We asked our team one question: what's your ultimate gift? Nineteen answers later, we have a list that runs from a beginner Copic set to a 48" linen canvas, picked by people who spend their days helping artists choose materials.
Watch the video to see each pick in hand, or read on. Every gift is below, with the moment it appears in the video and where to find it.
Jump to a pick
- Copic Markers
- Kootenay XL H-Frame Easel
- Gamblin Oil Colour Sets
- Holbein Coloured Pencils (150)
- da Vinci Brushes & Magnani Block
- R&F Pigment Stick Kit
- Caran d'Ache Grafcube RGB
- Liquitex Markers (40 Pack)
- Skeena XL Double-Masted Easel
- Hahnemühle Toned Book + Designers Gouache
- GOLDEN Acrylics
- Soolla Studio Bag & Pouch
- Schmincke Watercolours
- Custom Fine Art Prints
- Liquitex Paint Markers
- Opus Gift Card
- Super Sculpey + Sculpey III
- Caran d'Ache Grafwood Set (15)
- Opus Finest Linen Canvas 48" x 48"
Copic Markers
"My ultimate gift is anything from our gigantic 12-foot display of Copic markers. They have a really easy learning curve to get into."
Copic is the marker illustrators reach for, and it's friendlier to start than its reputation suggests. A beginner set gives someone the colours and the know-how to learn blending from day one. The Ciao Illustration set starts you with 12 colours picked for illustration.
Opus Essential Kootenay XL H-Frame Twin Canvas Studio Easel
"It's practical, strong, adjustable and easy to move around. I can put different sizes of canvas in here, and I can put it in my home studio."
A solid beech H-frame with a rocker lift for raising the canvas and locking casters for rolling it into place. It holds canvases up to 73" tall, so it grows with a painter who's starting to work bigger.
Gamblin Oil Colour Sets
"The colours are really good quality. They're bright and colourful, and they all come with a painting surface as well, so you're set up for success."
Gamblin's new sets are some of the most exciting the Portland colourmaker has released. The Radiant Colors set packs nine high-key Radiant tubes onto a gessoed wood panel: open the box and start painting. For a smaller gift, the 1980 80s Set of 3 brings the same playful energy.
Holbein Coloured Pencils (Set of 150)
"They're super creamy, blendable, and they have amazing pigment. They also have a set of 50 with pastel colours."
The full 150 is a lifetime palette for a coloured pencil artist. If that's more than you need, the Pastel set of 50 is a softer, lighter range that layers beautifully on toned paper.
da Vinci Travel Brush, Flat Mop & Magnani Watercolour Block
"I always just carry my brush in a brush bag, so having this would be extraordinarily handy… And the Magnani Italia block, cold press, because this is the only paper I use."
A watercolourist's three-part wish list. The da Vinci CASANEO travel quill packs into its own protective cap, a flat mop soaks up a startling amount of water for big washes, and the Magnani Italia block is a cold press paper that stays flat while you work.
R&F Pigment Stick Kit
"It's a versatile medium for drawing and painting. And this kit comes in a range of colours and a painting surface."
R&F Pigment Sticks are oil paint in stick form: draw with them like a pastel, then blend and build like paint. The Painter's Dozen is a full starter palette in one box.
Caran d'Ache Grafcube RGB Water-Soluble Graphite
"They don't look like much here, but when you apply water to them, they light up so beautifully and the pigment spreads a lot."
Grafcube RGB sticks are graphite tinted red, green and blue. Dry, they read as soft grey; add water and the colour blooms. Tuck them in a small tin with a waterbrush and you have a sketch kit that goes anywhere.
Liquitex Markers (40 Pack)
"Not only is there a huge variety of sizes, but the actual pigment in them is amazing, and they're versatile. They can go on almost any surface."
From Liquitex: "A full-spectrum palette crafted for bold moves and unapologetic color. Foundational tones, charged brights and radiant metallics."
Opus Essential Skeena XL Double-Masted Studio Easel
"If you were doing a plein air painting and transferring it into a larger painting, you could put both here and work between the two."
Two masts, two canvases, each adjusted on its own. The Skeena holds canvases up to 81" tall and tilts all the way flat into a tabletop for varnishing. A lot of easel for the price.
Hahnemühle Toned Watercolour Book + Winsor & Newton Designers Gouache
"Both are excellent quality and are going to stand up to lots of revision… and it's all under $100, which makes it perfect for a stocking stuffer."
Opaque gouache on toned paper is a classic pairing: lights pop, and the paper does the mid-tones for you. The Hahnemühle book comes in grey or beige; the Designers Gouache sets come in small, colour-themed palettes.
GOLDEN Acrylics
"They're always really good quality. The colours come out great, and they're just my go-to colours, always."
GOLDEN Heavy Body is the acrylic many painters never switch away from. The Essentials Set of 6 is an easy way to give it; open stock tubes let you build a palette around someone's favourite colours.
Soolla Studio Bag & Pouch
"You think that's all the pouches in the front. No, there's more… Not only can you store everything, everything will have its own little space."
Pockets on the front, sides, back and inside, plus a matching zip pouch for pens and erasers. Our staffer's test: a long 24-pan watercolour tin fits inside, ready for plein air. Both come in Sangria, Aquamarine, Cinnamon and Green.
Schmincke Watercolours
"They're super highly pigmented and great quality. And I would love it if someone bought me the whole display."
The whole display might be a stretch. A HORADAM metal set gets close: professional half pans in a refillable metal tin.
Custom Fine Art Prints
"Nothing makes a family member cry like taking a photo from a vacation or a memorable time, putting it on something immortal and having it hang in your home."
Our print studio turns a photo from this year (or an inside joke) into an archival fine art print, ready to frame. Bring in a file or send it online.
Liquitex Paint Markers
"They're good on most surfaces: wood, glass, canvas, textiles, and the colours pop. And because they're in marker form, you get great control."
Two staffers picked the same set, which tells you something. Liquitex markers come in smaller themed sets too, if the 40 is more than you need.
Opus Gift Card
"I am the worst person to buy for. I know exactly what I want and I've already bought it for myself. The best thing you could give me is a budget for more art supplies."
For the artist who already owns everything. Opus gift cards work in all seven BC stores and online.
Super Sculpey 8 lb + Sculpey III Starter Pack
"You can drill it, paint it, mix colours into it… And there's nothing wrong with also getting a starter pack, 30 different colours of Sculpey III."
Oven-bake polymer clay from Polyform. The 8 lb box of Super Sculpey is enough for serious sculpting; the Sculpey III set of 30 is a box of colour for ornaments, beads and small gifts of your own.
Caran d'Ache Grafwood Graphite Pencil Set (15)
"It's probably the highest line of pencils that we carry, and the nicest type of graphite in the store."
Fifteen grades of Swiss graphite, including the lighter, harder grades that are tough to find. A set a graphite artist keeps for years.
Opus Finest Clear Primed Linen Canvas 48" x 48"
"Having a nice, very large surface gifted to you kind of shows the gift-giver's faith in you. And you kind of get the permission to paint really large."
Linen is more rigid than cotton, which matters at this size, and the clear primer lets the natural linen show through. A big canvas is a big vote of confidence.
Looking for more ideas? Browse the full Holiday Gift Guide, or ask our team in any of our seven BC stores. They'll tell you what they'd want.
