Canvases
Blick Super Value Canvas Packs are easy on budgets and come in popular sizes.
They feature pure cotton duck canvas with a pre-primed weight of 4 oz. Canvas is stretched on 5/8″ profile kiln-dried wood frames. Primed with three coats of acid-free acrylic gesso, they’re ready to paint with oils or acrylics.
Academy Art Supplies creates high-quality canvases for every type of artist – whether you are just starting out as a novice or already on track to be the next master, our pre-gessoed canvases are ready to hold your next masterpiece. We stand behind the quality of our products and pride ourselves on being an affordable, reliable brand. We hope to help the world to become a little bit more colorful, one painting at a time.
Table Top Easels
The Blick Studio Aluminum Table Easel by Jullian opens instantly, snaps closed easily, and fits in most any backpack or carry bag. Adjustable wings fold out to support artwork up to 24″ high. It is made of sturdy ½” aluminum tubing, with rubber tips on the feet for stability while you work. This easel measures 17″ H × 17½” W × 13″ D and weighs 2 lb.
The Blick Studio Tabletop Easel may be small, but it’s designed for serious work. Whether you’re an artist who creates small-scale paintings, a student on the go, or just someone who likes to set up wherever the mood strikes, this easel offers an unbeatable combination of economy and quality.
Crafted of smooth, sanded hardwood
Tilts back for painting, forward for pastel work
Holds canvases and panels up to 22″ high
Mast extends from 29-38″ high
Easel shelf measures 11″ wide
Base measures 11″W x 12-1/2″D
Non-skid feet add stability and protect table surfaces
Folds flat for storage Minimal assembly required
Weighs 3 lb
Compare the quality, design, features, and workmanship of Blick Studio Easels with any major brand and we’re sure you’ll agree we measure up with the best — at a much more affordable price. Plus, we stand behind every easel with our unbeatable 100% satisfaction guarantee.
Studio Easels
Stable, ultra-lightweight, and compact, the Blick Studio Aluminum Tripod Travel Easel is made for plein air painting, but it’s also great for small home studios and temporary setups. Its telescoping legs adjust with a simple touch, letting you shift easily between floor-standing and tabletop configurations
Looking for a versatile easel that can accommodate all mediums? Our Convertible Studio Easel does it all. Tilt it back to any angle for oil and acrylic painting, forward for pastel work, or configure it in horizontal position for watercolor painting and other wet media. Quick-release hinges allow for quick, easy conversion.
Graphite/Seral Paper
Transfer paper is a wonderfool tool for artists to transfer their images onto the canvas or other paintable surfaces. If you would like to know more technical details visit our IMAGE TRANSFERS/PAPER/PROJECTORS page. For purchase links click the images below.
Watercolor Pencils
Watercolor pencils are great for sketching in your design before you paint. You will want to stick to using them with water based paints only. Using the lighter colors will also have less effect on your painting layers as well.
Crayola Watercolor Colored Pencils can be used wet or dry—all you need is a little imagination! Create watercolor effects by laying down dry color and using a paintbrush (not included), wetting the coloring pencils, or using them directly on wet paper. Pencil drawings transform into watercolor art in an instant
Arteza Water Color Pencils are Artist Grade Watercolor Pencils – 48 highly pigmented water-soluble watercolor pencils to mix, blend, and layer smoothly for professional results. Just add water to make your color look like watercolors. Accent drawings or use them in your favorite adult coloring book.
Palette Knives
There are several ways to use a pallet knife. They are generally used to mix paint colors or apply paint to a canvas. They are a great way to add textures, lines, or marbling effects to your paintings.
Palette knives come in to primary types:
- Palette knives with a rounded tip, are more suited to mixing paints on your palette.
- Palette knives with a pointed tip like a trowel are suited more for painting on your canvas
ARTIST PALETTE KNIFE: 11 Piece Set includes 1-each of all 11 Standard Paint knife Styles. Every spatula has one individual package in case the entire safety. This high quality knife has been crafted with the finest stainless blade that resists all wear and corrosion from any media including acrylics.
Penta Angel Plastic Painting Palette Knives Set 6Pcs Package includes 6 pieces plastic palette knives in 6 different designs.
Size: about 7.5 inch in length.
Painting palette knives made from plastic, durable and reusable.
Plastic palette knives perfect to mix colors apply painting to the canvas service.
Palette knives are great painting tools for artists for color mixing, oil painting and more.
Sponges
Using sponges while painting creates textures, its a great way to get foliage or ground textures without a lot of work.
Sea sponges are perfect for foliage and ground textures.
Foam Daubers
Foam daubers are the perfect way to create a bokeh effect in your background.
Chalk
Chalk is a great way to draw your image onto your canvas or experiment with composition as it wipes easily away with a damp cloth. You can use either the popular white chalk or colored chalk if you are working on a light surface.
Aprons
If you are a messy painter or would rather protect your clothes while painting, an apron is an easy solution. Some even come with pockets for tools… or snacks.
Acrylic Paint Pens
Yep, they are exactly what they sound like. They are pens pre-filled with paint with a finer tip that literally oozes paint. They are rich in pigment, very opaque, and dry solid and permanent. All though they are not meant to cover large areas, they do have a lot of positives.
- Premixed colors and ready for application.
- Full control as it is like drawing instead of brushing
- No brush cleanup, spills, or mixing
- No paint waste as they are a “use as you go”
- they bond to many surfaces
Acrylic Paint pens are used in many ways. You can paint a detailed drawing, paint outlines, paint small details on rocks, paint on clothing or accessories, and are also great for signing your masterpieces.
There are a couple things to consider when purchasing paint pens. First is the tips
- Fine and extra fine tips are point and sharp, perfect for small detail or signatures
- Rounded Tips are for more bold outlines, highlights, or fills
- Chiseled tips are perfect for word art like calligraphy
- Brush tips simulate a brush
- Interchangeable tips… some sets come with interchangeable, dual or reversable tips.
Posca Acrylic Paint Markers
Posca pens are the best quality as far as pigment and professional grade. They do have quite a higher price tag as well.
ARTEZA
Arteza Acrylic Paint Markers have a great color selection, bold, and bright. There are 3 metallic colors as well to round out your color palette. Rich in pigment, smooth, and opaque. They have a range of replacement tips in different styles as well for changing up styles or replacing a worn tip. They can be used on many surfaces, nontoxic, and UV-resistant.
Penguin Art Supplies Acrylic Paint Pens
This Penguin Paint Pen set comes with 28 dual tip acrylic paint pens. It also offers reversible tips for medium to fine lines, permanent paint for long lasting crafts, UV-resistant, nontoxic, and 2 metallic colors.
Painter’s Palettes
Palettes are usually made of wood, plastic, ceramic or other hard nonporous material and vary in sizes and shapes. They are a flat surface where painters arrange and mix paints. The most common known type of painter’s palette is made of thin wood board designed to be held in the artists hand and rest on their arm. Very handy when painting in an upright position or plein air painting (painting outdoors usually onsite of your reference.) Paint consistency will also have a play in this as you would not want to use soft or fluid paints…they would tend to run off the palette if not held correctly.
There are also super affordable plastic palettes that usually have partitions for paint colors and a flat surface in the middle area used for mixing. These are ideal for beginners or kids learning to paint as they are easier to keep your paint contained and not oozing all over your plate.
Then there is a stay wet palette, although we have not personally tried these, there is a lot of online buzz about them. Basically its a palette in an air tight container also combining a sponge like material with palette paper. These are only meant for water based paints so do not try with oils. The dampened sponge keeps the paint workable for days. These would be handy for those painters that only have a few minutes at time to work on their masterpieces.
Rulers
There is not much to say about rulers other than they usually come in 12 inch, 18 inch, or 36 inch. They have neat little marks the help you measure and draw straight lines. But I will tell you, they are not all the same. I have many rulers, most of them I have had since the 90’s, they still work and always measure the same. BUT, there is one ruler that I prefer over them all. Simply because it is transparent and has grids throughout it. Its actually my quilting ruler. Its 2 by 18 inches which makes it perfect for the smaller canvases and still small enough store easy.
Bubble wrap
Bubble wrap is really fun to create texture in your painting. Its great for simulating a circle grid stencil or making grungy textures. Its also perfect to have on hand when you start selling your masterpieces. You should start saving bubble wrap from your packages being delivered, its an easy way to keep small amounts on hand versus buying the rolls.
Stencils
Stencils are also a great way to incorporate textures into your paintings. They work well to jazz up a background or complete your mixed media pieces. You can use them to create text, or patterns, or sign designs. They do require a blunt stencil brush to evenly apply your paint. They are generally made of plastic or paper, the plastic ones are reusable.
A Steady Hand
We have had many questions about wrist/arm support. After some research we discovered there are a few products out there aimed at relieving arm and hand fatigue while painting. There are two types of basic arm supports. The Mahl stick and the bridge hand. The mahl stick is a thin pole about 3 feet long with a ball shaped pad at one end. It is used to steady your hand while painting and giving your hand something other than your painting to rest on. By the looks of it, it will take some practice to get used to, but will become an efficient tool.
The bridge hand is a sturdy heavyweight shelf that spans over the canvas and allows you to work on fine details and rest your hand. They come in a few different sizes but do not look adjustable. If you have time a DIY solution might work better for your personal needs, but there is always a purchase backup.
Beverage Glasses
- Insulated Wine Tumblers
These of course are totally optional…. but it is handy to keep your beverage glass separate from your paint water cup. I have set my paintbrush in my own cup many times, and I am sure at some point I will do it again. We have also had people put their paintbrushes in their neighbors drink at a sip and paint party.
These tumblers are made of 304 stainless steel and durable. Doubled-wall vacuum insulated thermal design to keep your drinks warm or cold for a longer period of time. They also come with a lid with a straw hole which would be super handy at keeping paintbrushes from finding their way in, or insects if you are painting outdoors.
Fun Party Themes
Hosting your own paint party event is a fun way to gather family and friends for a fun afternoon or evening. You can create a fun unique party themes. We have actually done a Bob Ross themed party, and it was so much fun. Everyone had their own denim button up shirt and wig. They had created a gorgeous cake that looked like an artists palette, and even had a life size cardboard cutout of Bob Ross standing in the corner supervising.
I think berets and mustaches would be a fun addition to a paint party.
