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Mitchell Albala: Landscape painting, plein air painting, art workshops, author

Nickel Titanate, the Coolest Yellow

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By on Painting Technique, Materials

"New Lessons in Landscape Painting" by Mitchell Albala

NEW LESSONS IN LANDSCAPE PAINTING:
Key Concepts and Exercises in Color and Composition

On sale Oct. 13, 2026
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The third and final volume in my 3-book series, featuring new topics, exercises, and demonstrations not covered in either of my two previous books. With over 100 paintings by 54 artists.

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As any of my students will tell you, I’m a big fan of the pigment nickel titanate yellow. Nickel who? Yes, it’s the most luscious pigment you’ve never heard of, but its temperature makes it an essential color on my palette.

Nickel titanate is a cool yellow. Many painters’ palettes include a cool and warm version of each primary. (See Split Primaries Landscape Painting Palette.) Nickel titanate is the cool version of yellow, as compared to cadmium or hansa yellow medium, which lean toward the red side of the spectrum. Titanate serves as a substitute for lemon yellow which is the traditional cool yellow. What I like about titanate is that its cool attributes are more distinct than those of lemon yellow. As compared to lemon, titanate is not as intense, and has a slightly greenish cast. Yet it is very opaque and holds up well in mixture.

Cadmium yellow and nickel titanate yellowHansa yellow (left) compared to nickel titanate (right) clearly demonstrates the temperature differences between these warm and cool yellows. Cadmium or hansa yellow are closer to the orange or red side of the color wheel, while titanate sits slightly closer to the green side of the wheel, which accounts forits ever-so-slight green cast.

Not all manufacturer’s have nickel titanate in their lineup. However, these do: Gamblin, Daniel Smith, Old Holland, Sennelier, Blockx, Williamsburg, and Grumbacher.

For a more detailed explanation of cool and warm pigments, see Split Primaries Landscape Painting Palette.

 

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About Author

Mitchell Albala is an award-winning landscape painter, workshop instructor, and author. His semi-abstract and atmospheric landscapes have been exhibited nationally and are represented in corporate and private collections. He is the author of three popular books on landscape painting: "Landscape Painting: Essential Concepts and Techniques for Plein Air and Studio Practice (Watson-Guptill, 2009), with 70,000 copies in print; "The Landscape Painter's Workbook: Essential Studies in Shape, Composition, and Color" (Rockport Publishers, 2022), which has been the #1 selling book on landscape in the nation; and "New Lessons in Landscape Painting: Key Concepts and Exercises in Color and Composition" (Rockport Publishers, 2026). Mitchell leads painting workshops in the U.S. and has offered plein air adventures in Italy. He is also a master mentor with the online mentoring community Mastrius. He has lectured on Impressionism and landscape painting at the Seattle Art Museum and has written for International Artist and Artists & Illustrators magazines. Mitchell also hosts a popular painting blog, which hold the #11 spot on Feedspot.com's "90 Best Painting Blogs to Follow in 2026." He is a Signature member in both the Pastel Society of America and the Northwest Pastel Society.

4 Comments

  2. Stan Chraminski on

    Have a tube of this yellow but now need to experiment with it. Initial try seems to be not as “strong” in tinting nor covering power but might be nice in subtle landscapes.

  3. Mitchell Albala on

    Nickel T is not as strong and opaque as, say, cadmium yellow medium, but it is by no means a pigment with extremely low tinting strength, like terre verte. Essentially, I reach for it whenever I want a yellow that is cooler and will not overpower the mixture the way a cadmium or hansa can. I also find it very helpful when trying to inject some warmth into blue skies. It is less disruptive to the mixture than a cadmium because it is cooler.