Artists take their art supplies seriously, so finding an online art supply store that has everything you need is nothing short of spectacular. There are several factors that artists and crafters take into account when shopping, but the two main ones are quality of products and price. When you shop online, other factors get added to that list, including shipping costs, return policy, and customer service.
It may sound like a tall order to find an online art supply store that meets all of these criteria, but fortunately, today there are a lot. Art suppliers understand the needs of artists and have mobilized to meet them. Here we’ve rounded up the top 10 online art supply stores. Some stand out due to the size of their selection, their sales, or the quality of their customer service. Depending on what’s most important to you, you can choose the online art supply store that suits your needs.
You also don’t need to stick to only one store. If you can find better drawing sets on one site and a specialty item on a different site, you can buy from both. What is important is choosing a site that has a good reputation and great customer reviews.
Here are 10 of the best places to buy art supplies online:
Blick is arguably one of the best art supply stores in the U.S., offering a huge selection of 90,000+ high-quality items. Adults and kids alike can find what they’re looking for at Blick, whether it’s paints, canvases, easels, drawing materials, ceramics, crafts, or pretty much anything else. There’s also a special section for educators that includes free art lesson plans, an art educators’ catalog, at-home art lab bundles, and more.
Every order is covered by Blick’s 100% Satisfaction Guarantee, which offers full refunds up to 1 year from the time of purchase. You can also return items within 30 days of receipt and receive a full refund. Shipping is free for orders of $45 and more, which is fairly standard among top online art supply stores.
Jerry’s Artarama is one of Blick’s main rivals in terms of sheer quantity of art supplies and their quality. Brands include SoHo, Reflexions, Amsterdam, Mezzo, Lukas, Charvin, Grumbacher, and so many more. Artists with varied passions can find amazing deals at Jerry’s on everything from oil, acrylic paints to bristol pads to stretched canvas. Jerry’s also offers discounts for bulk orders and can provide specialized quotes if you contact their customer service department (via telephone, email, and live chat).
The site boasts over 4000 free video art lessons, making it a great resource for aspiring artists or those who want to perfect their techniques. Jerry’s Artarama offers free shipping on orders of $45 and more and full refunds within 30 days of purchase.
Cheap Joe’s is a calmer website than Blick and Jerry’s Artarama. By that we mean that with the former two, there are lots of brightly-colored products on the home page and it can be easy to get overwhelmed by the selection. At Cheap Joe’s, there are plenty of high-quality art supplies, but the website has a soothing white background that’s not overtaken by too many products all at once.
Cheap Joe’s, as you may guess from the name, is all about affordable art supplies. But the low prices don’t come at the cost of quality. It’s easy to find plenty of high-caliber brands of paints, brushes, canvases, papers, easels, and more. There’s also a section that includes lovely gift ideas for adults and children. The main drawback of Cheap Joe’s is that free shipping is only available on orders over $100. All other orders have a minimum flat shipping rate of $7.95.
Utrecht Art, a Brooklyn-based art supply store, was founded in the 1940s by 2 brothers and became famous for the acrylic gesso they developed. The brothers then went on to create their own line of acrylic paints, oil colors, and watercolor paints. The business expanded until there were 45 retail stores across the United States. The company became so successful that Blick purchased it in 2013. When you visit the Utrecht Art website, it’s easy to see the similarities to the Blick site. Blick, however, decided to maintain the Utrecht site under its own name, which had become famous among artists.
The site offers many of the amenities that Blick offers, including a large selection of art supplies, free shipping on orders over $45, and frequent sales. While the site offers many different types of art supplies from different brands, there’s a whole section that focuses exclusively on the Utrecht Art brand.
Another New York-based at supply store, Plaza Art was founded in Manhattan in 1960 and prides itself on excellent customer service. Even before COVID-19, the company offered delivery in NYC within 1 hour, and today it offers delivery across the United States. Like many of its competitors, delivery is free on orders of $45 and over. Customers can contact Plaza’s customer support team via a toll-free number or in-site messaging.
When it comes to art supplies, Plaza has a wide selection, including paints, brushes,
canvases and surfaces, easels, drawing sets, calligraphy supplies, and more. It also has a Framing Studio that offers customized framing. Customers can enjoy plenty of seasonal sales and regular promos, which make them happy to return.
It’s hard to find a Top 10 retail list these days that doesn’t include Amazon, but there’s a good reason for it. Amazon has a huge selection of all types of products, and art supplies are no exception. On Amazon, you can search for typical supplies like watercolors and sketching pencils, but you can also find more niche items like soap making material and pottery clay. Amazon is also great for finding kids’ art supplies and has plenty of washable paint.
In addition to the massive selection of products, Amazon has the perk of Prime, which offers free shipping on every order. Additionally, most sellers offer returns and refunds within 30 days of shipment. The main downside of Amazon is that it’s not a specialty art site, which means you may find products that don’t necessarily meet the standards you would like. For the novice artist, it can be hard to tell what’s high-quality and what’s not.
Michaels is a site that’s in the same vein as Cheap Joe’s: lots of art supplies at affordable prices. Michaels, however, is more craftsy than artsy, which makes it better-suited for the recreational artist or crafter. For example, Beads and Jewelry is a popular category on the site, as are DIY Face Masks, Baking Supplies, Knitting and Crochet, and Fabrics. While you can certainly find paints, canvases, and drawing sets, these are not the main focus.
Michaels offers holiday sales and it’s normal to see all regular-priced items at a 20% discount.
The frequent sales may make up for the shipping rates, which start at $6.95 for Ground and go up to $17.95 (the exact cost depends on your order total). There is also same-day shipping available for $7.99 or $9.99. These days it can be hard to shell out extra money for shipping, but despite this, Michaels remains popular due to its great selection and deals.
Artist & Craftsman is for the serious artist who doesn’t want to pay a fortune. There are frequent sales on everything from basics to specialty categories like Gilding, Modeling, Papermaking, Photography, and more. The site is stocked with well-known brands like Princeton, Jacquard, Gamblin, Rembrandt, and Golden.
The only reservation you may have about Artist & Craftsman is that the free shipping threshold is set a bit high at $69. For all other orders there is a $7 flat Ground shipping rate. Customer support can be reached via phone or email.
A family-owned business based in Texas, MisterArt.com was launched in 1996 and is today known as one of the leading sites for art and crafting supplies. MisterArt.com has tens of thousands of supplies in stock, from ceramics to paints to printmaking and nearly every other type of art you can think of. The site is user-friendly and you can search for items by category, brand, bestseller status, gift ideas, top-rated, and other filters.
Even with the competitive prices, it may be worth it to join the site’s VIP Savings Club. It costs $25/year and members receive priority handling, extra savings, and access to VIP customer service representatives. While there are plenty of bargains to be found on MisterArt.com, shipping isn’t one of them—it’s only free on orders over $200.
North Light Shop is a sophisticated online shop that focuses on drawing and painting supplies and resources. At the same time that you can find different types of paint and pencils, you can also get art instruction lessons on various techniques. Lessons come in the form of art books, eBooks, videos, and magazines. Some of the instructions are free, others must be purchased.
North Light Shop products come with a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee and full refunds if you’re not satisfied. This site has one of the best shipping deals, with free shipping on orders $25 and more.
Art supply shopping online is an entirely different experience compared to going to a physical store and wandering through the aisles of colorful materials. It’s important to have some direction before googling "art supplies near me".
First, you should have a rough idea about what your project will look like. Are you planning to level up your sketchbook or spray paint a mural? By knowing exactly what you need for art materials you can ballpark your budget.
Then, start comparing the details on online art supply stores. Make sure that the online store you’re considering actually has the brands or items you need. Check how much the supply you need costs on each site. Find out if it’s possible to buy only small quantities or large bundles. Lastly, see if there is free shipping or what is the minimum cart amount to get free shipping.
Making art doesn’t mean you have to burn a hole in your wallet from supply purchases. Here are a few different ways to minimize costs on supplies:
Treat your supplies like an extension of yourself. Care for your supplies by properly cleaning and storing them. Work with them in a way that will extend their lifespan, like minimizing brush-breaking or pencil-snapping movements.
It’s a good idea to seek out second-hand or gently used art supplies to minimize on costs. You can turn to local art studios and ask if they want to get rid of any old canvases, look for half-used sketchbooks with plenty of blank pages, or check on Facebook marketplace to see if anyone is selling paints for pennies. This way you can experiment with “new” materials for less.
You don’t need to own only the most expensive materials. Save money at stores by knowing what to splurge on. Focus on buying quality paper and brushes to prevent replacing them often. Student-grade paints are usually just as good to use as top of the line pigments, and go for much less.
Stores that sell online art supplies constantly publish coupon codes or affiliate links for great deals. If you shop at one store all the time, it’s worthwhile to sign up for their loyalty program to get the best deals.
One of the easiest ways to save on art supplies is to prevent waste. Buy a tube ringer to get the last drops of paint out of the tubes.
Oftentimes, when you buy individual art supplies, the price can be much higher than if you were to buy in bulk. By buying a 10-pack or 20-pack of colored pencils, for example, instead of one at a time, you can save money.
Art supplies for kids aren’t the same as for adults. Children need to use non-toxic and washable materials like beeswax crayons, colored pencils, tempera or watercolor paints. Kid’s art materials are usually easy to hold and experiment with, as well as clean up. Little kids can use their art supplies for a variety of craft projects and even mix materials. You can find a huge selection of arts and crafts materials for little ones at online stores like Michaels, Blick, and Amazon.
You can’t create beautiful art without high-quality supplies, and these sites offer a large variety to choose from. To make the most of the online shopping experience, most of the return policies allow for easy refunds and exchanges. This way, if you order something and it’s not what you expected, you can return it easily. In some cases, you may order something that ends up being even better than expected. The one thing that all the best art store sites have in common is that shopping at them can be incredibly fun—finding old favorites, discovering new ones, or stumbling upon incredible deals.
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