I'm poor and want to art, where do i find cheap-o, quality supplies?

If you buy the correct primary colors, red, yellow, blue, you can make just about any color. What tones do your paintings usually project? Quite often an artist's work will be primarily either warm or cool. If that is true of your work get larger tubes of colors that represent your style. Then you can get by with small tubes of the colors you don't use as much. But the one thing I can't stress enough is to take care of your tools and materials. Only squeeze out as much paint as you are positive you will use. In fact unless you are mixing colors squeeze out very little at a time. You can squeeze more out but can't put excess back in the tube and that paint, especially acrylics, is wasted. Clean your brushes after each use. Do not stand the brushes in a container to soak. If you want to soak brushes make a device to go across the top of your water container that will allow the brushes to be underwater but off the bottom. They can be made out of a number of things. You can use a plate, I always prefered plastic, for a palette. When you purchase anything, paints, brushes, etc. do your homework. I don't know where you live but we have Michael's and Aaron Brothers and both have coupons each week for 40% off items not on sale. They usually have the coupons in their weekly newspaper ads. Ask anyone and everyone if you can have the ads. That can bring the cost of a $4.98 tube of paint down to $2.99. You can only use one coupon per total purchase so you may have to split your purchase into the # of coupons you have. A hassle, but worth it. Also go online and sign up at their websites. You'll get a coupon to print out just for doing that and then you'll get an email each week with their sale & there will be a coupon to print out there too. Also don't restrict yourself to paper to paint on. Look at everything as a canvas. I've painted on rocks,wood, heck once I was so poor I used food coloring for paint & the inside paper dust cover from a record album to paint on! I hope this has helped a bit. All of this has come from 45 years experience some of which were spent poverty painting. Happy creating & don't let lack of money stifle your drive.

In your case, buy craft paint or scholastic paint or Blick Studio Acrylic.. Read descriptions below.

Art Supply websites to check out:

Dick Blick

Jerry's Artarama

Cheap Joe's Art Stuff

Art Supply Warehouse/ASW Express

Utrecht Art Supplies

Fine Art Store

There are 3 grades of paint:

1. "Artist Grade" or "Professional Grade" paints are the best paints to buy because they are highly pigmented, permanent, archival, and lightfast. Your paintings will last for centuries. Artist grade paints will generally have the word "artists" as part of the brand name. Artist grade paints are expensive but you can buy the following affordable artist grade paints at Dick Blick website: Blick Artists Acrylic, Daler Rowney Cryla Artists Acrylic, Jo Sonjas Artists Acrylic.

2. "Student Grade" paints generally have a lower pigment concentration (color strength is lower). A beginner should buy student grade paints because it cost alot less than artist grade paints and it still allows you to do PROFESSIONAL PAINTING TECHNIQUES with them. Some student grade paints are labeled lightfast, light resistant, fade resistant which will slow down the rate of your paintings fading. Student grade paints will generally have the word "studio" or "students" as part of the brand name. These are good student grade paints: Blick Studio Acrylic, Chroma A2 Students Acrylic, Winsor & Newton Galeria Acrylic.

3. "Scholastic" paint or classroom/kids paint is the WORST paint you can buy! These paints generally use a lower quality pigment or dye, the lightfastness is generally poor, and it is HARD to do professional painting techniques with them. Blickrylic Acrylic and Chromacryl Acrylic are decent quality paints that come in small bottles and 64 oz large bottles at very cheap prices on Dick Blick website.

CRAFT/HOBBY PAINTS:

Craft paints are generally labeled with these words: artist quality, fine quality, high quality, premium quality, professional quality. These paints are very cheap! A beginner can use these paints also. Craft paints: Blick Matte Acrylic, Plaid Apple Barrel, Plaid Folk Art, DecoArt Americana, Delta Ceramcoat, Anita's Acrylic. An "artist grade" craft paint is JoSonjas Artists Acrylic. Google search "Chroma Online" to find Chroma website for more information about JoSonjas paint.

Hobby Lobby sometimes has deals on their art and/or painting supplies.

This week, they have a coupon for 40% off any one item that is regular price that can be printed off(though that is for the week of the 23rd-the 28th, so that coupon is only good today, but next week they'll have a new one).

Also, their acrylic tube paints are on sale this week for 30% off. If you live on the west coast, this might help, since I think their stores usually close around 8pm and you might be able to make it to one if there is one in your area.

http://www.hobbylobby.com/weekly/weekly.cfm

http://www.hobbylobby.com/weekly/entire_ad.cfm?men...

If nothing else, you can just check back to their website from time-to-time to see their weekly sales and such.

I would use craft acrylic paints (get some basic colors) and paint on whatever was around - cardboard, brown paper bags, pieces of wood or fabric, etc. That's what I have done when money was tight. Even Walmart sells craft paints.

One word... eBay. Also if you live near a college or university put a little ad up on the bulletin board in the art building begging for leftovers from students who took a class and hated it and will never use their supplies again.

Michaels

Search for "re use art supplies" If you live int the SF Bay Area, 2 excellent sources:

u could buy stuff off online, for like 99cents for a gallon of paint but then you have the + 49.99 shipping so thats kinda out.

Hobby lobby is true greatness, wait till paints arnt on sale, then go online and get a 40%off copon, and go to the paint asile and get BAsic paints, from laytex, theyre quality and quantity with out the cha chingity

You can try to use craft paint which is less than a dollar a bottle., They just do not have t good consistency. You could buy at wallmart or home depot light speckling compound and mix it with it for thicker effects.

http://shop.hobbylobby.com/store/default.aspx?Depa...

hobby lobby or michaels crafts. but u could check the dollar store somrtimes they have good stuff