This page features recommendations of art supplies by independent bloggers who are customers of Wet Paint and have an opinion or two about art supplies!
These are unpaid, subjective, and wholly independent opinions written by the folks who are referenced here. Wet Paint's relationship with these bloggers is store-to-customer. Our sole intention is make it easier for followers of popular blogs to find the art supplies mentioned therein and to call attention to some independent voices. The opinions and information found on these blogs are the responsibility solely of those authors.
Are you a regular Wet Paint customer who blogs about art supplies? Let us know. Write Tim Jennen, Marketing Manager at Wet Paint. Be sure to include your site address and links to blog references specific to Wet Paint and relevant products.
It's not that much of an exaggeration to describe as a watershed moment what happened following the advocacy of the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen at Wet Paint by the folks at the International Cartoonist Conspiracy. Suddenly hundreds, if not thousands of folks from all around the world began flooding Wet Paint to secure their own Pentel Pocket Brush Pen! The Conspiracy is a community of supportive artists who, clearly, are driven not only by their individual creative lights, but by art materials fever as well! They sponsor many cartooning events, including artist jams and a local chapter of the 24 Hour Comic, which Wet Paint has sponsored. Aside from being a swell bunch of people, they are great resources with working knowlege of art materials and trends in the industry. Twin Cities cartoonist and conspirator Steve Stwalley is a Wet Paint customer who has written intelligently and personally about materials of interest to the comics artist.
This is easily the most prized inking tool of most cartoonists I know, and it is by far the best brush pen I have had the pleasure to use. It works like music, is extremely portable and rarely makes a mess. I've worn a couple of them out, but it was mostly my own fault... while it seems natural to fill in large areas of black with it, I would recommend saving your brush pen and using other tools for that. You want to be pretty gentle with the brush, or you can get some stray bristles... I've had limited success in repairing by removing stray bristles with scissors... better to just treat it nice!
I don't know if it is still the case, but Wet Paint is the only place I am aware of that carries these in the US (they are manufactured for the Japanese market). It is a testament to what a one-of-a-kind art art supply store Wet Paint is that they consistently go the extra mile and-a-half to carry unique supplies that you can't find elsewhere (the late, lamented Gocco printer... which they amazingly enough still have some supplies for... is another example of this).
I was beyond dismay when I found that Pentel stopped making the Fountain Pentel pen, which was my pen of choice for many years. It had its weaknesses (the ink would fade over time, it was a non-refillable felt pen), but the unique tip was like nothing else I had used... it had a flexible plastic nib that made it so it was easy to get different line weights by applying different amounts of pressure to the pen. When I related my sad loss to the helpful folks at Wet Paint, they were knowledgable enough to let me know that although the Fountain Pentel was no more, Pentel now made the Tradio with the same flexible plastic tip! Better yet, the pen was no longer a felt tip... it contained liquid ink.
It is not without it's peculiarities... the ink occasionally leaks on my finger if I apply too much pressure, and the "refills" are essentially an entirely new pen with a new nib that you screw into the pen casing. This second item is a good thing, actually, as the nibs do tend to wear down by the time I finish off the ink... I can be pretty rough on them. Also, you really want to wait longer than you think you need to before erasing over the ink... it takes a while to dry, and I have smeared many pictures with my own impatience. So far, I have experienced no fading with the ink. All in all, I love the Tradio, and there isn't another pen like it available without a time machine... and it is better than the Fountain Pentel was, anyhow.
While the Faber Castell Pitt artist brush pens are not as fun to use as the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen once you have been utterly spoiled by it, they are still a lot of fun. What I really like about these pens are the greytones, though... this set is a nice, inexpensive way to have a selection of grey brushpens.
Prismacolor Pens are my favorite things to color with. They pens last a long time before they die, and you have two tips on each one, a fat one and a thin one... so when one side dies, the other side still works! The colors are brilliant, and best of all, unlike most markers, they mix and blend well with each other to make new colors. The ink is permanent and has suffered from no fading in my experience. Warning: Put something under the paper you are working on, because these soak through paper like nobody's business! Strangely, bleeding is rarely a problem, though.
Kneaded erasers are great because they not only do a great job of cleaning pencils off of an inked piece of art, you can make them into goofy little sculptures when you aren't drawing!
Unofficially, we
like to refer to Roz Stendahl as the "Docent of Wet Paint." A valued and longtime customer, Roz knows not only where everything is in the store (despite our best efforts to thwart her by moving things around), she pretty much understands what everything does. A prolific artist, educator, designer, bookmaker and journal creator, Roz also finds time to blog extensively, often about art materials. She's one of those remarkable customers-- Wet Paint is lucky to have many-- who ask questions-- and then ask questions about the answers. We can always rely on her to give us pointed and astute criticism of any product we throw at her. Her instore demonstrations of various materials at Wet Paint are inevitably among our most popular.
Easily the single most popular brush pen -- and probably the most popular single pen-- that we carry.
Fans of the popular Pentel Color Brush Pens (see below) we stock in all those colors might be interested in the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen. It's extremely portable with a rollerball-like barrel with a clip. This is one of the nicest brush pens available, favored by cartoonists and, in the past, has been very difficult to get. Only available in a very rich, intense black.Employing the finest man-made bristles, the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen uses clean, convenient long-lasting refills of pigment ink that is both water and fade resistant. Leak proof fittings and measured ink flow guard against soiled clothing and unsightly manuscript. Each pen comes with 4 refill cartridges.
Simply, one of the best fineliners on the market. Staedtlers Pigment Liner for writing, sketching and drawing is a fineliner whose tip outlasts its ink supply-- no breaking at the tip. Its long metal tip also makes it ideal for use with rulers & templates. Each pen contains pigment ink that is indelible (in accordance with ISO 14145-2), lightfast and waterproof. Erasable when used on tracing paper, no bleeding when highlighted. Nice pen clip.
AQUABORD: Aquabord is a clay coated hardboard panel that gives watercolorists unprecedented freedom and control. Comparable to watercolor paper, this multimedia panel simulates the absorbency and texture of cold pressed but allows color to be lifted back to white easily while also leaving the richest, most vibrant color possible. This reworkable surface provides natural looking highlights, fluid glazes, transparent subtle layers, and the ability to lift color while the surface is wet or even after it is dry.
SCRATCHBORD: Scratchbord is a clay coated hardboard panel for scratchboard that is coated with India ink. Comparable to traditional paper scratchboard, except better – it’s more durable and easier to scratch into for cleaner and crisper details and lines. For added dimension, colored inks can be added to the white areas and then scratched again for additional highlights and volume.
Notebooks reinforced with Clairefontaines famous cloth spines. Cloth binding matches the cover color. Binding is sewn with linen thread.
Clairefontaine notebook paper is arguably the best paper in the world for writing everything from class notes to personal musings to travel journals to screenplay ideas. The smooth satin finish helps thoughts flow effortlessly as ink. That’s because their 90 g velin veloute (pronounced ve-lin veu-lou-te) notebook paper is: true white, with a special anti-glare component; acid-free, pH neutral, archival quality; opaque, with no see-through; strong, so it does not tear; secure, so ink never bleeds; and totally chlorine-free. Located in the Vosges region of France, Clairefontaine was established on the site of a paper mill built in 1512. The Clairefontaine mill has been making paper since 1858 and stationery products since 1890. The company is best known for making the first school notebooks in France.Clairefontaine is famous for its exceptionally white and ultra smooth notebook paper. People love Clairefontaine notebooks for the quality of the paper, and the pleasure of writing they experience when they use them. The notebook paper weighs 90 g, and has excellent opacity and a perfect satin finish for maximum smoothness in writing.
Since 1993, DANIEL SMITH Extra Fine Watercolor paints have only been available at two retail locations in the United States, both stores located in the greater Seattle WA area. Today, Wet Paint is extremely proud to announce a partnership with JJC Industries, the exclusive distributor of DANIEL SMITH paints, to bring DANIEL SMITH Extra Fine Watercolors to Minnesota for the first time!
Wet Paint stocks the entire line of 221 colors of DANIEL SMITH Extra Fine Watercolor. The sheer range of possibility they offer is endless & unparalleled in the industry. The amazing selection spans the spectrum from the historical & natural earth colors (including the unique PrimaTek Series made with authentic mineral pigments), to the brightest, boldest colors modern technology has to offer. While they are American-made paints, their pigments come from the world over: everywhere except Antarctica & we bet they have someone looking there too!
The Derwent Soft Drawing Pencil is a versatile pencil that has a unique, creamy texture. It will produce a rich, velvety finish. In a newly expanded palette of soft greens, blues and greys-- as well as traditional sepia tones-- Derwent Drawing pencils are perfect for life and nature studies.
Derwent watersoluble sketching pencils (medium and dark wash)
Nothing beats graphite for drama and impact, and this pencil creates all the dramatic effects you could wish for, and more. Used dry, the soft, wide strip is perfect for loose, free sketches and bold line drawings but add water and you’ll bring a totally new dimension to your work. Watch the graphite gently dissolve into subtle tones, adding a softness and charm to any style of drawing. Available in three versatile degrees, it opens up an exciting new world of line and wash sketching.
FABER-CASTELL ALBRECHT DURER WATERCOLOR PENCILS: Each pencil contains superior pigments of unsurpassed lightfastness (resistance to fading), which is rated on each pencil.
Albrecht Durer colored pencils are available in 120 colors that are part of a unique color matching system that encompasses all Faber-Castell Art & Graphic products.
• Buttery smooth color laydown, easily blended and layered, no waxy build up.
• SV Bonding to strengthen lead and prevent breakage.
• Thick 3.8mm leads.
• 100% Water soluble.
These pens by Faber-Castell are a favorite of customers and Wet Paint staff alike. Available in fineliner tips as well as two different sizes of brush heads. The fineliners are available in three colors-- black, sepia & sanguine-- and three tip sizes: Fine, Superfine & Medium.
The brush pens are available in an expansive, beautiful range of 48 colors, all available here individually and in sets. These pens follow the artist's palette of colors, distinguishing themselves from other similar products. Faber-Castell has added a gigantic line of Big Brush pens in every color.
These pens offer many benefits: extremely fade-resistant (lightfast); pigmented drawing ink; waterproof; acid-free; and a long life of convenient use.
Venezia Drawing Books / 4x6" / 6x9"/ 9x12": Popular, beautiful drawing book from Fabriano. This elegant book is made of Accademia paper 200 g/gsm. Ideal for drawing or tempera. The nice texture on the cover is inspired by the modern mosaics present in the San Marco area of Venice. You have the best combination of Italian fine art style: Venezia and Fabriano.
ABOUT FABRIANO: Looking for a quality paper by a papermaker whose been around since 1264 and whose paper has been praised by both Michelangelo and Raphael?
Both handmade and mouldmade papers are still being made today in the city of Fabriano following traditions that have made this the center of Italian paper making since the thirteenth century. More than 40 mills flourished along the River Giano, which by the l5th century, exported their papers throughout Europe and North Africa and were praised by Renaissance artists.
The Fabriano papermakers can be given credit for several innovations in papermaking such as the use of gelatine instead of starch as a sizing and the invention of the hydraulic hammer for the preparation of the pulp.
But it is the creation of the watermark, which is perhaps Fabrianos most important contribution, since its use allowed for the identification of a sheet of paper and its maker. Indeed, Fabriano is still widely known for the intricate watermarks that adorn their sheets including the photo-watermarked varieties that were used for Italian currency.
Today, Cartiere Miliani Fabriano is a massive operation, still comprised of numerous mills, each with their own special grades of paper.
The major development of inks in recent years has been the increasing use of pigments and acrylic resins. The differences between the dye-based inks and the pigmented inks were slight reduction in color intensity, but much improved resistance to fading. FW Artists’ Ink is an acrylic-based, pigmented, water-resistant ink in a range of 38 colors, all of which have a high rating for permanence. Such a high degree of lightfastness over a range of fully intermixable colours makes them ideal for use by artists in the production of pictures for permanent display.
Equally, however, colors can be substantially diluted to achieve the most subtle of tones, very similar in character to watercolor. Such washes will dry to a water resistant film and successive layers of colour can be laid over a highly predicable manner. FW Artists’ Inks work well through airbrushes and technical pens.
Golden Fluid Acrylics are highly intense, permanent acrylic colors with a consistency similar to heavy cream. Produced from lightfast pigments, not dyes, they offer very strong colors with very thin consistencies. No fillers or extenders are added and the pigment load is comparable to Golden Heavy Body Acrylics.
Unlike mixtures of heavy-bodied paints and water which produce weak color washes and films by dilution, Fluid Acrylics contain high pigment levels suspended in an acrylic polymer vehicle. The result offers fine dispersion, high tinting strength, durability, flexibility and good adhesion.
Fluid Acrylics are ideal for spraying, brushing, staining and watercolor effects. They can be mixed with other Golden products.
HAND BOOK JOURNALS BY GLOBAL ART: Travel journals made specifically for the artist. These books are hand-bound with beautiful book cloth covers with just the right flexibility. Each book contains 128 pages of a heavy, acid free 130 gsm buff drawing paper with a great tooth. Great for pen & ink, pencil and markers - even accepts light watercolor washes without buckling. Its easy to store with a durable elastic closure and include a clear envelope inside the back cover. Available in five artist preferred formats.
Hearty Clay is an air dried clay that comes in 6 colors, black, white, yellow, red, blue, and white. Hearty clay is super lightweight and air dries to a firm consistency in 24 hours or less. When dried, Hearty has a soft suede-like feel that is pliable. The pigments used in the primary colors of Hearty clay are faithfully reproduced for consistent color mixing results. You can take the the primary colors mixed with degrees of white and create any color you want. The Color Mixing Chart gives you the correct proportions and ensures you recreating the same color every time.
You can alter the color of the clay with many topical applications. Lumina is an ivory translucent clay. Lumina dries lightweight, translucent, and with a flexibility to it. Rolled thicker, it dries similar to the baked polymer clays and with the same hardness. Lumina clay is great for jewelry making, doll art, home décor, and garden art.
Hearty Clay is best used for paper arts. Because is dries so lightweight, it’s wonderful for card making, scrapbooking, and altered art. It can be used for jewelry making but should be rolled thicker for these projects. Free form sculpting is made easy with the clay because it is so malleable. It is great for flowers and whimsical figures.
What makes this adorable 8-color mini watercolor set (approx. 1.75x2.5") so attractive and incredibly popular with adult watercolorists?
Because it also serves as a terrific travel mini-palette! Fill the tiny circle trays with tube color of your choice and you have a travel set that fits in the palm of your hand!
Due to the nature of this product, the images on the cover of the palette vary. Those shown here are to suggest the style of the images only.
When we brought in a display of Japanese manga nibs a few years ago, some of us at Wet Paint were surprised by the excited reception that they inspired. Marketed as a professional series of cartooning nibs, soon calligraphers and other artists discovered their unique benefits. We have also found that certain nibs-- such as the Zebra maru nib-- have found fans among artists other than cartoonists.
The reputation of the amazing G-pen nib received a major boost when Spenserian calligrapher Michael Sull extolled its virtues. We brought in a different display of Japanese calligraphy nibs and found them to be as beautifully made as their manga counterparts. We carry these nibs from major manufacturers in Japan: Nikko and Tachikawa. You will find each type of nib very similar between these manufacturers, and in all cases, the quality and consistency of the working properties of these nibs is very high. Still, many people discover personal preferences between the manufacturers, so we offer all three. Enjoy this all-too-brief introduction to these wonderful nibs. The fun part is experiencing them for yourself. You can now find them for sale online here at Wet Paint.
Koh-I-Noor's Nexus Art Pens are liquid ink pens that contain pigmented ink that is lightfast, waterproof, acid free and of archival quality. The pens work with watercolor or as precise sketching tools. They are fine point rollerballs and have a comfortable ergonomic barrel that allows for a variety of wrist angles. Koh-I-Noor claims a laydown up to 20,000 meters or more, which is a longer write-out than most fiber tip pens.
In early modern times, gouache (defined as body color made opaque by the addition of white pigment) was used for manuscript illumination and transparent wash only for coloring pen and ink drawings. From these beginnings arose two distinct disciplines of transparent and opaque watercolor techniques.
Over the years the two are woven into a history with periods when artists embrace or reject their use individually or in mixed media application. While many brands premix whitener into their gouache color, M. Graham gouache relies on high pigment loads to produce body and opacity, leaving the addition of white to the discretion of the artist.
All colors, with the same name, are produced with identical pigments, whether watercolor, gouache, acrylic or oil, allowing a wider range of opportunity in media combination or under-painting.
American-made M. Graham paints are top sellers at Wet Paint. Their formerly 35-color watercolor line has been doubled to 70 colors. Now enjoy hard- to-find colors such as Quinacridone Rust & Nickel Quinacridone Gold. This paint line holds up to blind color tests against the most prestigious, imported color lines.
Handmade with pure honey, gum arabic, glycerine and the most lightfast pigments available, each color is individually crafted to develop its own unique character. Because of its love of moisture, honey absorbs water from the atmosphere. Colors made with honey do not dry up in the tube or on the palette and always dilute easily, often after months or years of disuse. Honey has been used extensively throughout the history of art as an ingredient in water base colors of all types.
These unique Chinese water brush pens operate with a built-in draw system. You dip the head in water and turn its end to draw the water into the barrel. The large & medium brush heads are natural hair (camel); the small brush head is a synthetic fiber.
The Niji Water Brush is a very versatile combination of brush and water container. They are available in four nylon brush tip sizes -- small, medium, large and flat. These brushes can be used for a variety of purposes, including watercolor, rubber stamping, silk painting, bleaching, face painting and more! The Niji Waterbrush is a great tool for artists, crafters, rubber stampers and students. It comes in different brush tip sizes for a range of creative expression. You can use the small for fine detail work such as filling in areas of a rubber stamp image or miniatures. The medium is an all purpose brush capable of fine work as well as bolder strokes and the large is great for big juicy color washes. Just fill the reservoir with water and you are ready to go! PLEASE
NOTE: The Waterbrush is intended for use with water only but you can experiment by filling the reservoir with watersoluble dyes and inks. It is not recommended for acrylic or solvent based paints or inks since the pigment may solidify and clog the brush. Always check the manufacturers labels for ingredients contained with the pigments. Always clean your brush after use and empty the reservoir and let dry completely when not using the brush for long periods of time.
Wet Paint is very excited to bring in the eagerly sought after Platinum Carbon Black.
What makes this ink so special? Carbon ink uses pigment rather than dye in order to improve the water resistance, heat resistance, and stability. Carbon black ink is suitable for important documents that need to last a long time.
Premo Sculpey is a polymer clay that is soft enough to blend easily but firm enough to hold fine detail and for specialized techniques. It comes in 34 densely saturated colors and can be mixed to create custom colors. Based on an artist’s palette the colors, intense on their own, can also be blended for custom creations. This combination of strength and beauty is easily transferred to any project you have in mind. Whether creating millefiore beads and canes, delicate scrapbook pages, faux semi-precious stones or glass adornments, It’s perfect for caning, mokume gane and mica shift.
Because Premo retains flexibility, the finished product remains very strong and durable. This unique characteristic makes it our most durable clay, ideal for jewelry, home décor and functional items we use every day. Premo Sculpey is available in 2 ounce packages and select colors are available in one pound bars.
The traditional choice of commercial and fine artists throughout the world. Thick, soft leads made with permanent pigments are smooth, slow wearing, blendable, water-resistant and extremely light-fast. They are packaged in convenient sets of 12, 24, 48, 72, 120 or 132 assorted colors. Sets are packaged in tins for easy storage and transportation.
Since 1988, thousands of painters, crafts people and interior decorators have used this color wheel to help them with color relationships and color mixing. Over 70 highly lightfast artist tube colors are located on the wheel in the order that the painter can have the most accurate analogous, complimentary and triad mixes. Ideal for the professional or student. The wheel is coated with a plastic laminate for easy cleaning and protection against any kind of weather.
Schmincke Horadam watercolor is an excellent professional paint from Germany. It features a vast palette with good color intensity & smooth, consistent working properties. Schmincke is the only company whose pan colors are formulated from the same recipe as their tube color. The pans are slowly filled rather than pressed, imparting a moistness that allows the color to be picked up quickly.
This rich, water-soluble color derives its opacity from intense pigment concentration. Great on its own, or as an opaque complement to Schmincke’s Horadam Aquarell, Horadam Gouache is the finest artists’ gouache available.
- 48 brilliant colors
- Best genuine artists' pigments highly concentrated
- Maximum opacity without adding white
- High lightfastness
- 39 single pigment colors for brilliant mixing results
- Mixes well with other Schmincke gouache series
- Excellent flow and leveling properties
- Intense, opaque color layers
- Dried color can be rewetted for further use
- Available in 15 ml tubes
- For standard-sized blacklead pencils up to 8.2 mm Ø and for thick blacklead and coloured pencils up to 10.2 mm Ø
- Metal sharpener insert
- Hinged cover prevents shavings from spilling
- Lid with safety lock to avoid accidental opening
A real hit with our customers and the Wet Paint staff. This is a nice, stable wood Japanese pen holder that is unique: you can use the inner circle for the smaller Maru nib, or the outer circle for all the other Japanese points.
· Established 1976 · Creative Supplies for Creative People 
