Want in on a little secret? I buy all my painting supplies from Dick Blick Art Supplies. Okay, okay, lame secret. Lots of people know about this company, but maybe you haven't. And if you have, maybe you don't know how awesome it actually is.
I first learned about Dick Blick when I moved to Boston and happened upon one of their brick and mortar stores. I walked in and it was like an artists wonderland. Huge! And pretty darn good deals. But then....I found their website. And I just about died. Again. And Again.
Let me break down why Dick Blick is such a good deal, particularly for canvases and painting supplies.
1. Bulk Discounts - I buy pre stretched canvases that are 3/4" thick like these. They are already a pretty good deal at full price, but if I buy 10 or more, the price is pretty much cut in half. Half! And you can even get a better deal if you buy 20 or more. The reason I pretty much stick to a few particular sizes is because I buy in bulk.
2. Delivery Charges - If you spend over $200 online you get free delivery. Free! And when you buy in bulk, you can pretty easily get over that $200. Anything under that amount only cost $6.95 to ship though...still not bad.
3. Discount Codes - On the home page at Dick Blick they ALWAYS have a coupon code you can use to get further discounts. Usually it is a graduated amount you get off the entire order depending on how much you spend (on the photo above they are advertising $10-20 off, if you want to see an example). Since I buy in bulk and try to get over $200 for free delivery, I always get the highest amount taken off. Last time I bought supplies it was $40 off when you spend $200. So not only did I get half off the price of each canvas because of bulk prices, then I got an additional $40 off the entire thing! Seriously....this is what I bought last time I ordered (it's a ton because I am painting like crazy this summer before we go to Europe):
26 - 8.5oz tubes of paint (that's the large size)
2 - 32oz tubes of white paint (I go through white like crazy)
1 - new paint palette
5 - palette knives
120 - canvases of various sizes (that's way too many! haha)
Total cost - $470
That is enough supplies for 120 paintings. My paintings range anywhere from $20-$75. If we average it out to $45 per painting, that is $5400! Of course I have other expenses to account for...and I have to actually sell 120 paintings, but those numbers look good to me :) So, go check out Dick Blick today!
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Love, Love, Dick Blick :) T.
ReplyDeleteWe've got similar stores here in Oz. I can't understand why people shop in high price art shops when they could be saving money!
ReplyDeleteWow, those are huge savings. I think I bought from them a few years ago, can't remember what it was I ordered though!
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