All Amsterdam acrylics are intermixable, and Permanent Red Violet Light 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.

Permanent Red Violet Light is rated +++ on Royal Talens' scale. Three pluses means the colour is rated to last at least 100 years under museum conditions, two pluses at least 25 years. Museum conditions means indoors and out of direct sunlight. That rating is why work painted in Amsterdam Standard Series is safe to sell, provided the buyer is not hanging it in a north-facing window.

The Amsterdam Standard Series runs in 20ml, 120ml, 250ml, 500ml and 1 litre, though not every colour is made in every size. We carry the sizes that move, and the 500ml jar is the one to choose when you are painting large, teaching, mixing in volume or working on murals and props. If you want a size you cannot see on the site, ask us and we will check what Royal Talens produces in that colour.

The honest comparison is on three things: permanence, consistency and range. Amsterdam Standard Series carries ++ or +++ lightfastness across the line, has a medium buttery viscosity that holds a brush mark without being stiff, and runs to around 90 colours including metallics, reflex fluorescents and specialty finishes. Some competing student ranges are thinner, some are stiffer, and several carry fewer colours or do not publish lightfastness at all. If a range will not tell you its lightfastness, that is the thing to notice.

Yes, we ship to New Zealand. Orders are charged in Australian dollars, and import duties, taxes and levies charged by New Zealand are not included in the order total or the postage and are the recipient's responsibility, so check locally before you order. We are not currently shipping to countries other than Australia and New Zealand.

Pre-primed canvas from the shop is ready to paint on. Raw canvas, raw board and bare timber should be primed with acrylic gesso first, two thin coats sanded lightly between, which gives you a stable, slightly toothy surface and stops the binder sinking straight in. On masonry, render or concrete the surface needs to be clean, sound and slightly porous, and Amsterdam's alkali resistance means it will hold there without a specialist primer.

Yes, for feature walls, murals and children's rooms. Artist acrylic is far more pigmented than house paint, so it covers in fewer coats and goes further per litre than you would expect, which is why people usually use it for the artwork itself and standard wall paint for the surrounding field. Make sure the wall is clean and free of grease, and keep in mind that artist acrylic in a satin finish will not scrub like a washable interior paint unless you seal it.

Do not tip liquid acrylic or heavily pigmented rinse water down the sink or a storm drain. Let leftover paint dry out fully in the container, then put the solid in general waste. For rinse water, let the solids settle in a bucket, decant the clear water, and dry out the sludge before binning it. For larger quantities, or if you are unsure, check with your local council, which will have a household chemical drop-off.

Yes. Schools, universities, community art programmes and studios are a large part of what we do, and the 500ml and 1 litre sizes exist for exactly this reason. If you need quantities across multiple colours, or a quote on school letterhead, contact us rather than working through the cart and we will put it together properly, including availability and lead time on anything we would need to bring in.