Emerald Green (colour number 615) uses PG7/PY74/PW6. It is rated opaque with a lightfastness of +++. Knowing the pigment code matters more than the colour name, because names vary between brands while pigment index codes do not. If you are matching a colour across brands or checking permanence, the code is the thing to compare.

Emerald Green is opaque. That determines how you should use it. An opaque colour covers what is beneath it in one or two coats and is what you want for blocking in and correcting. A semi-transparent or transparent colour lets the layer underneath influence the result, which makes it ideal for glazing and shadow work but frustrating if you are trying to cover something. Check the swatch on the jar against a black bar to see it for yourself.

All Amsterdam acrylics are intermixable, and Emerald Green behaves predictably in mixes given it is opaque. Start by mixing it with titanium white for tints and with a small amount of its complementary colour to knock back the intensity rather than reaching for black, which tends to deaden a mix. Keep a swatch card of your mixes with the ratios written on it, because you will want to repeat one later.

Royal Talens, based in Apeldoorn in the Netherlands. The company was founded in 1899 and also makes Rembrandt oils and pastels, Van Gogh oils and watercolours, Cobra water-mixable oils, Ecoline liquid watercolour and Bruynzeel pencils. Amsterdam acrylics are manufactured in the Netherlands, not contract-made offshore, which is part of why batch-to-batch consistency is reliable when you are mixing a colour you need to match again later.

Yes, Click and Collect is available from our Moorabbin store, for Melbourne metro customers. Order online and the Click and Collect option appears as a delivery method once you enter your address. Allow 1 to 3 business days for your order to be picked and packed, and we will email you when it is ready. Orders need to be collected within 4 business days of that notification. Someone else can collect on your behalf if they have the order number.

Use a stay-wet palette, which is a shallow tray with a damp sponge under a sheet of palette paper, and close the lid between sessions. Failing that, mist the palette with a fine water spray every few minutes and work in smaller mixes. Do not scrape half-dry paint back into the jar, because those lumps will never redisperse and you will find them in a later layer. Acrylic retarder medium buys extra open time if you need it.

Very. The 500ml and 1 litre sizes and the medium viscosity are both suited to covering area fast. It takes to MDF, plywood, cardboard, foam that has been sealed first, plaster and most primed surfaces, dries fast enough to recoat the same day, and the metallic and reflex fluorescent colours in the range cover effects that would otherwise need spray.

Amsterdam Standard Series is water based, odourless and cleans up with soap and water, which is why it is widely used in Australian schools and community workshops. It is still an artists' material rather than a toy paint, so normal classroom practice applies: check the label and safety data sheet for the specific colour, supervise young children, keep it away from mouths, and ventilate as you would for any art activity. We can supply safety data sheets for any product on request.

Acrylic paper or a heavyweight watercolour paper, 300gsm or above. Acrylic is a heavy, wet medium and lighter paper will cockle and eventually break down. Watercolour paper works well and gives you texture to play with, and stretching or taping it down first prevents buckling. Cartridge paper under about 200gsm is fine for quick studies but not for anything you intend to keep or frame.