet that its bias toward cool makes it appear almost neutral alongside stronger colors. New to both our encaustic and Pigment Stick® lines.

Prussian Blue is the deepest, reddest of all blues. Powerful and very, very velvety, it offers a dark midnight top tone and an undertone that is greenish and subtle without the over-the-top vividness of Phthalo Blue. Prussian Blue makes beautiful leaden grays in tints with white. Long beloved in our Pigment Stick® line, it was previewed in encaustic at the 2019 International Encaustic Conference and sold out immediately. This is a color you will want to have in your collection.

Magenta Earth sings in collaboration with other colors. Mixed into Alizarin Crimson, Quinacridone Magenta, or Cadmium Red Deep, it acts like a brownish extension of those colors. Work it into Prussian Blue or Viridian and watch it become a complex reddish earth with a mahogany top tone. Extended out, it reveals a purplish plum color. A crowd pleaser in Pigment Stick®, we are sure painters will enjoy this new addition to our encaustic paint line.

Unlike its hard-edged parent, Turkey Umber Greenish, Turkey Umber Pale is a warm, earthy grey with yellowy-green undertones. Distinctly different from our Neutral Greys. We’re pretty sure you’ll find this is one color you can’t live without. New to both our encaustic and Pigment Stick® lines.

Each of these colors will be available nationwide beginning July 1. Download a pdf of our new color chart here.

Stay healthy. Stay strong. And keep painting.