A List of the Perfect Gifts for Artists
Artists, the ones who take inspiration from our world and turn that into beautiful pictures on a canvas. They live their day-to-day lives seeing things the average eye cannot. For instance, when most might see light coming in through the window as something normal or “everyday,” an artist might see that and finally figure out what’s been missing from their current project.
We might unintentionally take artists for granted, but when you think about it, without artists our world would be a lot less colorful and a lot less fun.
With that being said, we wanted to celebrate the artists in our lives, both the ones that have been practicing and honing their craft for years, and the ones who have just picked up the paint brush. In the past we’ve delved into artful gifts before, but this time we have a list of the perfect gifts for artists that’ll surely make their day brighter.
Artsy Gifts We Absolutely Adore 🖼️
There are so many different directions you can go in when trying to find the perfect gift for an artist, but we’ve found some that offer a wide mix which will be sure to delight any creative mind.
A Traveling Painting Kit
Wherever you are, you’re now able to paint! Image courtesy of: My Modern Met Store.
If you haven’t heard of My Modern Met Store, then prepare for all of your gifting dreams to come true because they are the online shop that has a little bit of everything for all kinds of artists out there.
plenty of fun little trinkets, apparel items, puzzles, and books, you’ll be able to get something that’s unique to their tastes and we found that their A6 Travel Paint Kit for $45.00 is great for those who love to paint the outdoors or find themselves wanting to pick up a pencil while they’re out in the world. Encased in a vegan leather case is a 48 page sketchpad, a Viviva Original Colorsheets set with 16 vibrant shades, one round tip waterbrush, and a black pen.
A Helpful Art Book
Learn and hone your skills as an artist. Image courtesy of: James Gurney.
There are so many great books out there that help young artists learn their craft and obviously since there are so many to choose from picking just one is a difficult feat but there is a book that’s brought up a lot amongst the community that we think should go on this list and that’s Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter (Signed) by James Gurney for $34.99.
Lighting in pictures can often make or break the entire piece, so learning how to follow the light and utilize it correctly with your pieces can take your art from good to great. Many boast about how this book helped them become a much better artist so it would make for a 10/10 gift that can eventually lay nicely on their coffee table.
A Lap Desk
Paint in the positions you want to paint in. Image courtesy of: Best Buy.
You’ll often see memes about “shrimping” which is the position many who use desks find themselves in after a long day on their computer, drawing, or crafting. They don’t realize they get into that position and by the time they do their muscles are already protesting so that’s why we love the LapGear - Sidekick Pro Lap Desk with LED Conference Light from Best Buy on sale for $37.49 (normally priced at $49.99).
A “lap desk” is exactly how it sounds, you can sit up on your favorite chair, your couch, or your bed with this and sketch all you want. It comes with a phone holder and built-in LED light so you can create until the wee hours of the morning but in a comfy way.
Cute Art Socks
Socks should be fun and these are definitely fun. Image courtesy of: My Modern Met Store.
We’re bringing in another banger from the My Modern Met Store, this time we’re getting a little silly with their Artists Socks Gift Set for $39.95 which will make the perfect stocking stuffers if you happen to be shopping around the holidays. Coming in at medium or large, this box comes with four pairs of socks featuring four beloved artists: Andy Warhol, Picasso, Frida Kahlo, and Vincent Van Gogh. They can wear them out or put them on when they are working on their own project to inhabit the spirit of their talent.
Cute Brush Rest(s)
Rest your brushes with style. Image courtesy of: Etsy.
Painters in particular will know the infinite struggle of using many different brushes and having them either roll off the side of the table onto the floor dragging paint along with it, or it getting mixed in with other paint which means you have to pause what you’re doing and wash it before continuing.
Luckily there are inventions out there to prevent those two things from happening called brush rests and we’re not in the business of boring brush rests, no we happen to like the ones that speak to us and this Ceramic Chameleon Brush Rest from Etsy for $34.50 from user TramaiCeramics is one that speaks loudly. Handmade in Italy, you can pick between blue or pink and get your chameleon to hold your brushes steady as you switch off while you paint.
Paper…yes paper.
You can never have too much paper…never. Image courtesy of: Amazon.
One tool, or piece of equipment, that’s used over and over again in an artist’s repertoire is paper. Paper is consistently used and you can really never have too much of it, especially when it’s quality paper like the stuff that comes from Strathmore 400 Series Sketch Pad. The Strathmore 400 Series Sketch Pad on sale for $11.99 (normally priced at $18.75) is a superior sketch pad made from the geniuses at Strathmore; anyone that’s anyone knows how much this paper is like candy to artists so it only makes sense that we added it to this list.
An Art Portfolio Case
Carry your art in a protected case you can count on. Image courtesy of: Blick.
Students will appreciate this present a lot, but any artist at any age will tell you how much they would love a new and sleek art portfolio case. Carrying your art to and from a studio, class, or to show off at an art show is stress-inducing so having the Blick Studio Series Softside Portfolio - 24" x 31" on sale for $23.27 (normal list price at $32.99) is a must. This carrying case has many great reviews talking about how surprisingly durable and sturdy it is and how it did its job keeping fellow artists’ work safe and sound.
Noise-Cancelling Headphones
Lock-in and get ready to get some much-need work done. Image courtesy of: Bose.
A lot of creatives will fall back on their music, podcasts, or audio-books to help them work and get them through a brain-fart moment of where to go in the current piece they’re working on. So we thought, why not get a gift that’ll allow them to play exactly what they want without disturbing anyone else in the home or any neighbors through too-thin walls?
Here we have the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones on sale for $299.99 (normally priced at $429.00). Anyone that knows Bose knows how great these headphones are and how they are by-far one of the best over the head headphones out on the market. They’re light, but snug, and most importantly won’t cause any headaches for hour long use. You can have these on for over 24 hours and still keep the battery life which is pretty impressive and good for when you lose track of time in your art spiral.
Tea
Keep hydrated (and caffeinated) while you work away. Image courtesy of: Amazon.
Many artists will tell you how often they are up late (or early) working on a project. They find themselves up at odd hours because inspiration strikes or because this is the only time they have to do this because of other life responsibilities.
It makes sense that they would need a little boost to keep their spirits high and creative judices flowing so we thought why not help with that and get them a favorite of ours, the Taylors of Harrogate Assorted Specialty Tea Box on sale for $14.45 (normally priced at $15.49) on Amazon. Enjoy the flavors of English Breakfast, Decaffeinated Breakfast, Assam, Earl Grey, Lemon & Orange, Green Tea with Jasmine, Organic Peppermint, and Organic Chamomile.
A Scanner
Add to your online portfolio with ease! Image courtesy of: B&H Photo Video.
One thing that we tend to overlook as non-artists is that when your friend’s work is finally done they need an easy way to show people and the last thing they want to do is try and take a picture of their picture through a phone or camera. It misses details and washes colors out, especially when the lighting isn’t right, that’s when a scanner comes in clutch.
The Canon CanoScan LiDE 400 Slim Color Image Scanner for $92.74 on B&H Photo Video is the answer to all those problems. This scanner will…scan the painting or drawing and you can then access it on your computer, phone, etc. How cool is that? This way they can build up their portfolio with high-quality pictures of all their hard work.
The PERFECT Gift Card for Every Artist 🎨
As an artist one of the greatest feelings in the world is seeing the art you’ve perfected over painstaking hours finally done and done in a way that you’re actually proud of. We don’t want to see all of that talent go to waste, no, we want to see that hard work displayed with the proper care it deserves.
That’s why we want to give them a gift card where they can get their work displayed exactly how they want.
With a Shutterfly gift card.
The one-stop-shop for all your printing and making needs. Image courtesy of: Communication Arts.
Shutterfly is an online printing company that takes your art and makes it into photo books, stationery, home decor like photo frames & mugs, full prints, graduation cards, calendars, and more. They can make whatever they want with the art they create in the highest-quality possible. A Shutterfly gift card can pay for one or two services and if they like what they get back they can make even more copies to send to you and their other friends and family.
Customize, create, and send your first Shutterfly gift card here!
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.
The time to give back to those who create has come and we’ve found quite the perfect gifts for every artist in your life. Now they can continue to paint, draw, sculpt, weave, or carve with their new gifts right by their side.
