🎨 Fugitive Watercolors and Their Permanent Dupes

Some of the most beautiful watercolors are also the most fugitive — meaning they fade when exposed to light. I recently tested a set of popular but unstable colors and created permanent dupe mixes using lightfast pigments. Below you’ll find my swatches, notes, and mixes.

🌞 What Are Fugitive Colors?

• Fugitive = fades with light exposure (not truly lightfast).

• Common in Opera Pink, Moonglow, and many convenience mixes.

• Why it matters: If you want your artwork to last, it is better to avoid fugitive pigments — or recreate them with permanent ones.

🖌 Fugitive Colors I Tested

Here’s my swatch card of colors known to fade:

• God’s Back (PB36, PV19, PY3)

• Morai Witch (PR146)

• Magic Wizard (PB29, PR3)

• Lapis Brown (PB29, PY65, PO8)

• Moonglow (PG18, PB29, PR177)

• Opera Pink (PR122 + Fluorescent Dye)

🖼 Permanent Dupe Mixes

These are the mixes I tested to mimic the originals:

• God’s Back → Perylene Violet + Indanthrone Blue + Pyrrole Orange

• Morai Witch → Quin Rose + Hematite Violet

• Magic Wizard → Aussie Red Gold + Perylene Crimson + Imperial Purple

• Lapis Brown → Tundra Orange + French Ultramarine + Neutral Tint

• Moonglow → Viridian + French Ultramarine + Quin Coral

• Opera Pink → Quin Rose (PR209 or PR122)

👉 I’m especially curious to hear what others come up with for Lapis Brown and God’s Back — my mixes work but don’t feel perfect yet.

🔍 Side-by-Side

Here’s a comparison of the fugitive originals and my permanent mixes:

💬 Join the Experiment

These are just my starting points — not final! If you’ve tried other dupe recipes for these colors, I’d love to see them! Drop your mixes in the comments below so we can build a stronger resource together. I am not particularly happy with the God’s Back and Lapis Brown!;(((

Watch my video “Watercolor Dupes for Fading Colors”: