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Handy Tips to Saving Money on Art Supplies

21 September 2015

Karl Wells

As an artist, you may understand too well how a quick trip to top up on art supplies can lead to an entire trolley full of supplies due to impulse buying. This is ultimately not economical for artists who may be on a budget and would like to tighten the purse strings without compromising on their artwork. The good news is that you do not have to forgo getting art supplies in the spirit of saving your money. Here are some handy tips to shopping for art supplies on a budget.

Stick to one store

There are numerous benefits of being a repeat customer at one store rather than shopping for a range of different ones. For one, some stores will offer discounts to their repeat customers as an incentive for keeping your business. This is usually in the form of store credit thus giving you a chance to shop for art supplies even when you are low on cash.

Keep an eye on your paints

One of the most misused art supplies are paints. It is easy to misuse paints, as these tend to be the main medium artists will need. One of the ways of keeping an eye on your paints would be to mix the colours as you go. Generally, when you mix the batch beforehand, any extra paint remaining tends to go to waste, as you may not need that hue any more for your project. Another simple way of saving money on your paints would be to purchase glazes rather than opting for impasto paints. Glazes tend to be thinner than impasto paints, thus can spread more when painting. Another affordable option would be acrylic paints, which can create your desired effect without you having to burn a hole through your wallet.

DIY canvas stretching

One of the biggest expenses for artists are pre-stretched canvases that have been primed. Instead of breaking the bank buying these canvases, you could look into stretching your own canvas. Not only do you get additional spaces to paint on for cheaper, but also you now do not have to save our expensive canvases for future inspiration. Another tip to saving money on canvases would be reusing your old ones. Artists tend to throw old paintings if they find they may be taking up too much space or simply do not have any need for them anymore. Instead of putting them in the trash, you can simply flip the canvas and use gesso to prime it for reuse.

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