I use many painting and drawing mediums as well as crafts and here I’m sharing my ultimate list of art supplies that I love to use and also all tools and soft I use to learn and to manage my creative business.
In each category I will suggest 2-3 different products (for different levels and for different prices).
This article contains affiliate links. It means no extra cost for you but a little commission (2-3%) for me to support my hobby and blog. Thank you!
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Table of Contents
Acrylic Paints
- I love many brands, my fav are Amsterdam, Winsor&Newton, Liquitex
- Slow drying acrylic paint that works like oil paint – Golden Open acrylics
For daily practice and learning and beginners
For beginners (medium segment)
For advanced painters (more expensive):
Paper
I use Watercolor paper pads for acrylics of these two brands: Canson and Strathmore.
- Canson (my go to)
- Strathmore (solid brand with high quality paper). They also have mixed media paper, a good choice too.
Acrylic paint brushes
I use both cheap and expensive brushes for my paintings and while I now notice the difference when I started I didn’t and I still enjoyed painting a lot.
So don’t overthink it.
Cheap, for absolute beginners
Any synthetic brushes at your local art store
Option for beginners
Pro and more expensive options:
Princeton
Palette
I love big flat palette, I don’t need wells for acrylics and never use them nor find them convenient.
You can easily find similar (different shapes too) on Amazon, they are super cheap – here is a good palette. I usually have to swap it maybe once ot twice a year (it can get scratched with palette knives if you’re not careful), but other than that – it is super easy to clean (wash or simply peel the dry acrylic) and has ample space for mixing.
Canvas for acrylic painting
I usually use a locally made pre-stretched canvas I order from the art shop. Buy primed cotton canvases that are sturdy, smooth, and even.
Tip: It is cheaper to buy canvases in Bulk on Blick Art Store, especially if you go with their in-house brand.
Accessories
I use this foldable water cup
GAC100 to thin and make acrylic dry slower
Palette knives to mix paint and make textured paintings
Varnishes
For flat paintings and pours:
For works on paper and textured art:
Acrylic Paint Pens
I use Artistro acrylic paint pens, even though I have Posca as well.
Painting Tutorials for beginners
Selling Your Art
- For beginners and price tag under $100-500 – Etsy, Shopify, Instagram
- For advanced artists with 20+ large works in a portfolio with a price tag of $1000+ – SaatchiArt
- Your Instagram and website (you don’t have to pay any processing things to a third party)
Running an art blog (like mine)
Blogging courses
- Fatstack full course from A to Z
- Individual workshops for specific topics – Aisha Preece – blogger running 6 blogs. I highly recommend it, I took 3 or 4 and I love them all.
- Free podcast Blogging Millionaire
- Carly’s Pinteresting Course
- You can always contact me for mentorship
Managing blog
- WordPress
- Google spreadsheets / Google drive
Keyword research
Optimizing content
Hosting your digital products and courses
- Thrivecart
- ConvertKit
- SendOwl
Growing emails
- Email provider with a free plan for up to your first 1000 subscribers. I use this one.
- ConvertKit (once you have a few thousand otherwise expensive)
- Substack
Last update on 2025-04-29 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API