first visit to Artspan?

We are artists; each of us has his/her own website & URL. The sites are used in our own promotion, but can also be reached through artspan.com using the Artspan search functions.

Set-up of the sites is free and the monthly hosting fee is very low. Included is promotional help and more.

It is our goal to be the Internet resource for collectors, galleries, & consultants.
We are on our way. Artspan is one of the most visited art sites.

www.artresource.com

Overview: Emphasis is on the hobbyist and student. There is not a lot of variety in terms of brands and items for the fine artist. On the plus side, the site is well organized and easy to get around.

Art Supply Specifics (2 representative areas):
1. Artist oil paints: there are only 2 brands, Winsor & Newton and Grumbacher.
2. Artist brushes: we found Winsor & Newton and then a drop into a couple of low end brands.

Art supplies prices. Here are prices for one line of paints, Winsor & Newton (series 1- 5) $4.81, 6.58, 16.23, 26.08, 40.42. Brushes: Winton filbert #4 is $ 5.60. These are good prices and representative of other prices on the site. Shipping is UPS and charge is straight shipping charge. There does not appear to be extra handling fee. Returns: good system, they will send return authorization and shipping label. All you have to do is call UPS for pickup.

Last Word.... beware Paint by Numbers section, you could get hooked…serious art contenders will instead want to consider a Bob Ross painting set.

 

www.jerryscatalog.com

Overview: We had a little trouble figuring out what the site was about. First impression was cartooney, folksy and forced. However, the site is easy to navigate. Good selection of artist materials, including considerable variety in fine art brands.

Art Supply Specifics(2 representative areas):
1. Artist oil paints: W&N, Rembrandt, Blockx, Shiva, Lukas, Maimeri, Permalba, Rembrandt, Van Gogh and more.
2. Artist brushes: Simmons, Isabeym Manet Raphael, Grumbacher, Winsor & Newton, etc.

Art supplies prices. Here are prices for Winsor & Newton, again series 1- 5: $4.67, 6.56, 16.14, 25.94, 40.17. Filbert #4 brush by Simmons was only $4.29. Altogether, very reasonable prices and great selection. However, shipping charges appear to be actual cost + handling charge. This does add at least a couple or more dollars to the total.

Finally... the site grew on us: good inventory. And the logo kinda grew on us too...the artiste (lil' Jerry) with the beret. And sometimes without the beret... looked a little like a teletubby.

 

www.artstores.com

Overview: "Real Supplies. Real Artists." It's cheerful and colorful, and a bit of a yawn. Difficult to get off the homepage also. The nav bar doesn't appear until you get to one of the interior pages. So, our advice: hit any of the links to get off the homepage. Once you do that, you will be ok until you begin to order. There is an unnecessary step in ordering that results in lost time. You must first click on the item name, then you will get a pop-up screen where you add the item to your shopping cart. Surprisingly clunky procedure.

Art Supply Specifics (2 representative areas):
1. Artist oil paints: limited selection. W&N, Rowney, and a generic brand that doesn't appear available online.
2. Artist brushes: again limited selection.

Art supplies prices. Here again are prices for Winsor & Newton (series 1- 5) $5.04- 42.33. Brushes: Winton filbert #4 is $ 5.95.
Other prices also somewhere in the middle.
Shipping is UPS and charge seems pretty much straight shipping charge.

All in all...For a retail operation with a strong urban presence, a surprising lack of any kind of urban edge. But they do have a nice selection of crafts and kids stuff.

 

www.meininger.com

Overview:There are 4 sections: Online Catalogue, Education Center, Info Center and the About the Meiningers sections (family biz since 1881, nice to know). But there is really only 1 section and 1 page, and that page is called "Product Directory." Yes, its the "put everything on one page" philosophy which we will subscribe to once everyone has high speed access. Until then its a longish wait for that big page to open (and for some of the other pages also...they may need to upgrade their server). Ordering seems to go fairly smoothly

Art Supply Specifics (2 representative areas):
1. Artist oil paints: W&N, Gamblin, Maimeri.
2. Artist brushes: limited.

Art supplies prices. Here again are prices for Winsor & Newton (series 1- 5) $4.99 - 41.89.
Other prices are also just ok.
Shipping is UPS and there is a little extra in there for handling ($8.95 for orders up to $50)

Sincerely yours.... they have 2 stores in Colorado, seem like nice folks, but the site could use a little attention.

www.cheapjoes.com

Overview: Nice, clean site (and big, a lot of stuff). Pages load fast. Really easy to navigate. Secret is in the Navigation bars at the bottom and to the left. They will take you where you need to go and do it quickly. You can order stuff and then quickly add something else from another category. Good keyword search also, very useful. Quick checkout, no hassles. Also should mention the inventory buttons. Red (out of stock), green (in stock)and yellow (beginning to run short)will tell you the status of the item being ordered.

Art Supply Specifics (2 representative areas):
1. Artist oil paints: nice selection: 8 brands
2. Artist brushes: good selection of both quality and low end brushes.

Art supplies prices. Here again are prices for Winsor & Newton oil paints (series 1- 5) $4.40-36.10. Brushes: Simmons filbert #4 is $3.80.
Other prices also very good.
Shipping is UPS and charge is a bit over the average ($9.99 for below $35 orders), but this is not an important factor as low prices on art materials more than compensate

Soup to Nuts...Very complete site, great inventory, you can get what you want and at the right price. Also like their catalogue, the kind of reference you will keep around. And check out the workshops.

 

www.pearlpaint.com

Overview: The icon approach, just click through and you will be where you want to be (in theory). Seems like it should work. And it does, as long as your order is not a large one. But to order a number of varied items, extra steps are necessary. And moving around within the site is difficult. The site needs a nav bar or two. And pages are not that interesting to look at either. Mediocre design on all counts.

Art Supply Specifics (2 representative areas):
1. Artist oil paints: selection is great, among the best, lots to choose from
2. Artist brushes: Somewhat lesser selection, but still more than adequate

Art supplies prices. Winsor & Newton artist oil paints (series 1- 5) $6.02 - 50.61.
Other prices are also at the top of the range.
And they are consistent. Shipping prices are also high. Orders under $50 have a handling charge of $4.95 in addition to shipping charge.

Once upon a time...Pearl was originally the store for real artists with their store on Canal Street in New York. Emphasis now seems to be on mall stores.

www.dickblick.com

Overview: A beast of a site, very complete, with pictures, colors, varied search functions, everything. The search functions include keywords, tabs, departments, and index, a number of different solutions to whatever search you may want to undertake. Also information on products as text on page and as pop-up pages.
Only problem comes from completeness of offering, takes a while to get around the site and select items for the shopping cart. And in some of the pages, individual items (i.e. different paints from 1 manufacturer) appear as a long list at the bottom of page and take forever to load. Dick Blick would do better to break that down into smaller morsels. Still, more than just the beast, it is one of the best.

Art Supply Specifics (2 representative areas):
1. Artist oil paints: nice selection: the most brands
2.Artist brushes: great selection of brushes.

Art supplies prices. Winsor & Newton oil paints (series 1- 5) $4.39-36.99. Other pricing is also good but not at the real low end.
Shipping is USPS or FedEx and charge is reasonable. All orders over $200, shipping is free.

Serious business....They have a substantial bricks and mortar presence with 34 stores mostly in the Midwest U.S. This has not stopped them from making a real commitment to online sales.

www.misterart.com

Overview: Impressive site. They got it right. Well thought out, intuitive, and good search functions. Also, pages load fast: they avoided the mistake of making pages too big. They have added user reviews of the products. They offer something they call the V.I.P. membership for $25/year. They are, however, a little unclear on the specifics but it seems to be afair deal and to deliver on their promise that you willl "receive an extra discount off of the already low everyday prices listed in our online store."

Art Supply Specifics (2 representative areas):
1. Artist oil paints:very good selection
2.Artist brushes: the best of the online sites.

Art supplies prices. Winsor & Newton oil paints (series 1- 5) $5.68-47.72. This was second highest of the sites we have looked at and we were suprised. Other items we looked at did not appear to be quite so pricey.
Shipping is UPS Ground or other as you specify. Shipping charge is reasonable.

 

Interesting soiree....Mr Coffee meets Mr Art.
By the way, Mr Art is a virtual dude. (no bricks and mortar).

 

www.dixieart.com

Overview: A different look. An art site with a topping of Louisiana hot sauce site. However, the site is"currently being redesigned" Good short product descriptions and the pages load quickly. Ordering is straightforward. Main page is for fine arts, but there are other major sections devoted to exotic stuff like "tatoos and body art."

Art Supply Specifics (2 representative areas):
1. Artist oil paints: limited
2. Artist brushes: again, limited.

Art supplies prices. Winsor & Newton oil paints (series 1- 5) $4.30-36.15. Makes them the low price winner, at least on this item. Brushes and other items also on the low side.

Surprise.....this site was a bit of a sleeper, ended scoring fairly well in most areas.

 

www.utrecht.com

Overview: Nav bar on the left covers all categories of art materials on the site, soup to nuts. The site is easy to get around, not cluttered. Ordering procedure is simple and quick.

Art Supply Specifics: Real attraction is combination of Utrecht/ generic and a few top brands (i.e. Grumbachewr, W&N, Rembrandt along with Utrecht oil paints or Classen and Utrecht linen canvas). Utrecht paints and brushes are of reasonably good quality . Certainly with less critical supplies, they are very acceptable alternative, but perhaps not at top end (i.e. yellow ochre no problem, but for something like a cadmium red go for the W&N or Rembrandt). Ditto with other materials.

Art supplies prices. Winsor & Newton oil paints (series 1- 5) $4.99-42.29. Not low or high cost leaders. But if you combine Utrecht products with better brands, you will do ok.

Experience counts....Their very considerable experience in retail and mail order show in the design of this site. And, no Paint by Numbers! You will not find Utrecht at the mall.

 

www.flaxart.com

Overview: S.F.-based operation, not to be confused with Sam Flax in New York or other Flaxes around the country (family got separated). Also not to be confused with a fine arts supplies retailer. We could not find oil paints except for introductory set. Either they don't sell them or the site won't let you find them. Seem to have a smattering of products in a lot of areas but not depth and no real commitment to fine art.

The look of the site is very clean, nice though unoriginal design and no compelling reason to linger or to buy.

 

www.triangleart.com

Overview: The new art. Their heart seems to be with the corporate customer. There are a lot of imaging services. They do have traditional fine arts products, but this is not a main feature of the site. In fact, we found a number of dead art supplies links that went nowhere. Other links brought us back to Mr. Art. Appears to be a connection there.

Another site with a nice clean design look, but their focus seems elsewhere.