The Best Gifts for Artists Who Need a Little Inspiration
Artists, the ones who make our world brighter and a bit more beautiful. There are so many different kinds of artists and so many different kinds of art. Obviously when you first think of the word "artists" you think of those who paint, sculpt, and/or draw, but we think the word “artists” actually cover a bigger spectrum including but not limited to painters, illustrators, graphic designers, musicians, filmmakers, and actors.
They create from their own minds, own experiences, and stories. You can’t create the art that an individual makes with stuff a generative AI program makes, and now more than ever it’s more important to shout out those who are real artists. So that’s exactly what we are here to do, we’re here to find the best gifts for artists and give them even more of a reason to continue making what they love.
Obviously covering every type of medium out there would be difficult to do for our 5-7 minutes read. So we’re going to stick to those who you initially think of when you think of "artist" - the illustrators, painters, sculptors, etc. and take our knowledge of gifts to find things we know they’ll love.
Cute Everyday Artist Accessories & Tools 🗿
Most artists will tell you when it comes to gifts they either need very specific supplies from a very specific brand or they have an overabundance of x and y and definitely do not need anymore thank you very much. But what artists might not have are these adorable accessories and useful tools that reflect their artist's spirit and help them create more of their work:
Start the morning right with a mug with your inspiration! Image courtesy of: My Modern Met Store.
Artists need fuel to create just like an athlete needs gatorade and water to compete in sports. Now the type of fuel artists need varies per person, but a lot of the time a nice warm drink of their choice is the right way to go. And it makes sense that an artist should have an art-centric mug to get their fuel.
Introducing the Bob Ross Mug from My Modern Met Store for $19.95. Have the absolute legend of Bob smile upon you as you get ready to paint, sculpt, and/or draw. Plus, this isn’t just any mug, per the website: “as the cup gets warmer, one of Ross' signature paintings appears before your eyes.” You’ll also get to read his most famous quote that’s on the other side of the mug: “We don’t make mistakes. We have happy accidents.” – which is always worth remembering, especially when you’re deep in your “I hate everything I’ve ever made” stage.
Never get bored- draw anytime, anywhere! Image courtesy of: My Modern Met Store.
Also from My Modern Met Store is this absolute beauty of a book: 642 Things to Draw for $16.95. As artists, we constantly are on the look out for interesting things to draw and sometimes we don’t have anything in our near vicinity that really “speaks” to us. So imagine having a book that gives you, well, 642 things to draw! Grab your favorite pencils, pens, and/or markers and bring this with you in your bag the next time you have downtime so you can test your might against the hundreds of prompts this book has in store for you.
Never have your brushes roll away again! Image courtesy of: Etsy.
Painters know the pain of finishing with one brush, setting it down, and either one of two things happen:
One: the brush rolls its way right off the table and onto the ground, getting hair, dust, dirt, and whatever other nonsense is on your ground onto the brush itself.
Two: You put said brush down and it gets paint onto something you really didn’t want paint on.
Luckily, thanks to many other creators out there, we have solutions and Etsy user BNCApottery has created the Colorful Paint Brush Rest for $19.99. Here you can set your brushes down, no matter what paint you’re using, watercolor, acrylic, oil, etc. and not have them go on adventures of their own by diving off your table or workstation. Some brush rests are too skinny and small to hold your brushes, but this one is made with almost any kind of brush size in mind. Pick the color you like best and get it delivered so you can let your brushes rest properly.
Artists will be using their hands a lot to create their masterpieces and when everything gets done, materials need washes properly which means using soap that will more than likely dry their hands out. Plus, we ourselves get messy when we make art, so it’s only safe to assume that they’ll also be caked in paint, clay, and ink- which also adds to the dryness.
So we thought we should give them moisturized hands in the form of Clementine Hand Lotion Cream from Andalou for $9.99 which is a cruelty-free, vegetarian lotion that smells good and feels good on your hands.
Get a favorite piece of theirs framed professionally. Image courtesy of: Frameology.
When the stars align and everything goes almost perfectly, artists create something they are immensely proud of and when that time comes they might not think to get it properly framed so it can be hung up in their living space for all to see.
Well we aren’t going to let that slide because we are going to Frameology to frame their best work!
Frameology is a company exactly how it sounds, you upload a photo and they will get it framed perfectly so you can keep it in your home forever. Obviously it’s not the actual piece and that’s for good reason. A lot of the time artists will want to keep the originals in a way they want to, but having a framed picture of their work to put up and put down is a great idea. Starting at $19, you can show how much you love the artist in your life’s work.
Even small art deserves itself in your home. Image courtesy of: Etsy.
If you’re someone that scrolls through social media, then you might have seen the trend some artists have been doing and it’s painting “mini” versions of the world they see around them and matching it up perfectly. Well now your friend can do that too! Here we have the Walnut Watercolor Palette Box: Portable Travel Painting Supplies from Etsy user Natsumehandmade on sale for $16.15+ (normally priced at $19.00). Try their hand at this challenging watercolor project and create mini-versions of their favorite sights and objects from around the world.
You can never have too many totes- especially ones this cute! Image courtesy of: Society6.
Society6 is an online marketplace where you can get one of a kind products that’ll show a splash of your personality for all to see. There are over 450,000 artists making and producing wall art, apparel, accessories, and more. The one thing that an artist can never run out of are tote bags, and luckily there are so many great artists making tote bags with varying designs for you to purchase. Here we have an example from artist Tocorocomugi, the Croissant Cats Tote Bag 13” x 13” for $25.50. (They also have a 18” x 18” for $34.00). Simple, cute, and perfect to put your art supplies in for a trip.
A piece of jewelry that’s art in itself! Image courtesy of: ArtistGifts.
Artists are some of the most expressive people in the world, so it only makes sense that they like their wardrobe and accessories to also reach out and grab other people’s attention. There are a lot of very cute things out there that’ll really show just how “artsy” one can be but we found this 14k Gold and Sterling Silver Palette Necklace for $119.95 from ArtistGifts.com and we thought it was perfect. A great statement piece and a great conversation starter to showcase your art to anyone you meet.
Useful Gifts You Can Get An Artist On The Go 🎁
We absolutely love the gifts we’ve found so far for our favorite creative genius, but we thought that we should add a few more because one cannot simply get just one gift. No, we must add a little extra color and get them one of the best gift cards for artists right now:
- 🎨Michaels: Every artist has been to or have heard of Michaels- it’s almost impossible not to have. They are the arts and crafts chain store with almost everything you could need for any creative project; which means it’ll make for an excellent gift for your artist friend.
- 🍿AMC Theatres: Sometimes you need to go out into the world and see other creative works in order to get inspiration for yourself to complete your own project. That’s why we recommend getting an AMC Theatres gift card so you can see art come to life on the big screen.
- ☕Dunkin’: We all know that inspiration strikes in the most random of moments and this gift is for when it’s at a time when caffeine is very much needed. Dunkin’ aka Dunkin’ Donuts is a fast-food chain that specializes in coffee, tea, breakfast sandwiches, and of course, donuts.
- 🚗DoorDash: Going in line with the last gift, we know that when inspiration does strike you won’t want to leave your studio to go and get food. Instead of having to leave, have the food come to you. DoorDash is the food ordering and delivery app that is great for those days when you can’t leave but need sustenance to keep you going.
- 💸Visa: Instead of being limited to only one store, you can use this gift card at any store that accepts Visa- (which is pretty much any registrar).
We pride ourselves on our Visa gift card experience as you can add a photo to create a custom Visa gift card and get it to you fast. PerfectGift prints and ships our own Visa gift cards, so we can guarantee same day printing & shipping (if ordered by 4:00pm ET Monday through Saturday). Since we are all in-house, no one else can beat our turnaround time because a lot of other spaces use third-parties to get their stuff ready.
PerfectGift.com is all about finding, well, the perfect gift! With hundreds of popular eGift card brands available, you can personalize and send someone a gift in just a few minutes. Pick between multiple restaurants, famous retailers, online subscription services, and more for your first PerfectGift today.
PerfectGift+ which takes gifting to a whole new level as it allows you to give the amount of money you would be putting on the gift card, but not tie it to any specific merchant. Instead the recipient gets to choose any merchant they want from our vast catalog. What makes PerfectGift stand out from the crowd is our flexibility.
Become the perfect gift giver.
We’ve delved into the world of creativity, frustration, and fun finding the best gifts for artists and luckily we’ve come out with a masterpiece on our backs. There are lots more great ideas out there and you can find even more at PerfectGift.com.
