There are plenty of brand-name options in the canvas and floater frame world, but only two with the name Raw Materials on them. Perhaps not surprisingly, Raw Materials Stretched Canvas andRaw Materials Canvas Floater Frames are available exclusively at your favorite independent art supply store, Raw Materials! Our Stretched Canvases come in the usual standard sizes, with four different types of stretcher bars: Slim (3/4” deep), Thick (1 1/2” deep and lightweight), Chunky (1 1/2” deep and broad), and Epic (2 1/2” deep). You can also order custom-stretched sizes in all four bar sizes, and/or upgrade to a heavier or smoother canvas.
You’ve probably seen our posts about M. Graham Oil Colors, and how they’re on sale for 40% off. Maybe you heard that you can get a FREE tube of Alizarin Crimson or Manganese Blue Hue when you buy three (3) or more tubes. Check out this video to learn a little more about this beautiful oil paint, handcrafted from artists’ pigments, free from extenders or adulterants and dispersed in pure non-yellowing American walnut oil. Completely permanent, intermixable and compatible with all other oils, varnish and mediums including alkyd resin products. We just don’t want you to miss out.
Notebooks and sketch pads have been the place where artists let their ideas run free for years. Solid notebook/pad construction and quality papers are ideal for daily play and experimentation with dry media. A wide range of paper for different skill levels and a variety of formats means we have the right notebook and/or sketch pad for you. Here are a few of our favorites:
This Urban Sketch Book by Sennelier offers a highly functional design for the on-location artist. The 340g weighted paper and 6″ x 4″ dimensions provide a great surface for panoramic proportions, or enough space for several small sketches. On sale for $8.98 (list $17.95) while supplies last!!!
These 3feet Memo Pads by Maruman are designed to always be at hand — never more than three feet away. The cover is pre-creased so the top folds over easily, and a small cut-out in the back of the pads holds the cover in place. Pages are perforated for easy removal. These pads are one sale for 10% off every day.
These classic, soft-bound Leather Journals by Lamali are handmade in Nepal, tailored with a sturdy leather strap closure and filled with sheets of handmade, deckled Lokta paper. The espresso brown leather cover has a black stitched binding which enables the journal to lie flat when opened. These are perfect for recording your thoughts and memories. These Journals are 20% off, every day.
EcoQua Notebooks by Fabriano have wonderfully colorful covers and are ideal for writing and drafting in pen, pencil and marker. Made in Italy, they contain environmentally-friendly FSC certified 57 lb. (85gsm) paper that is chlorine-free, acid-free, and completely recyclable. Available with lined, blank or standard grid sheets, and on sale for 20% off, every day.
Small in size, big in scope, and on sale for 30% off every day. The ten panels in the accordion-fold Dream Catcher Journals by Pentalic allow you to create individual sketches or one long panoramic one. Expands from 4″ × 6″ to 6″ × 40″. The watercolor version has acid-free 140 lb. cold press surface for watercolor as well as pen and ink. The drawing version has acid-free 104 lb. paper that is perfect for all dry media as well as pen and ink.
Traveler Pocket Journals by Pentalic are on sale for 25% off, every day! Available in Blank Sketch, Midnight Sketch, Ruled, Grid, and Dot Grid formats. Wherever you go, capture life as it happens with this art journal designed to fit anywhere. We dig the Dot Grid Traveler Journal – 160 pages of acid-free, slightly toothy, recycled 74 lb. (120 gsm) bright white sketch paper with a 5mm dot interval pattern – perfect for sketching, bullet journaling, notes, and field work. Includes an elastic closure, ribbon marker, back page pocket and flexible, water-resistant Italian made cover.
All Vision Pads by Strathmore, including these Vision Mixed Media Pads are on sale for 40% off through Feb. 28th!!! These pads are our favorite bc they feature a versatile, medium weight, all-purpose paper in a sketching format – a good choice for dry and light wet media sketching. All sizes feature 70 sheets per pad, sturdy chipboard backing, and tear-off top sheets with customizable, steel blue mixed media covers below.
Check out this FREE screening of Meow Wolf: Origin Story at LACMA on March 2nd! Includes a post screening conversation with the filmmakers and Meow Wolf founders.
A group of artists in Santa Fe, NM become a DIY collective called Meow Wolf. Their immersive, large-scale exhibitions crack open a profitable niche in the arts industry, even as their social mission is challenged by the demands of rapid success. The group’s members navigate fracture and loss for years in pursuit of their idealistic vision. When they spark the interest of George R. R. Martin and receive his support to take over an old bowling alley, Meow Wolf builds a massive exhibition with over 140 artists working at a breakneck pace. With the wild success of the House of Eternal Return, Meow Wolf now faces its own internal turmoil as it begins to change the lives of creatives everywhere.
2018, 88 min, DCP | Directed by Morgan Capps, Jilann Spitzmiller
SumoGrip Premium Erasers work like ultra-fine sandpaper to get into the small grooves of paper and grab and trap erased graphite. Check out this video where artist Lemia Crescent uses the SumoGrip Premium Eraser to play with highlights, textures, gradation in tone, and to create contrast between light and shadow in her graphite illustrations. She also uses the Sakura Gelly Roll Pen in Classic White to create highlights and to make the drawing pop.
If you’ve never heard of SumoGrip Erasers before, this cute short video has more info about the erasers, and why it’s called SumoGrip.
GOLDEN High Flow Acrylics offer all the benefits of an artists’ quality acrylic paint, but with an ink-like consistency. Because of the low-viscosity, High Flow Acrylics can be used to fill empty markers as a way of incorporating higher quality paints in street art, or bringing the speed and convenience of marker pens to fine are painting.
If you’re new to this, we recommend the High Flow Marker Set which includes 5 High Flow colors plus 3 empty markers – an ideal way to discover how easy it is to use refillable markers with GOLDEN High Flow Acrylics.
The three markers included in the set offer the opportunity to try a variety of sizes, from a fine tip to a wider stroke. 1mm, 2mm and 15mm tip sizes, each its own unique quality, perfect for signatures, fine line detail, or filling in larger areas with more precision.
The five 1 oz. High Flow colors offer variety as well:
Iridescent Pearl (Fine) and Fluorescent Pink are unique, expressive colors, not found in many ink lines.
Indigo (Anthraquinone), a color that illustrates the high pigment load available with High Flow Acrylics, and Green Gold are go-to colors for many artists.
Transparent Dioxazine Purple is a bold color from the offering of ten Transparent colors available in High Flow.
None of these colors are included in the other two High Flow Sets.
We’re so excited to share a new video made by artist and influencer Maria Marinoni! In the video below, Maria shows you a very simple floral project and paper crafting technique with a few tools. You do have the option to add the colored background however, it is not necessary. Free your imagination and doodle as you want. When you’re done, follow the contours with your blade and poke the paper out to give it a 3D effect. Whether you want to use the white paper or a color, the outcome will be beautiful. You can mount the finished product onto a blank greeting card for a unique, hand-crafted card.
Glue (only if you choose to add the colored circle)
Cord or paper hooks to hang up decoration
Process
Grab your tools and make sure the blades are sharp.
Choose the color paper you would like to make your floral wall decoration on. Maria also picks a background color for the wall decoration (this is not necessary, but it makes your wall art pop).
Using your Yardstick Compass Lead and Pin Post, cut a circle on both pieces of paper. Make the white card paper 7 inches in diameter (floral design) and the green card paper 6 inches in diameter (background color).
Draw your floral design on the paper that is 7 inches in diameter.
Once you have drawn your design, take Excel Blades K1 Aluminum Knife and cut right below the lines you have drawn. Make sure you do not cut the leaves/flowers out entirely!
Once you have made your cuts, use your K1 knife to gently push the paper out away from the pen marks.
Flip the paper over and take your K1 knife and lift the pieces of paper to give it more of a 3D look.
Once you are done, you can add your colored background to make your design pop. Add glue around the background color and stick it to the floral design paper; Maria uses a green background to make her floral design stand out. Make sure the side with your pen marks is facing the background!
Make a tiny hole on the top of your design and put your cord or paper hook through to hang.
You’re finished!
Check out more paper art designs from Maria Marinoni on Instagram.
Let’s follow Sennelier artist Julien Raynaud to his home town of Marseille (France) and see how he paints with Abstract® Acrylics by Sennelier. We really like how he changes things up with the Abstract Tip Set. Julien also uses the new Abstract Acrylic Ink, which doesn’t drop until mid-late March. Don’t worry, we’ll let you know when they’re available.
