Gift ideas for Painters
If you have an artist in your life who spends much of their time painting, these gift ideas are here to save you. Whether it is a birthday, holiday, or a whatever occasion, we can agree that some artists are difficult to buy for. Just ask my mother. It is easy to fall into a trap of gifting problematic art supplies to a painter.
I actually DO NOT recommend buying paint or canvases as gifts for artists. Paint and canvas is such a personal thing. We all have our preferences of brand, weight, or type. You likely just won’t know what they use most of the time unless you are very close and spend time in their studio. You don’t want to buy heavy pasty paint for an artist who almost exclusively uses gouache. And for canvas, they may prefer to construct their own, or like it raw, or pre-gessoed. Who knows? I loathe canvases framed to less than 1.5 inches gallery depth. Those shallow ones simply don’t do it for me. I doubt anyone short of my spouse knows I feel that way.
Here is a handful of appreciated gifts for just about any painter
Great Gifts For Artistic Painters
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Princeton Pro Series Brush Sets
A simple brush set is always a successful gift, since even artists who are very picky about brushes, still need a lot of inexpensive ones laying around for practice. Plus, quite a few artists prefer cheap brushes, since then you feel less guilty about trashing it.
These boards are great for holding large sheets of paper for works on paper or studio practice. I like having several of the large ones in rotation. The large ones also fit nicely on an easel.
Speaking of easels, you can’t go wrong with a nice wood one with a strong base. A decent easel can be a bit spendy, but is so worth it. And most painters would probably love more than one in their studio, so you don’t need to worry if they already have one.
Prevent a huge mess. Need I say more? Most artists don’t actually have the luxury of a custom studio space with the ability to splatter paint everywhere and not care about it. If the artist in your life is using a spare bedroom or their dining room for their studio, they will always need drop cloths. Canvas is heavy enough to prevent most bleed through and can be tossed in the washing machine.
Paper cutter – Classiccut Ingento Maple Cutters
A large, high quality paper cutter is pretty handy for anyone who paints on paper. Many painters come to find that pre-cut paper costs add up, and they opt to buy in large roles instead. A quality paper cutter makes getting that perfect edge less hassle. Relying on just scissors is a headache.
The BONUS: One mug has tea, the other has dirty water from your paint brush, and you absentmindedly grab a cup and take a sip. Yeah, it happens. Get a laugh out of your artist friend with a customized paint water mug. You could even design your own.
So there you go. A quick and simple list of gift ideas for the painter you know and love. The nice thing about most of these items, is they are easy to find at most art supply stores and even office supply stores.
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