HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE FOR ARTISTS
- Art Sets: These are great because they usually have tons of different supplies and it doesn’t matter which type of artist you are going to give this to, it will sure have something they will use. This is also a great gift to buy if you’re on a budget, you can open up the set and split the different supplies and give them to different artists. The Daler Rowney 162 pcs set has everything, from watercolors, acrylics, oil pastels, to color pencils, graphite pencils and even an easel, this costs around $35 and it is just an amazing gift for anyone.
- Brushes: I have tons and tons of brushes, and believe me, every time I see types of brushes I don’t have or see some expensive ones I wanted on sale I will grab them to my collection. With that said, I know almost every artist feel the same way, so brushes is something you can never go wrong with. And don’t worry if you feel like you don’t know squat about brushes, we all need that weird or cheap one to make splatters, textures and to use that additive or ink that we rather prefer leaving the piece unfinished for days than to use our expensive brushes.
- Watercolors: Is not even fair for me to talk about this, I just love watercolors and the impartiality will be obvious =) but to be totally honest, this is not for everyone. If you know for sure that the artist you’re going to give this to works in some way or form with watercolors, then you can’t go wrong with a nice set of watercolors.
- Art Journals: These make a great gift, but be sure to get one that has mixed media or watercolor paper in it.
- Acrylic Paints: I know this is tricky as there are many brands, matte acrylics, satin acrylics, craft acrylics, etc. but you can find some amazing gift sets with unique colors that I know your special artist will love and appreciate. For example, these Jane Davenport acrylic paint sets have amazing colors, the quality is great and they come with a very cute stylish brush and a stencil to have fun with. Acrylic paints are great and a bit universal in terms of what artists can do with it, for example, watercolour artists have a tendency to use them for details, acrylic artists, well they use it for everything, and artists who do art journaling use it for backgrounds and to make interesting textures with it.
- Inks: You can purchase them individually or in a set, most artists have inks in their toolbox to make details, to sign their artwork, to add interesting effects, etc. This is a gift you can’t go wrong with.
- Mixing Palettes: Yes, mixing palettes are a great gift, at least I love them and I find myself purchasing different ones quite frequently. For watercolour and acrylic artists a ceramic palette is ideal, since it will not stain after mixing the colors and its easy to clean up. Palettes come in different shapes and sizes, I have a flower shaped one that I love, it looks gorgeous with all the pretty colors and it photographs well.
- Markers: I mean who doesn’t love a pretty set of colorful markers? They are great to make sketches, to add details, to write on a piece and to just have fun with.
- Gouache: This is a great gift because this type of paint is the sweet spot between watercolors and acrylics. They can be watered down to act as a watercolor, on the contrary if not much water is added, the colors will be opaque like acrylic paints. This gift will fit almost any type of artist, you can’t go wrong with this one either.
I hope this guide will help you find that perfect gift you're looking for.