raw materials

At the end of year, we found ourself with a small pile of the MABEF Basic Lyre Easel in our back room, and this is your chance to buy it at an unbelievable price: just $74.99 (usually on sale for $99.98, and the manufacturer’s “suggested” retail price is $119.95). This three-legged easel, crafted from stain-resistant oiled beech wood, features variable height adjustment. It has a maximum canvas height of 49″ and weighs 11 lbs.

Like all of the MABEF easels that we stock, this is made in Italy from beech wood with brass fittings and there is a lifetime warranty. And each one comes with a free 18" × 24" Art Alternatives Gallery Canvas.

These shouldn’t stick around long at this price, and once we run out, this sale is over and they’ll go back to our usual sale price.

For artists who have a vision for going beyond the ordinary, Golden Artist Colors has released a limited edition set of Uncommon Blues featuring 22ml tubes of three blues from the heavy body line, each with unique qualities. These sets are 40% off for a limited time (making them a steal at just $5.99), along with all of the other Golden Acrylic paints and mediums, compared to the usual 30% off Golden products with our everyday discounts.

• Anthraquinone Blue: A very dark, reddish, semi-opaque blue with strong tinting strength, also known as Indanthrone Blue. Many find it a more versatile alternative to Ultramarine Blue and not as overpowering as a Phthalo Blue. The color of the night sky or dark shadows. (Series 7)
• Smalt Hue: A transparent, historical color originally made from ground cobalt glass, it was often used in European paintings during the 16th and 17th centuries as a substitute for Ultramarine Blue. The genuine pigment was prone to losing its color over time, but this modern formulation offers a deep blue that is familiar and classic. (Series 1)
• Cerulean Blue Deep: Ceruleans are from the Cobalt family. Extremely lightfast, they were traditionally prized for their usefulness in painting skies and quickly became a permanent part of many landscape palettes. The Cerulean Blue Deep is deeper and greener than the brighter, more traditional shade. (Series 9)

And on top of that, the always-excellent Williamsburg Handmade Oil paints and mediums are also on sale for 30% off for a limited time, compared to our everyday discount of 20% off.

We’ve been warned that all Golden and Williamsburg products will have price increases in late February, so this is another great opportunity to stock up and save.

Welcome to 2012! To celebrate the new year, all cans of Montana Gold spray paint are now just $7.29 for a limited time. That’s about 6% off our every-day price of $7.75 (which is over 25% off the “suggested” retail price).

We can only put Montana Gold on sale during limited times, so now is the time to stock up.

Montana Gold is a low-pressure, fast-drying and high-covering acrylic lacquer spray paint that is available in about 200 colors (and we stock them all). All Montana Cans spray paints are made in Germany.

Wonton has shared his ideas, now if you’re still at a loss what to get for someone, you can always get a Raw Materials Gift Card. We’re migrating to a new gift card system, which means that the owner of a gift card can check their balance online and use it in our online store, and eventually it will be possible to add money to the gift card. Fancy!

We will be open throughout the week and until 5pm on Saturday, Christmas Eve. Then we’ll reopen the Tuesday after Christmas for the last week of the year and the last week of our truckload canvas sale, and be closed again on December 31 and January 1.

Here’s the list of Wonton’s suggestions from the start:

• wonton’s holiday gift ideas #1: art creation sets
• wonton’s holiday gift ideas #2: irojiten colored pencil sets
• wonton’s holiday gift ideas #3: liquitex artists workshop set
• wonton’s holiday gift ideas #4: artgraf water-soluble graphite
• wonton’s holiday gift ideas #5: pebeo acrylic and oil paint sets
• wonton’s holiday gift ideas #6: moleskine accessories
• wonton’s holiday gift ideas #7: royal brush art sets
• wonton’s holiday gift ideas #8: canvas
• wonton’s holiday gift ideas #9: pebeo craft sets
• wonton’s holiday gift ideas #10: junior brush and smock set
• wonton’s holiday gift ideas #11: prismacolor pencil gift set
• wonton’s holiday gift ideas #12: eco tote bags

Raw Materials celebrated its grand opening in November 2008. For our third anniversary, we are again bringing in a truckload of pre-stretched canvas. Get 60% off on canvas plus buy more and save more!

• Buy 5 to 9 canvases and get 5% off your whole purchase.
• Buy 10 to 14 canvases and get 10% off your whole purchase.
• Buy 15 to 19 canvases and get 15% off your whole purchase.
• Buy 20 to 24 canvases and get 20% off your whole purchase.
• Buy 25 or more canvases and get 25% off your whole purchase.

The sale runs through the end of the year.

Download the full price list.

For a limited time (and in-store only), get 50% off all Arches watercolor paper sheets and blocks. These are generally considered one of the best and most popular mould-made papers in the world, these papers are ideal for watercolor but also suitable for drawing, acrylic painting, or printmaking. The sheets are deckled on all four sides, and come in two weights (140# and 300#), three finishes (hot-pressed, cold-pressed, and rough), and two colors (natural white or bright white). The blocks are 140# cold-pressed paper pre-cut and sized so they don’t require stretching.

What’s more fundamental than a pad of drawing paper and a set of drawing pencils? This set includes a Strathmore 400 Series 9" × 12" wire-bound 24-sheet drawing pad and a Graphite Art Pencil Kit from General Pencil. The pencil kit contains three graphite pencils in grades 2B, HB and 2H, a layout pencil and an eraser. Separately, these retail for $10.40, but while supplies last get this bundle for 50% off: $5.20.

(And don’t forget about our selection of Canson XL pads and large Canson drawing pads that are also available at 50% off.)

We hate to break it to you, but the back-to-school season is upon us. To help soften the blow, we’ve brought in a stack of Canson XL pads and priced them at 50% off while supplies last.

In our back room, you’ll also find a new tower of large art pads from Canson, and they are also all 50% off for a limited time. This includes 18" × 24" pads of sketch and drawing paper, plus 19" × 25" tracing paper.

Do you like brushes? We’ve got a deal for you: buy any three brushes, and get a fourth brush free (of equal or lesser value).

And that’s on top of the every-day and sale prices on brushes, which are up to 60% off!

And don’t forget that we have brush sets! They all count as two brushes for this sale.

If you were in the store the last few days, you may have noticed that we set up several new racks of fabric dyes and paints from Jacquard. For a limited time, these are all 40% off both in-store and online, so now is definitely the time to check these out. (We’ve also included iDye, which we’ve stocked for a long time, in this sale.)

Procion MX Dye by Jacquard is a concentrated powdered dye which, when added to cold water, produces exceptionally brilliant color. It has been called the undisputed king of tie dye. The dyes are intermixable, and the resulting colors are permanent, colorfast and completely washable. It is ideal for all natural materials such as cotton, rayon, linen, silk, wool, paper, reeds and wood. Plus, it can be used for a variety of applications including tie-dyeing, vat dyeing, batik, airbrush, hand painting, printing and spatter painting. Available in 2/3 oz. jars, which can generally dye more than five yards of fabric: about nine T-shirts.

Acid Dyes by Jacquard are concentrated, powdered, hot-water dyes produce vibrant colors on protein (animal) fiber materials such as silk, wool, cashmere, alpaca, feathers and nylon. Extremely brilliant and colorfast, they are very easy to use and produce a uniform dye job. A half ounce bottle will color up to two pounds of fiber depending on the depth of shade. (Don’t be alarmed by the name, the only acid involved is vinegar.)

iDye and iDye Poly comes in a 14g packet that dissolves in water which means there is no handling of messy dye powders. Just throw the dye packet in your washing machine, add salt or vinegar (depending on the material), and run it through the wash cycle. It is the ultimate easy way to get gorgeous color! Each packet will dye two to three pounds of fabric. It is available in a variety of vibrant colors and two formulas; one for 100% natural fabrics and the other for synthetics.

And in case you’re a little messy when it comes to working with dye, we also now have ReDuRan Hand Cleansing Cream in stock. It is made in Germany specifically for removing dye from skin without damaging your skin.

In addition to finding these dyes in the store, they are also available online. Check out iDye, Procion MX, and Acid Dye there.