Winsor & Newton Transparent Orange Review: Blossoms, Staining & PO107 Watercolor Test
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Winsor & Newton Transparent Orange (PO107) is a transparent, moderately staining watercolor pigment known for strong glowing oranges, excellent blossoming effects, and smooth washes. It works especially well in sunsets, autumn landscapes, florals, glowing highlights, and artists who want a believable “true orange” without muddy mixes.
Winsor & Newton Transparent Orange Review
After suffering through a long parade of ugly oranges earlier in my watercolor career — many of them muddy, weirdly artificial, or somehow both at once — I finally found a few oranges worth keeping on the palette.
Some of this was my fault.
Turns out, if you accidentally mix a blue-biased red with a blue-biased yellow and expect glowing oranges, watercolor politely laughs at you. Learning what pigments actually live inside your paints matters more than most beginners realize.
Apparently, I learned this the hard way.
These days, I mostly rotate between Daniel Smith Perinone Orange and Winsor & Newton Transparent Orange. One of those two usually earns a spot on my palette.
And that says a lot because I am deeply suspicious of most oranges.
Winsor & Newton Transparent Orange is one of the better surprises.
The tube says the paint is based on DPP, which stands for diketo-pyrrolo-pyrrole.
What does that mean?
Honestly? Very little to me besides:
“scientists invented another pigment with a name impossible to casually work into conversation.”
The pigment itself appears to be PO107 (Pigment Orange 107), a modern synthetic organic pigment known for transparency, permanence, and vibrant color. Historically, artists struggled with oranges that faded, chalked out, or simply looked terrible in watercolor. Modern pigments like this finally gave watercolor painters luminous oranges that behave themselves.
Mostly.
Straight from the tube, Winsor & Newton Transparent Orange leans toward what I would call a true orange — not too red, not too yellow, just confidently orange.
Compared to Daniel Smith Perinone Orange, this feels slightly less staining and perhaps a bit more natural in mixtures. Perinone Orange can lean toward deeper, stronger glowing warmth, while Transparent Orange feels cleaner and more straightforward.
One thing I immediately appreciate: this paint behaves very nicely in washes.
It creates smooth transparent passages, glazes beautifully, and is surprisingly easy to control. Tilt the paper slightly, let gravity do the heavy lifting, and you can build beautiful graduated washes without streakiness.
Blossoming abilities?
Pretty good.
Actually, better than pretty good.
If intentional watercolor blossoms are your thing (and if you know me, they absolutely are), this paint gives you enough working time to play around. Drop clean water into a damp wash and watch the pigment move around in satisfying little explosions of watercolor chaos.
Not Holbein Bright Violet-level drama.
But enough to make things interesting.
Staining?
Moderate.
In darker passages, this color can be stubborn and difficult to fully lift, but lighter washes come up more easily. That makes it forgiving enough for experimentation while still strong enough to glaze and hold structure.
Which is exactly the kind of compromise I like in a paint.
Best Uses for Winsor & Newton Transparent Orange
Winsor & Newton Transparent Orange works especially well for:
- Dramatic sunsets and glowing skies
- Autumn trees and fall landscapes
- Floral painting and warm highlights
- Glazing warm passages in landscapes
- Atmospheric city scenes and reflections
- Intentional watercolor blossoms and blooms
- Warm color mixing without muddy oranges
- Travel paintings with glowing sunlight effects
Who Should Buy Winsor & Newton Transparent Orange?
You should probably consider this paint if:
- You struggle mixing clean oranges
- You enjoy transparent, glowing watercolor pigments
- You paint sunsets, landscapes, florals, or warm atmospheric scenes
- You like pigments that blossom reasonably well
- You want a cleaner “true orange” on the palette
You may want to skip it if:
- You already own Perinone Orange and are happy with it
- You strongly prefer red-orange or yellow-orange bias colors
- You want extreme granulation or dramatic texture effects
- You mostly mix your oranges and hate buying specialty pigments
How Does Winsor & Newton Transparent Orange Compare?
Curious how Transparent Orange stacks up against other colors? Compare it to:
- Daniel Smith Perinone Orange – deeper, slightly stronger, more staining orange with glowing warmth
- Winsor & Newton Transparent Orange vs Quinacridone Burnt Orange – moodier, earthier orange with dramatic blossoms and separation
- Winsor & Newton Scarlet Lake – warmer red-orange mixing possibilities
- Holbein Vermillion – brighter, stronger warm red with bold color impact
- Winsor & Newton Transparent Orange vs Yellow Ochre – muted warm earth mixes and natural grays
- Winsor & Newton Quinacridone Violet – dramatic complementary mixtures and glowing neutral possibilities
- Daniel Smith Moonglow – interesting muted shadow mixtures and atmospheric color combinations
For years I assumed I just hated oranges.
Turns out I mostly hated bad oranges.
Winsor & Newton Transparent Orange quietly proved me wrong.
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Ryan Fox AWS, NWS, TWSA
Ryan Fox Painting
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