raw materials

You may have noticed the Art Alternatives Clutch Pencil Set we’ve had kicking around for a while, with it’s large 5.6mm leads. We now have in stock replacement graphite leads (a four-pack with two 2B and one each of the 4B and 6B) and sketching leads (in five-pack traditional sketching colors: black, bistre, sepia, sanguine and white).

The clutch pencil set and both sets of replacement leads are 25% off every day.

Just in time for spring, we’ve brought in a new line of affordable watercolor paints. Van Gogh Watercolors from Royal Talens use top-quality raw materials with an intensity, clarity, fineness and ease-of-handling that artists will appreciate. We have the full range of 40 colors available in 10ml (¼oz.) tubes, and at 25% off their already low list price, these watercolors are a steal.

Update: There is also a mail-in rebate to get $3 back with the purchase of $20 worth of Van Gogh products. Pile up the colors, or grab one of the sets we have available.

We’ve brought in new pencils from Koh-I-Noor. While supplies last, get a free Mobius & Rupert brass round double-hole pencil sharpener (a $7.50 value) with the purchase of six or more Koh-I-Noor pencils.

As for the pencils themselves, they come in several varieties:

Hardtmuth Toison d’Or Drawing Pencils: These pencils feature high opacity, clean erasing leads and strong, durable, California cedar wood casings. They are a high quality drawing pencil for professionals, students, draftspeople and artists. Available in 20 degrees.

Progresso Woodless Graphite: These lacquer-coated smooth graphite pencils feature excellent laydown properties with a solid weighty feel. They are available in six degrees plus one aquarell variety.

Triograph Graphite Pencils: These extra thick, three sided pencils are ergonomically designed for ease and comfort of use. Their triangular shape fits the hand well, and the over-sized, 10.5mm Hardtmuth graphite artist-grade lead provides an extremely smooth laydown. Sharpened easily with a large-hole pencil sharpener.

Magnum Black Star Large-Lead Pencils: These fat, creamy 9mm soft graphite layout pencils are great for sketching, drawing and illustrating. Constructed from the finest Hardtmuth graphite, they are smooth, soft, deep black graphite pencils that produce stunning effects.

Gioconda Artist’s Pencils: No sound is more sublime than the krrrrrrrrsh of these wood-cased pastels as they cross paper. Lightfast, blendable and fade-resistant. Perfect for drawing, toning and coloring. The natural wood casing provides a no-slip grip.

We took the plunge and brought in a starting assortment of the 72 most popular colors of Copic Sketch markers (plus the colorless blender).

Copic markers are versatile double-ended refillable markers with fast-drying, permanent non-toxic ink. The Sketch marker features a comfortable oval barrel with a super brush nib on one end that is perfect for doing professional illustration, fashion design, manga, and adding detail to your images. The Sketch super brush nib acts like a paintbrush both in feel and color application. For more control, use the medium broad nib on the opposite end of the marker. Both nibs are replaceable.

We have the Copic sketch makers at 20% off every day. We have them behind the counter right now, so you’ll have to ask us to see them.

Art Alternatives has introduced a new line of Academy Portfolios and Presentation Cases, and we have them in stock and are offering them at 20% off every day.

Light-weight and water-resistant, the Academy Portfolios are constructed of durable polypropylene with 2″ gussets. They feature a dual-action zipper, an inner pocket and an elastic cross strap that keeps artwork secure. Plastic feet provide stability. The 32 × 42″ portfolio features a 2.35″ gusset and a side handle for extra support.

The light-weight Presentation Cases lay completely flat for easy presentation. The water-resistant, durable polypropylene construction features a spine-mounted handle that allows pages to hang flat and a one inch multi-ring binder with 20-page capacity. The inner pocket and elastic strap keep artwork secure. Each case includes ten archival polypropylene pages with acid-free black inserts.

The drumbeat we’ve been hearing for Copic Markers has started to get deafening, and we are looking at bringing in at least a small selection of them right away, and we plan to expand our selection over the summer.

But which type of Copic markers do you really want? The original Copic marker normally sells for $6.49*, and there is a wide range of replacement nibs available. The Copic Sketch marker also retails for $6.49, has a more limited range of nibs available, but comes with a “Super Brush” nib that isn’t available for the original Copic markers.

What do you prefer? Which should we bring in first? Leave a comment here or on Facebook, drop us an email, or just Twitter us.

* That’s the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, or MSRP. We will almost certainly sell it for less. We don’t take those suggestions very well.

Rite-in-the-Rain notebooks are perfect for rainy days (I guess that explains the name), or they are also good for using in the hot tub, shower, or other more likely wet environment in our generally-not-rainy climate.

Together with an appropriate pen (like the Fisher space pen, available with the ‘Rite-in-the-Rain’ logo on it) or an old trusty pencil, this specially-coated paper just shrugs off the water.

Get these unique notebooks for 10% off on any rainy day.

Moleskine Folio Notebooks are huge: these aren’t the notebook for your back pocket! They are just like their little siblings, and feature a hardbound cover, elastic closure, cloth ribbon placeholder and an expandable accordion back pocket. Each book contains off-white, acid-free, FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified paper in a durable thread-bound binding. The A4 format books measure 8¼” x 11¾” and the A3 format books measure 11¾” x 16½”. We have both the plain and lined varieties in stock right now.

You can bid on one autographed by celebrities backstage during rehearsals and show day of the 52nd Annual GRAMMY® Awards Telecast, or you can come by and check out the pristine ones we have in the store. Get one before the end of February and we’ll throw in a free Stabilo Bionic Pen. (And check back for more on those new pens soon!)

We finally found a supplier of pre-made frames with a quality we were happy with, and it turns out they were practically in our back yard. Framatic is a Southern California company that makes pre-made frames including several lines of “seamless” frames. We’ve started out with a small selection of frames in black and white from their Modern line, as well as some larger Superlight poster frames. These are an affordable alternative to the custom framing services that we offer, and work well with the pre-cut mats from Logan that we stock.

For the month of February, get a free pre-cut mat with the purchase of any pre-made frame. We’ll be working to build out our selection of pre-made frames and mats in the months to come.

We have had a few of the Ivory Black Oilbars from Winsor & Newton in stock for a while now, as well as a set of Slim Oilbars, but we’ve recently added more colors of the original size of Oilbars.

Here’s what they have to say about them:

Artists’ Oilbar is an artists’ quality oil colour in stick form, enabling you to paint and draw freely and directly onto your surface. It is a unique medium because it provides the artist with the buttery consistency and richness of oil colour together with the freedom and directness of pastels or charcoal.

Oilbar is fundamentally different from oil pastels or oil crayons due to its unique formulation. Each of the 35 colours in the range are produced by combining artists’ quality pigments with linseed oil, into which are blended specially selected waxes. To provide further flexibility, Oilbar sticks are available in three different sizes.

Winsor & Newtown Oilbars are 20% off every day. If we don’t already have a color that you’re looking for, let us know! We’ll be working to expand our selection to include the whole line.