(Part 2) Best artists boards & canvas according to redditors
We found 105 Reddit comments discussing the best artists boards & canvas. We ranked the 68 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
![Practica Economy Pre Stretched Canvas Cotton Artist Acid Free Primed Painting Canvas 5/8" Deep [Value Box of 20] 16x20"](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51nJDG6yaNL.jpg)
Outus 12 Pack Mini Canvas Panels for Painting Craft Drawing (3 x 3 Inch) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K1YPMQ6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_MkszzbH2KPWG0 couldn't find 2x2 (but I also didn't take much time to look). Averages out to a little over a dollar per canvas! Amazon rocks.
The nearest arts & crafts store (hobby lobby). But to be honest, the quality isn't the best, and the price was definitely marked up. But it's got a blue/brown exterior that I love, so :/
UPDATE: I found it right here if you're interested https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K3C9JE2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_lpSwyb5ET715X
If you have any craft stores that sells oil paint, they might have coupons, or start ordering on amazon now!
Then while you're there too, you should get a few bucket to put it in.
And you're pretty much set, if you have any questions let me know.
You can also buy what are called "wood art panels" pretty cheap, some felt fabric, and some glue and make the same thing for around ~$5 a tray. If you want to get fancy, buy some wood stain and a brush. Every craft store and hardware store I know, plus your Walmarts, Targets, etc have all this stuff.
Process: Stain wood. Let dry. Cut felt to inner box shape and size with scissors or craft knife. Glue felt.
Now you have a dice rolling tray!
> Why are most portrait paintings made using oil rather than acrylic? Should I be using one or the other?
Oil is probably the most flexible of paints in terms of the number and variety of techniques you can use with it.
> Should I be using one or the other?
There's more to choose from in paints than just oils and acrylics! Gouache (a matte, fast drying paint that reactivates when you get it wet again) and casein (the oldest paint known to man, it uses milk protein as it's medium, dries a bit slower than gouache) are both good options for beginners, with gouache being the cheaper of the two. You can use either of them on good watercolor paper; 140 lb paper is a good compromise, as it's not as a expensive as heavier papers but is heavy enough to hold up without buckling badly, even more so if you stretch it first.
Watercolor is also inexpensive, but is probably the most difficult to do well and is very unforgiving; you don't really get to fix your mistakes with watercolor.
Ultimately you will want to experiment with different paints and find the one or ones you like most. (I, personally, am not a fan of acrylics. I don't like the way it handles; it feels like painting with melted plastic to me.)
> What is the cheapest way to practice painting? I bought a few canvases yesterday and was surprised to see how expensive they can be! Also I was surprised by how much paint I was going through.
Gouache on watercolor paper, like I said before, is a good, inexpensive way to start out.
If you want to use other paints, though, don't buy canvases while you're practicing. You can use pretty much any paint on gessoed paper that's relatively heavy, or even stiff cardboard.
When I took oil painting back up again not that long ago I did several pieces on gessoed bristol board which I had lying around. When I'd had enough of those I switched to these 8x10 canvas panels and a big pack of mixed size panels; in bulk they're much cheaper than stretched canvas and are easier to store.
When you're starting with a new paint you're unsure of, just get a tube of ivory black and titanium white and do some grayscale studies with it. You can get comfortable with the handling of the paint without spending a ton of money, and it's always good practice for developing your sense of values.
If you then want to do portraits, you can then move easily into a Zorn palette using the black and white you already have, plus yellow ochre and a good, opaque red like cadmium red medium. (Zorn used vermilion for his red, which is wildly toxic and which no one makes any more.) The color pieces I did on bristol board earlier are Zorn head studies done with that palette, and I also used it for this portrait and this one.
Add to the Zorn palette a good blue like an ultramarine or cobalt and you've got a pretty good starter palette. Add in a burnt umber and you can mix your own black if you want, using the blue and the umber, and swap out the yellow ochre for something less earthy like a cadmium yellow medium if you need something more primary colored. You end up with a small, focused palette that didn't cost you an arm and a leg and that you can mix anything but really intense secondary colors with. And since you don't need those often, you can just pick up small tubes of them as needed.
With paints that aren't too fast drying, like oils, you can collect up all the left over paint on your palette at the end of the day, mix it all together, and make a rich grey-brown that you can use to desaturate any other color on your palette or just lighten and darken anywhere you need a neutral color. Sealed in a airtight container you can use it for days, weeks, or longer depending on the paint. If you end up with more than you can use, just do some grayscale studies with it!
> What can I do to develop a better eye for color?
Start with just black and white. Then do some paintings with just black, white, and one other color; this one, my first one on a canvas panel, was just black, white, and red, as was this one I did next. And just slowly build up your number of colors from there. Do a lot of painting with just a primary palette, too; black or burnt umber / white / red / blue / yellow, where you have to mix everything else from those. You won't be able to get super intense colors that way but, again, you really want to keep most of your colors more desaturated anyway.
Painting simple still lifes of primary colored objects is very good practice. Wooden blocks like these are really good for color studies; set up a few of them, put a piece of black cloth or paper behind them, shine a desk light on them, and paint the colors as accurately as you can.
It depends on what your child prefers. My daughter (3) likes to work with her hands more than she enjoys imaginative play, so her xmas list has things like Playdough, play foam, laces toy, puzzles, drawing things or accessories like stamps and stickers, etc.
She's not really into plush toys, dolls, or cars - anything that isn't something she can actually DO.
Primary Items:
• 7-pack of 11x14" Canvases: $17.98
• 1 qt Floetrol: $6.97
• Silicone oil: $14.99
• Liquitex High Gloss Varnish: $13.32
• Acrylic Paints: ~$1 each (I bought 4)
• Popsicle sticks: ~5.00
• TOTAL COST: $62.26
​
It's a tad pricy up front (I got most of this for my birthday), but several of these things will last me many pours. The canvases (obviously), the floetrol, the silicone oil, and the popsicle sticks will last for quite some time. It's possible the varnish will as well - I'm not sure yet, I haven't varnished my first canvas yet. Really the paint seems to be the thing that will run out the fastest unless you buy large sizes. I did cheap paint for my first pour, just to get kind of an idea, but I really liked how it turned out so I'm not inclined to buy anything more expensive for now. There are some other things that I had on hand an don’t have prices. Items like gloves, plastic cups, a butane torch, and the garbage bag I put under it.
AFAIK it was the "lightning"/limited time sale that wild pointed to. The "lightning" sale was for $23 instead of the normal $31, which for a 6-pack comes out at $3.83 per canvas.
That being said, as I pointed out in my post, I normally buy this 20-pack from practica for $57, which equates to a much cheaper $2.85 per canvas. So the "lightning" sale doesn't seem like a good deal to me.
Looks like this one has more size options:
https://www.amazon.com/Wooden-Profession-Canvas-Painting-Available/dp/B01NAYOPNO/ref=pd_sbs_201_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01NAYOPNO&pd_rd_r=FGB0X37BWTVH131PVVXG&pd_rd_w=Lt6pA&pd_rd_wg=zQW3W&psc=1&refRID=FGB0X37BWTVH131PVVXG
It would just look like art on the wall. Canvas is usually stretched over a wooden frame so the back is hollowed out. Leaves space for something on the wall to fit in behind the canvas. I used one to cover an old phone jack in my last apartment. This link has picture of the back of a canvas to explain it better https://www.amazon.com/CONDA-Artist-Stretched-Canvas-Pack/dp/B01IBRF25G/ref=lp_12896211_1_12?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1542400355&sr=1-12
I looked into those, but for a 4' one it was over $100! Maybe I was looking at the wrong places?
For example:
https://www.amazon.com/Fredrix-Pro-Dixie-Canvas-48X72/dp/B011M24Q5E
Thank you! Acrylic on a wooden ‘canvas’. 9”x12” for the necklace and crown and shiny parts I used a metallic paint pen.
https://www.amazon.com/Art-Alternatives-Panel-Gallery-Natural/dp/B00XZ5YQF2
I use this instead of regular canvas because it’s more sturdy and smoother. You don’t have the canvas texture to deal with, which is a problem when you’re working this small.
Good websites with interesting and weird info are great time suckers. Since you’re into Disney, check out Yesterland and Lost Epcot!
If you’re into crafty nonsense, maybe make a vacation planner!
I’m also a huge fan of wasting time with logic puzzles.
Edit cos I thought of more:
Make tiny paintings!
Idk how to link it but download the Sky Guide app and get lost in the stars. Seriously, it’s fascinating.
Just to give another option besides the Tombows, I use a combination of the Huhuhue Double Ended and the Huhuhue Fine Tips.
With a decent notebook (ie. not a composition book) I get minimal bleeding and the pens are super affordable.
I don't know if you have a case for pens, but I recently bought this one and I'm super happy with it.
Krylon K02754007 Fusion All-in-One Spray Paint, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LFWTQJX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_58IJDbH0HXS2G
Arteza 5x7" White Blank Canvas Panel Boards, Bulk Pack of 14, Primed, 100% Cotton for Acrylic Painting, Oil Paint & Wet Art Media, Canvases for Professional Artist, Hobby Painters & Beginners https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQQ9K71/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_b-IJDbW9TBZ49
And if you dont want to do ANY work
https://www.etsy.com/market/banksy_stencil
You're giving this street scammer too much credit.
Twistable Crayons were a God send with my youngest. She would snap crayons, pencils, colored pencils, and ruin any and all markers.
Also Canvas Panel Boards with crayola washable paints and Apron
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T48L2EW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_L9VGxbC6BBAE0