The Finer Things - Taking Your Art To The Next Level

The best art supplies for you are always going to be the ones that you have and use.

(Before you continue please note that this blog contains affiliate links and I may receive a small incentives when you purchase through these links!)

It's better to get more basic or streamlined supplies that you'll use because of ease, than to get the high quality one that gets left on the shelf because you don't want to waste it or it's a hassle.

And many of my previous blogs include a mix of both higher end supplies and convenient, budget friendly opinions plus everything in between.

Whether you consider yourself a beginner, professional artist, or anything in between, it's always nice to explore the possibilities of art supplies. Here are a few professional recommendations:

To begin with, the foundation of anything you do is extremely important. without a good foundation your house will not be safe, no matter how beautiful the rest of it is. Similarly, when it comes to drawing and painting, the paper, canvas, or other backdrop you use can literally make or break your art. But assuming we're going beyond the fact that using printer paper for watercolor may lead to a ripped paper puddle, there are so many wonderful options for archival quality art.

If you aren't sure what medium you'll be using, but are sure that you want some nice, quality paper around, Strathmore mixed media paper has got you covered, and their paper comes in different sizes. For the ultimate experience, try their heavyweight mixed media paper too. This isn't the only good brand out there of course, but it's a favorite staple for many artists with dependable quality.

For watercolor paper, there's a huge variety with nuances depending on your preferences as you go down the watercolor rabbit hole. However, one excellent choice is Arches Cold Pressed watercolor paper. It really helps to give you the most from your watercolor paints.

Speaking of watercolor, the paint itself is also important, naturally. I share one of my favorite sets in some of my other blogs, I love an easy, yet quality, block-color palette for watercolor lessons for the convenience. But, if you want finer, more versatile watercolor paint, still palette form, this professional Winsor and Newton set could be just your cup of tea. You can also get a 12 piece set of tunes of their professional watercolor if you prefer here

For oil paint, again, so many fabulous brands. A nice professional grade starter set is this Landscape kit from Williamsburg oil paints. Do yourself a favor, and get an extra tube of white paint to have on hand.

If you're looking for non-toxic mediums for oil paint, you can start with this duo for a spike lavender solvent and nice all-around medium of cold-pressed linseed oil. If you'd like to sample their collection, this Chelsea Classical Studio box set is perfect and at a great value.

Another necessary item is obviously the paint brush. You may find you like specific brushes, but for myself and the clients I've recommended these Silver Brushes to they don't disappoint! Choose the set that speaks to you by scrolling the options.

However, for oil painting you may want different brushes, the same brand makes a variety of options, including this mix of Golden Natural brushes

When you're finished with your brushes, for oil painting, you'll need more than soap and water (unless you're using water mixable oil paints). You can use the Spike Lavender oil or the small brush cleaner in the box set, but you may want a bigger bottle, again, I love this because it's basically non-toxic and natural: Here is the lavender cleaner plus the bar of brush cleaner soap if you prefer.

While you can paint with oil paint on paper. You may enjoy a high quality canvas more, plus it adds intrinsic value to the painting. This linen stretched artist canvas by Phoenix is an excellent blank canvas.

To add some outlines and details to your watercolors, consider this set (technically a manga set) of archival Micron Pens with a thicker marked and a white pen for highlights.

There's always more, but I hoped these ideas sparked your creative side. Now that you have your supplies, pour yourself a glass of your favorite beverage, coffee, wine, water ... whatever you like. And keep the art water with your paint brushes separate! Lol...seriously though. And if you do paint something, I'd love to see what you create.