Are you a famous artist who paints for a living and has sold dozens of paintings? If so, then the quality of your art supplies is of the utmost importance, but if you are a much lesser-known artist, how important is the quality of your art supplies? If you go to the art supply store or look online, you will see a huge price difference on many of the different art supplies. You may see a 4-ounce tube of paint for $3 and another 4-ounce tube of paint for $15. What makes it cost so much more and should you care?
Often the reason paint costs more or less depends on the amount of the ingredients in the paint. For example, if a tube of oil paint is made up of mostly low-quality oil and little else, it will be cheaper. If it has less oil, much more pigment, and higher quality preservatives, that is, you get a better finish, it will cost you more. The same goes for other art supplies like acrylic paint or pastels. Another example is brushes. Synthetic brushes are always much cheaper than brushes made from real animal hair.
When should you buy the good stuff and when the cheap stuff is okay? All of your art supplies, whether you are a beginning painter or an advanced artist, should have a certain amount of quality. Do not use the plastic paintbrushes with black plastic bristles that you find in children’s art kits. They will not work well and will only hinder your ability to paint. Also, don’t necessarily use the cheapest paint you can find, make sure it’s a good name that stands for quality.
If you’re a beginner, the quality of your supplies doesn’t have to be top-notch. If you are a painter and most of what you do is play and practice, buy the cheap acrylic. If you are moving forward and looking to possibly sell your work, update your paintings. If you’re a beginner planning to move up to a higher grade in the near future, don’t buy gallons of cheap stuff, just buy what you need. If you buy 3 gallons of white paint and only use one gallon, that’s a lot of waste paint. Hopefully you can get your money back or sell it to someone else.
As you progress, you may start to notice the difference in the quality of your supplies. Update as you deem necessary. As a beginning painter, synthetic brushes may suffice, but as you get better, you’ll see how much better animal hair brushes against the canvas. Use what works for you with the affordability factor in mind and you will progress as an artist.