The artist's place
Dick Blick Art Materials

I have several artist friends, and one complaint I hear from them is how difficult it is to get just the right art tool or a particular paint at the moment that they need it.

We live in a moderately sized city with a major college, yet the couple of art stores here are often out of essential supplies, not to mention the more exotic and hard-to-find items.

Ordering art supplies online is the obvious solution. With that in mind, I researched the "big names" in art supplies as well as some of the smaller online suppliers. It turns out that the best of these, in my opinion, happens to be the biggest name in art supplies, Dick Blick.

Dick Blick has operated a mail-order business since long before the Internet was invented, as well as retail stores. Their online operation carries on the great business practices that they began in 1911. Those practices include quick shipping, friendly and knowledgeable customer service, and low prices.

Dick Blick's catalog is huge, and it's all online. You can get an idea of just how extensive it is by noting the names of the major sections into which it is divided: Adhesives, Airbrush, Archival/Conservation, Audiovisual Equipment, Books/Media, Brushes, Canvas/Surfaces, Ceramics, Cleaning, Crafts, Cutting Tools, Drawing/Illustration, Colored Pencils, Markers, Pastels, Pencils, Colored Pencils, Easels, Educational Materials, Framing, Furniture, Graphic, Arts, Mosaics, Outdoor Studio, Painting, Acrylic Paints, Oil Paints, Watercolors, Papers/Boards, Presentation/Display, Printmaking, Safety/Health, Scrapbooking, Screen Printing, Sculpture, Signmaking, Special Needs, Storing/Organizing, Studio Environment, Transporting/Carrying.

In case you're wondering (I did!) if Dick Blick was a real person, the answer is yes.

Dick Blick's first catalog originated in 1911 as a small pamphlet issued by its two founding partners, Mr. and Mrs. Dick Blick. The warehouse was located in their kitchen and shipping was done through the local post office. Their first product was a lettering pen, which quickly became a best seller.

Thirty-seven years later, Robert Metzenberg purchased the Dick Blick company from its founders. Metzenberg loved serving artists and he had an eye for quality merchandise.

Today, Dick Blick remains the premier art supplies source for professional artists, students and teachers, and continues to be a family-owned business. A full-color sale flyer is mailed monthly to millions of customers. The company also publishes annual school and artists' catalogs, as noted above, their web site features the widest range of art materials available at the best prices.

The Dick Blick web site recently added an updated gift section, tips for artists and lesson plans for teachers, a clearance center and other extras.

Tags: art artists art supplies painting paint drawking sketches art instruction acrylics fine artsvisual arts design humanities beaux arts pictures artistry art materials images shoppingportraits modern art art tips artist-to-artist sketchpads art business pens pencils easelspalettes colors art appreciation art school art accessories


- posted by Gavin L. Watkins @ 8:44 PM