raw materials

As we hope you’ve read from us before, Montana Cans has recently changed up the formula of the Gold line and we’re finally blowing out the last of our old formula cans. We have just a few discontinued colors that are available at $4.99 each, all of the other old formula cans that we have in stock are $5.79 each, and all of the new formula cans are also on sale for just $7.29 each. On top of that, when you buy five cans, you get one for free.

You can spot the old formula cans because they have the old “G Thumb” logo on them. They are fully cross-compatible with the new formula cans (and other mediums like acrylic paint), and the new and old formulas with the same color names have the same color.

The Buy 5, Get 1 Free offer is over on May 31, 2011. The special prices on the old formula cans are only good as long as they are in stock, and supplies are very limited.

Art Alternatives makes affordable, quality art supplies. For everyday essentials, they can be smart alternatives to high-priced name brands. We offer every-day discounts up to 50% off on most Art Alternatives products, and for the month of January, we’re offering an extra 20% off on all Art Alternatives products (in-store only).

Here’s a list of most of the included products, with our usual discounts (and you’ll get an extra 20% off those prices):

• Canvas panels: 40% off
• Charcoals and pastels: Up to 25% off
• Drafting tools and templates: Up to 40% off
• Drawing and tote boards: Up to 40% off
• Drawing sets and accessories: Up to 50% off
• Easels: Up to 30% off
• Light-duty stretcher bars: 15% off
• Manikins: 25% off
• Palettes and other painting accessories:Up to 25% off
• Portfolios and presentations cases: Up to 30% off
• Pre-stretched canvas: 50% off
• Rolls and folds of primed and raw canvas: 20% off
• Sculpting and pottery tools: Up to 40% off
• Self-healing cutting mats: 50% off
• Sketch books: Up to 50% off
• Storage cases and tubes: Up to 50% off
• Tapes: Up to 50% off
• Wood panels: Up to 20% off

We think our every-day prices for all of these items are a really good deal. An extra 20% off those prices is a crazy good deal.

The Art Alternatives Children’s Art Activity Easel is constructed of fine quality, solid hardwood to last for years to come. It features large trays on both sides and generously sized 23¼" × 23¼" white board and chalkboard surfaces as well as a hidden paper roll that feeds over either side. It can be converted to a table top easel with attached rubber feet for surface protection. The adjustable legs accommodate users of different heights or can be adjusted from 46" to 54" as a young artist grows. The sturdy, washable bright red baskets provide convenient and ample built-in storage space.

Chock full of supplies for hours of fun, the Children’s Easel Accessory Set includes four bottles of liquid tempera paint in red, blue, green, and yellow; four natural bristle paint brushes (handle color matches paint colors); four spill-proof paint pots (lid color matches paint colors); four dry erase markers (red, blue, green and black); one chalk/dry erase board eraser; one paper roll and 12 chalk pastels in assorted colors – thirty pieces in all! Intended for ages 6 and up.

For a limited time, get a free Children’s Easel Accessory Set with the purchase of the Children’s Art Activity Easel for just $99.99. The ideal holiday gift for your favorite young artist!

Raw Materials celebrated its grand opening in November 2008. For our second anniversary, we are again bringing in truckloads of pre-stretched canvas. Get 60% off on canvas plus buy a case or mix & match 10 canvases for an extra 20% off.

Buy a case of 9 × 12" Studio, 10 × 10" Studio or 10 × 10" Gallery canvases for just $19.99 and receive an entry in our easel raffle. Win a MABEF Lyre Easel worth $264.95!

Download the full price list.

Art Alternatives Gesso is on sale for 50% off this month as part of our anniversary sale. Available in both white and black, this priming ground may be used on a variety of absorbent surfaces where acrylic, oils, tempera or casein will be applied. To aid adhesion, it has a slight tooth and a slight absorbency. It dries quickly, and will not yellow or crack. It can even be used as a primer without the previous application of a glue size.

All of the canvases in our Truckload Canvas Sale are already triple-primed with an acrylic gesso. Why would you want more?

• Increase the tooth and/or absorbency
• Often will tighten up the canvas more
• So the gesso can be tinted

Check out our samples at the store of canvases that are straight out of the packaging, primed with an additional two coats of white and primed with two coats of black gesso.

Liquitex BASICS are one of our most popular paint lines. This student-grade heavy body acrylic comes in 48 colors, dries to a satin finish, and intermixable with all of our other acrylic lines.

As part of our anniversary sale this month, we’ve chopped the price down to 40% off and we’re also giving away a free tube of Titanium White with the purchase of any four tubes of Liquitex BASICS (in either size).

While you’re stocking up the canvas from our truckload sale, don’t forget to stock up on paint, too.

We’ve been sitting on a stash of the old style of Art Alternatives light-duty stretcher bars for far too long, and now we’re blowing them out at just 25¢ each, regardless of size. MSRP on these ranged from $0.59 to $6.39, so that’s anywhere from 57% to 96% off.

These old-style bars are different from the current version in that they have sharp corners and the longer bars tend to be made from pieced-together stock and show visible seams.

This is limited to stock on hand, and once they’re gone, they’re gone. (But we’ll still keep stocking the updated version of these bars and selling those at 20% off, along with the heavy-duty stretcher bars from Masterpiece.)

Montana Cans has begun the roll-out of the new line of Montana Gold spray paints. They are expanding to 204 matte acrylic colors, plus new primers for styrofoam and plastic, a spray mount adhesive, and a cap cleaner. The new generation also features a new can design and a new performance level cap system.

Most of the colors in the existing line will still be around, but a few are being discontinued in favor of new, similar but not identical, shades. As long as our supplies last, those discontinued colors are now only $5.49 each. These are marked with an orange sticker on the shelf.

And as we clear out room in our cabinets, we’ll start bringing in the new colors. Through the end of October, all of those colors (and the existing colors not being discontinued) are still only $6.79. We’ll also be receiving the existing colors in the new formulation as we (and the US distributor) sell out of our existing stock. The new and old formulations are completely cross-compatible, and you shouldn’t notice any difference in color between formulations of colors that aren’t being renamed.

Get the complete set of Enkaustikos Hot Cakes encaustic wax paints in 1.5oz tins for the incredible discount of 40% off MSRP. Purchased individually, all of the items in the set would retail for over $1100. List price for the set is $999.99, but your price is just $599.99 through the end of 2010.

This special offer must be purchased in-store as a special order.

The Old Bank District is celebrating its 10th anniversary on Saturday, August 21 with OBD X, and we’re going to be open late and offering a great deal: 40% off on all Stabilo products. Pens, markers, highlighters, and pencil sets. This is a one-day, in-store-only deal.