Permanent Green Light Paint Colour - 36 Paints, 16 Brands

Why Permanent Green Light isn't one colour

Every brand makes its own Permanent Green Light, and no two are quite the same. They pick different pigments, grind them differently and mix them to their own recipe — so two tubes with the same word on the label can look noticeably different once they are on the paper.

We measured all 36 of them from 16 brands and compared them the way a lab would, using a number called Delta E. It is just a measure of how far apart two colours look to the human eye. Under 2 and almost nobody can tell them apart; over 10 and most people would call them different colours.

Useful when your usual Permanent Green Light is out of stock and you need the closest substitute, when you are deciding which brand to buy, or when a mix you got right last time will not come out the same again.

How far is each brand from the average?

Every brand's version measured against the average of all 36 paints. Below 2 is imperceptible to most people; above 10 is obviously a different colour.

Brand	Distance from the average	In practice
Sennelier	Delta E 0.92	Near-identical
Holbein	Delta E 2.12	Very close
Royal Talens	Delta E 2.89	Very close
Amsterdam	Delta E 2.92	Very close
Schmincke	Delta E 3.07	Very close
Lukas	Delta E 3.64	Very close
Winsor & Newton	Delta E 3.79	Very close
Daler-Rowney	Delta E 4.50	Very close
Matisse	Delta E 5.26	Noticeably different
Michael Harding	Delta E 5.39	Noticeably different
Maimeri	Delta E 5.88	Noticeably different
Gamblin	Delta E 6.89	Noticeably different
Liquitex	Delta E 7.08	Noticeably different
Williamsburg	Delta E 7.72	Noticeably different
Atelier	Delta E 11.88	Clearly different
Golden	Delta E 14.81	Clearly different

Which brands are interchangeable?

The closest pairs among 120 brand comparisons - swap one for another and most people would not see the difference.

GamblinvsLiquitexDelta E 0.47Near-identical
AmsterdamvsSchminckeDelta E 0.59Near-identical
MatissevsMichael HardingDelta E 0.86Near-identical
Royal TalensvsWinsor & NewtonDelta E 0.95Near-identical
Daler-RowneyvsWinsor & NewtonDelta E 1.01Near-identical
LiquitexvsWilliamsburgDelta E 1.19Near-identical

Which brands are clearly different?

The furthest apart. Same name on the tube, visibly different paint.

AteliervsGoldenDelta E 26.27Clearly different
GoldenvsWilliamsburgDelta E 22.04Clearly different
GoldenvsLiquitexDelta E 21.17Clearly different
GamblinvsGoldenDelta E 20.87Clearly different
Daler-RowneyvsGoldenDelta E 19.10Clearly different
GoldenvsWinsor & NewtonDelta E 18.51Clearly different

Pigments used

Brands do not always use the same pigment for the same colour name.

PG36, PY154

Royal Talens

PG36, PY3

Golden, Michael Harding, Sennelier, Winsor & Newton

PG36,PY3

Holbein, Winsor & Newton

PG7, PY3

Daler-Rowney, Schmincke

PG7, PY74LF

Atelier

PG7,PY3

Schmincke, Sennelier

PG7,PY74

Amsterdam

PY175, PG7, PW6

Golden

PY175, PW6, PG7

Maimeri

PY3, PG36

Gamblin, Golden, Holbein, Liquitex, Royal Talens, Sennelier, Williamsburg, Winsor & Newton

PY3, PG7

Lukas

PY3,PG7,PY42

Daler-Rowney

PY74LF, PG7

Atelier

PY83, PG7

Matisse

Lightfastness

How well the colour resists fading. ASTM I is the most permanent; V is fugitive.

I

Amsterdam, Atelier, Daler-Rowney, Gamblin, Golden, Holbein, Liquitex, Lukas, Maimeri, Matisse, Michael Harding, Royal Talens, Schmincke, Sennelier, Williamsburg, Winsor & Newton

Opacity

How much the paint covers what is underneath.

Opaque

Golden, Winsor & Newton

Semi-Opaque

Amsterdam, Daler-Rowney, Golden, Holbein, Lukas, Maimeri, Matisse, Schmincke, Sennelier, Winsor & Newton

Semi-Transparent

Atelier, Daler-Rowney, Gamblin, Golden, Holbein, Liquitex, Michael Harding, Royal Talens, Sennelier, Williamsburg, Winsor & Newton

Brands that make it

Every brand in the database with a Permanent Green Light. Each links to that brand's full range.

Available in

The kinds of paint this colour is made as.

Closest other colours

If you cannot get this one, these sit nearest to it across the same brands.

Every Permanent Green Light we have measured

All 36 paints, with the measurements the comparisons above are built from.

Brand	Line	Medium	Hex	Lab*	Pigment	Opacity	Lightfastness
Amsterdam	Expert Series	acrylic	`#50aa5f`	62.7, -43.3, 30.6	PG7,PY74	Semi-Opaque	I
Amsterdam	Standard Series	acrylic	`#73af41`	65.5, -38.1, 48.9	PG7,PY74	Semi-Opaque	I
Atelier	Free Flow	acrylic	`#a6ce40`	77.7, -33.0, 63.1	PG7, PY74LF	Semi-Transparent	I
Atelier	Interactive	acrylic	`#abd149`	78.9, -31.9, 61.0	PY74LF, PG7	Semi-Transparent	I
Daler-Rowney	Aquafine	watercolor	`#64af50`	64.9, -41.6, 41.1	PG7, PY3	Semi-Transparent	I
Daler-Rowney	Georgian Oil Colors	oil	`#94c03e`	72.5, -33.7, 58.1	PY3,PG7,PY42	Semi-Opaque	I
Daler-Rowney	Georgian Water Mixable Oil	oil	`#94c03e`	72.5, -33.7, 58.1	PY3,PG7,PY42	Semi-Opaque	I
Gamblin	Artist's Oil Colors	oil	`#8fba38`	70.3, -33.3, 58.2	PY3, PG36	Semi-Transparent	I
Golden	Fluid	acrylic	`#00794a`	44.3, -43.0, 17.8	PY175, PG7, PW6	Semi-Opaque	I
Golden	Heavy Body	acrylic	`#8fba38`	70.3, -33.3, 58.2	PY3, PG36	Semi-Transparent	I
Golden	Heavy Body	acrylic	`#00744b`	42.8, -38.7, 14.9	PY175, PG7, PW6	Opaque	I
Golden	Heavy Body	acrylic	`#00764b`	43.2, -41.2, 15.8	PY175, PG7, PW6	Semi-Opaque	I
Golden	OPEN	acrylic	`#00744b`	42.4, -41.0, 14.6	PY175, PG7, PW6	Opaque	I
Golden	QoR Modern Watercolors	watercolor	`#64b450`	66.5, -43.8, 42.9	PG36, PY3	Semi-Transparent	I
Holbein	Artists' Oil Color	oil	`#94c03e`	72.5, -33.7, 58.1	PY3, PG36	Semi-Transparent	I
Holbein	Heavy Body Acrylic	acrylic	`#55af5a`	64.4, -44.8, 35.4	PG36,PY3	Semi-Opaque	I
Liquitex	Professional Heavy Body	acrylic	`#91b93a`	70.2, -31.9, 57.3	PY3, PG36	Semi-Transparent	I
Liquitex	Soft Body	acrylic	`#91be3c`	71.7, -34.1, 58.1	PY3, PG36	Semi-Transparent	I
Lukas	Berlin Water-Mixable Oil	oil	`#55af48`	64.2, -47.1, 43.9	PY3, PG7	Semi-Opaque	I
Maimeri	Classico	oil	`#7dc369`	72.5, -39.1, 38.3	PY175, PW6, PG7	Semi-Opaque	I
Matisse	Flow Formula	acrylic	`#50af55`	64.2, -46.8, 37.5	PY83, PG7	Semi-Opaque	I
Michael Harding	Artists Oil Colours	oil	`#55af5a`	64.4, -44.8, 35.4	PG36, PY3	Semi-Transparent	I
Royal Talens	Rembrandt Oil Colors	oil	`#94c03e`	72.5, -33.7, 58.1	PY3, PG36	Semi-Transparent	I
Royal Talens	Van Gogh	watercolor	`#64af50`	64.9, -41.6, 41.1	PG36, PY154	Semi-Transparent	I
Schmincke	AKADEMIE Acrylic	acrylic	`#5faa41`	63.0, -42.8, 45.8	PG7,PY3	Semi-Opaque	I
Schmincke	Designers' Gouache	gouache	`#5faf5a`	64.8, -41.9, 36.0	PG7, PY3	Semi-Opaque	I
Sennelier	Abstract Acrylic	acrylic	`#5faa41`	63.0, -42.8, 45.8	PG7,PY3	Semi-Opaque	I
Sennelier	Artists' Oil Colors	oil	`#91be3c`	71.7, -34.1, 58.1	PY3, PG36	Semi-Transparent	I
Sennelier	Extra-Fine Acrylique	acrylic	`#69b44b`	66.6, -42.8, 45.5	PG7,PY3	Semi-Opaque	I
Sennelier	l'Aquarelle	watercolor	`#64af50`	64.9, -41.6, 41.1	PG36, PY3	Semi-Transparent	I
Williamsburg	Handmade Oil Colors	oil	`#94c03e`	72.5, -33.7, 58.1	PY3, PG36	Semi-Transparent	I
Winsor & Newton	Artists' Oil Colour	oil	`#91be3c`	71.7, -34.1, 58.1	PG36, PY3	Semi-Transparent	I
Winsor & Newton	Designers Gouache	gouache	`#a2d458`	79.3, -35.5, 54.9	PY3, PG36	Opaque	I
Winsor & Newton	Galeria	acrylic	`#91be3c`	71.7, -34.1, 58.1	PY3, PG36	Semi-Transparent	I
Winsor & Newton	Professional Acrylic	acrylic	`#5aaa46`	62.8, -43.8, 43.3	PG36,PY3	Semi-Opaque	I
Winsor & Newton	Winton Oil Colour	oil	`#5aaa46`	62.8, -43.8, 43.3	PG36, PY3	Semi-Opaque	I

Permanent Green Light