Current Guide Pricing Criteria  •  August 2006  •  April 2006 Watercolor Painting (.com) Online Art Supply Pricing Guide ASW=ASW Express, CU=Currys, CJ=Cheap Joe's, DB=Dick Blick DS=Daniel Smith, JA=Jerry's Artarama, Kalish Brushes, Kolonok Brushes, MA=MisterArt, PP=Pearl Paint, Rosemary & Co, RA=RexArt, UT=Utrecht FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 30, 2006 Watercolor Painting (.com) Online Art Supply Pricing Guide A quarterly price round up © Copyright 2006 Greg Conley NOTE: This is an unscientific random survey of online art supply prices and one artist's opinion. Don't ask me to explain my spreadsheeting forays, it hurts my head. Prices are not guaranteed. Always check for sales and shipping costs! ---------------------------------------------------------- The art supply pricing wars continue with the top teams squabbling over pennies a tube and planning what sale or retail ruse will work to draw you in as a satisfied customer. DB currently reigns at the summit dodging potshots from the likes of JA, ASW, CJ, MA and the rest. -GC 04/30/06 ---------------------------------------------------------- WATERCOLOR PAINT TOP 10 PRICES Artist grade tube watercolors: Cheapest top 10 watercolor paints by price per ml and percentage of colors available based on a 20 color palette (see Pricing Criteria) Name Size per ml %Colors Where to buy 1 Pebo Fragonard 15ml .47 80% DB, PP 2 M. Graham 15ml .48 100% CU, DB 3 American Journey 15ml .49 100% CJ 4 Prismacolor 16ml .50 95% CJ, DB, MA 5 Daniel Smith 15ml .54 100% DS 6 Daler-Rowney 15ml .57 100% ASW, CJ, DB, JA, PP 7 Maimeri 15ml .57 70% DB, JA, MA, RA 8 Holbein 15ml .58 90% CJ, DB, JA, UT 9 Winsor & Newton 14ml .68 100% Everywhere 10 Steve Quiller 15ml .83 70% CJ, JA, ASW, RA ---------------------------------------------------------- STUDENT GRADE WATERCOLORS: Best prices/Where to buy Manufacturer Price Where Daler-Rowney Aquafine (8ml) 2.16 RA Grumbacher Academy (7.5ml) 1.48-49 DB, JA Van Gogh (10ml) 1.89 UT Winsor & Newton Cotman (8ml) 1.98-99/2.98-99 DB, ASW Maimeri Venezia (15ml) 2.69-70 DB, RA ---------------------------------------------------------- WHERE'S MY PAINT? WHO HAS A DEAL? Where to find your brand of watercolor paint online. Vendors listed least expensive to most expensive. An asterisk* indicates a current sale price which may rise at any time. Be sure to check vendors #2 and #3 and compare shipping costs! Brand Size Cheapest Elsewhere American Journey 15ml CJ N/A Blockx 15ml JA/ASW N/A Da Vinci 15ml ASW* JA, CU Daler-Rowney Artists 15ml ASW* DB, CJ, JA, UT, MA Daniel Smith 15ml DS N/A Grumbacher Finest 16ml JA** ASW Holbein Artists 15ml ASW* DB, CJ, PP, UT, JA, CU Lukas Aquarell 24ml ASW* JA M. Graham 15ml BD CU Old Holland Classic 18ml ASW PP, JA Pebeo Fragonard 15ml PP DB Prismacolor Premier 16ml DB ASW, PP, CJ, MA MaimeriBlu 15ml ASW* CJ, BD, MA, JA, PP Schmincke Horadam 15ml PP DB, JA, ASW Sennelier Extra Fine 10ml ASW* DB, CJ, JA, PP Steve Quiller 15ml CJ JA, ASW, RA Winsor & Newton 14ml ASW* DB, JA, CJ, MA, UT, PP, RA, CU *sale through 05/31/06 **closeout through 03/09/07 ---------------------------------------------------------- KOLINSKY RED SABLE WATERCOLOR BRUSHES Can you believe a $59 difference in price of the same #8 round watercolor brush? Somebody rules the top again in availability but quite a few brands have their own niche markets. Brushes in this edition: Winsor & Newton Series 7, Arches Series A1, Isabey 6227Z Round, No. 3 Rekab Round, Da Vinci Maestro, Escoda Tajmyr 1212, Kolonok Polenov Series, Kalish Kolinsky Brushes, Rosemary & Co. Series #33. DB CJ CU(CAN) DS JA MA PP RA ASW* W&N Series 7 #4 $17.98 $21.49 $44.44 $37.15 $23.90 $25.03 $35.04 $31.53 $18.29 #6 $30.88 $38.19 N/A $59.45 $42.26 $44.13 $61.78 $55.62 $31.99 #8 $69.98 $84.19 $162.32 $129.00 $90.90 $97.28 N/A $122.58 $69.99 Arches A1 #4 $22.08 $22.00 N/A N/A $22.17 N/A N/A N/A $22.17 #6 $41.28 $41.49 N/A N/A $41.37 $49.64 N/A N/A $41.37 #8 $47.88 $47.99 N/A N/A $47.97 $57.56 N/A N/A $47.97 Isabey 6227Z #4 N/A $15.19 N/A N/A $18.17 N/A N/A N/A $16.29 #6 N/A $26.49 N/A N/A $31.81 N/A N/A N/A $28.59 #8 N/A $39.59 N/A N/A $47.81 N/A N/A N/A $42.59 No. 3 Rekab #4 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A $12.82 N/A $12.17 #6 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A $36.68 N/A $24.49 #8 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A $77.10 N/A $49.99 Da Vinci #4 $12.99 N/A N/A $16.96 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A #6 $14.99 N/A N/A $26.25 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A #8 $23.29 N/A N/A $43.92 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Escoda Tajmyr #4 $9.99 $8.79 N/A N/A $12.49 N/A N/A N/A $9.49 #6 $12.99 $10.69 N/A N/A $14.99 N/A N/A N/A $11.86 #8 $16.99 $14.19 N/A N/A $19.99 N/A N/A N/A $15.76 *sale through 05/31/06 on select products ---------------------------------------------------------- KOLINSKY RED SABLE WATERCOLOR BRUSHES Wonderful Kolinsky sable watercolor brushes direct from (or as close to) the manufacturer as you can get. #4 #6 #8 Origin Kolonok Polenov Series $16.59 $27.69 $29.89 RUSSIA Kalish Finest Kolinsky $9.10 $20.00 $42.00 IRELAND Rosemary & Co. Series #33 £3.50 £5.50 £10.15 UK ---------------------------------------------------------- WATERCOLOR PAPER: Best prices for select 140lb. watercolor papers with wide availability. Manufacturer Sheets Size Price Where Arches CP Block 20 9x12 17.49 JA Arches CP Block 20 12x16 25.48-9 DB, JA, ASW* Arches CP Block 20 18x24 46.78 DB ---------------- Arches CP Sheet 1 22x30 3.38 DB Arches RO Sheet 1 22x30 3.38 DB Arches HP Sheet 1 22x30 3.48 DB ---------------- Arches CP Sheets 10 22x30 25.99 JA, ASW* Arches RO Sheest 10 22x30 25.99 JA, ASW* Arches HP Sheets 10 22x30 25.99 JA, ASW* ---------------- Fabriano A. CP Block 20 9x12 14.59 JA, ASW* Fabriano A. CP Block 20 12x18 20.49 JA, ASW* Fabriano A. CP Block 10 18x24 20.49 JA, ASW* ---------------- Fabriano A. CP Sheet 1 22x30 3.48 DB Fabriano A. RO Sheet 1 22x30 3.48 DB Fabriano A. HP Sheet 1 22x30 3.48 DB ---------------- Lanaquarelle CP Sheet 1 22x30 3.38 DB ---------------- Twinrocker CP Sheet 1 22x30 11.89 DB (200lb.) ---------------- Yupo (polypropylene) 1 26x20 4.28 DB (144lb.) ---------------- *sale through 05/31/06 ---------------------------------------------------------- SHIPPING COSTS: The cost of the convenience. When you order from an online art supply company be sure to read their shipping policies and check for exceptions, restrictions, and additional charges. Oversized (22 x 30 paper for example), heavy items, international orders, or rush orders will cost more. I will assume order totals are pre-tax totals. Unless noted, all rates are for ground delivery in the 48 continental US states. ASW - ASWExpress will dip into your pocket for a $10.95 shipping charge for orders under $100 (48 states). If you buy over $250 in supplies shipping is free. CU - Curry's Art Supply in Canada no longer ships to the US but Canadian orders with a pre-tax minimum of $35 can ship for $5 to $10 depending on location. Shipping is free for orders with a pre-tax total of $100 or more. CJ - Cheap Joe's charges $7.99 for orders up to $24.99 (48 states) Shipping is free for orders over $300. DB - Dick Blick Fedex Ground shipping starts at $7.95 (48 states) for orders up to $29.99. Shipping is free for all orders over $250. DS - Daniel Smith charges $7.95 for orders up to $34.99. Shipping is free for orders over $200. JA - Jerry's Artarama uses Fedex and charges $11.95 for orders up to $49.99 (48 states). Orders $750 or more pay a flat $70 rate. MA - MisterArt will charge you $7.48 for an order up to $29.99 (48states). They offer free shipping on orders $200 or more. PP - Pearl Paint offers up a $8.10 FedEx charge for orders $25-$49.99. (Is that a minimum?) Shipping is free for orders totalling $200 or more. RA - RexArt FedEx's orders up to $29.99 for $7.50 for standard ground (48 states). Regular orders of $100 or more will ship for free by a carrier of their choice. (USPS works well...) UT - Utrecht Art Supplies ships orders totalling up to $24.99 for $7.49 (48 states). All orders over $199 ship for free. That's it for this issue, shop wisely! ---------------------------------------------------------- Watercolor Painting (.com) Online Art Supply Pricing Guide © copyright 2006 Greg Conley - all rights reserved www.watercolorpainting.com - Free online art instruction! ---------------------------------------------------------- WCPOASPG001-04/25/06 Copy and Paste into your favorite word processor for print out. >>    Pricing Criteria Price listings are based on a palette of 20 watercolors and conventional watercolor paper choices. My current palette consists of the following colors: Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Ivory Black, Indian Yellow, Alizarin Crimson, Permanent Rose, Dioxazine Purple, Pthalocyanine Blue, Pthalocyanine Green, Hooker's Green Dark, Sap Green, Ultramarine Blue, Cerulean Blue, Cobalt Blue, Cadmium Yellow Pale (Lemon), Cadmium Yellow Medium, Cadmium Orange, and Cadmium Red Medium. The colors most likely to be missing from various paint manufacturer offerings are Dioxazine Purple, Indian Yellow or Gamboge, Alizarin Crimson, Burnt Umber, Permanent Rose, and Pthalocyanine Blue and Pthalocyanine Green. Most manufacturers had house-branded formulations of these colors or good alternatives, and were counted. The sixteen brands of artist grade watercolor paint compared here in various ways include Daniel Smith, American Journey, Winsor & Newton Artist's, Maimeriblu, Pebo Fragonard, Daler-Rowney Artist's, M. Graham, Holbein Artist's, Steve Quiller, Prismacolor Premier, Sennelier Extra Fine, Schmincke Horadam Aquarell, Old Holland Classic, Blockx, Grumbacher's Finest, and Da Vinci watercolors. Most were 15ml tubes. A couple not so much and the rest a little more. The watercolor papers include a selection of conventional sizes and finishes from the following manufacturers: Arches, Fabriano, Lanaquarelle, and Twinrocker. SHIPPING: Each online art supply company has different shipping and handling fees and policies, these must be considerd in your total purchase price any where you shop. DISCLAIMER: This site is an affiliate of several top online art supply companies listed here. When they have the best prices and you click a link you may be inadvertently supporting the website. Thanks. Watercolor Painting (.com) Online Art Supply Pricing Guide A quarterly price round up © Copyright 2006 Greg Conley BACK TO TOP Watercolor Tutorials • Step-by-Step Paintings • Learning Center • Artist Galleries • Fine Art Links • Art Glossary • About www.WatercolorPainting.com • Copyright © 2008 Gregory Conley. All rights reserved.