Finding the perfect gift for that particular artist in your life can often be a real challenge. By their nature, artists are unique individuals with likes and dislikes that can be hard to pin down.
A good art gift shows you care, speaks to the recipient’s personality, and will hopefully be something they use again and again. We’ve gathered 7 wonderful gift ideas for artists and painters of all skill levels.
The Best Gift Ideas for Artists for 2023
The following are great gift ideas with options for artists of various types.
1. Wacom Cintiq 16 Drawing Tablet
A fantastic tool for both the aspiring and professional artist, the Wacom Cintiq 16 Drawing Tablet allows for incredibly accurate and easy to edit and arrange illustrations. The pressure-sensitive pen gives you amazing control, and the foldable legs under the tablet will enable you to draw and work anywhere.
It’s like a classic sketchbook, but with so many more options, and it really doesn’t take long to get used to working on it. The display itself is full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution giving you very clear and crisp pictures to work with. The pen to display response time is said to have been minimized to 25ms in the latest rendition, making the drawing feel near real.
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2. Artist Paint Kit and French Field Easel
This is the perfect set for the aspiring painter. The gift set is a whole lot of quality art supplies bundled into one great deal. Inside this 118 piece set, you will find a 6-Pack of 11 “x14″ canvas panels and an 11″ x 14” watercolor paper pad containing 12 sheets. You also get a watercolor paint set with oil paint color tubes, nylon brush set, plastic palette and knife set, and a series of other essential painting times. To top it off, you also get a high-quality french field easel on which to paint.
This set is a safe bet as a gift for any painter since it gives them more of the items you know that they will be using.
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3. Logitech CRAYON Digital Pencil
Any skilled creator who has to work with digital devices needs to feel the power that comes from a quality stylus. Tasks as complicated as calligraphy are now a breeze with the modern options available for purchase. The Logitech Crayon is a fantastic variation of the contemporary stylus. It allows you to write and draw very naturally – you can even adjust the lines’ weight with a slight tilt of the pen.
This Logitech stylus can get 7.5 hours of writing time on a full charge, meaning it has enough juice to get through all but the longest of flights.
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4. Graphite Drawing Pencils and Sketch Pad Set
This pencil and sketch pad set is an excellent gift for the artist on the move and provides some of the most essential brainstorming tools known to humanity – a pencil and some paper.
However, these are papers and pencils of great quality and are sturdy enough to hold up on the move; a convenient carrying tin helps you take everything with you on the go. It’s not a mystery why a good pencil and some paper is essential to artists of all types, and you can never have enough quality replacements.
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5. Design Elements, Color Fundamentals by Aaris Sherin
Design Elements, Color Fundamentals by Aaris Sherin is a fantastic book of artistic inspiration and is perfect for getting the creative juices flowing. The book takes an in-depth look at the power of a well-utilized color wheel and how color can affect design in surprising ways.
Whether a beginner or experienced artist, this book is designed to help you communicate with color and better integrate it into projects. All of the information contained is bolstered by hundreds of examples of these principles in action.
6. Works of Art from Art.com
Whether you are a fan of art history or want something contemporary to hang on the wall, Art.com has a vast selection of deluxe fine art from around the world. The site has excellent prices for both canvas and framed pieces and can provide free design advice from art specialists any day of the week.
A cool feature is the ability to shop for art by color, a tool many interior designers utilize when using Art.com to furnish a room.
Savings Tip: Find the best Art.com coupon codes from your purchase!
7. Mosby’s Anatomy & Physiology Coloring Book
Getting someone this coloring book and some colored pencils may seem strange at first, but it is a fascinating book and provides a nice relaxing break from the day for those who want to unwind with a little coloring but don’t want an activity that is too thought-intensive. Simultaneously, the renderings in the book are very interesting and will teach you quite a bit about anatomy as you color in the various sections.
If you have an artist friend who generally struggles with the hard sciences, this might be a good way to help trick them into some studying.
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Tips for Finding the Best Gifts for Artists
A gift guide to high-quality and unique gifts when it comes to artists is a challenging task. Artists are unique creatures and are not prone to seek out the same products as everybody else. The following are a few quick tips for when you are trying to find just the right gift for that artist in your life.
- A good art set will contain items like brush pens, pencils, eraser, paper, sharpener, etc., and give an artist the room to explore within a given medium.
That is, you don’t want to buy an art set that has only a few colors of multiple art methods (colored pencils, markers, oil paints, etc.). Instead, you want an art set with many colors that stay within one or two methods – this way, the artist in question can create full pieces in a single medium and use only that set.
You don’t want the giftee to have to buy more products to finish an art piece.
- If you are trying to find something small but useful and unique, using Etsy or Amazon to find a unique pencil case or paint brush holder may seem small, but that can be a gift that is used for decades.
- Think outside the box. Art is a business, and if you are buying something for an artist, maybe you can focus on that aspect. Getting a website up or professional headshots can be very important for properly marketing an artist and can be an excellent way to help them focus on their art in a whole different way.
Finding Creative Gifts For Artists
While it can be easy to just get someone a gift card, or simple coffee mug and call it a day, spending a little time to find the right gift can pay off dividends. A little thought and care in a gift, especially when it comes to those who value symbolism (like artists) can go a very long way.
Hopefully, the items on this list hit that perfect mark, or lead you to finding the absolute best gift for the artist you have in mind.