The Popular and Contemporary Arts

Two Reasons Why Expensive Art Supplies Are Worth The Money

24 April 2023

Bradley Carr

Whilst low-cost art supplies are fantastic for new artists or budget-conscious people who like to make art just for fun, there are many instances in which it's worth investing in expensive art supplies. Here are two reasons why costlier art supplies are worth the money.

Expensive paints, colouring pencils and pastels tend to be extremely pigmented

One reason why art supplies like expensive paints, colouring pencils and pastels are worth purchasing is that they are usually highly pigmented. The first advantage of this is that when an artist wants to create a rich, vibrant-coloured image with these supplies, they can do so very quickly and easily, by adding just a small amount of the product to the canvas or paper. Conversely, when using cheaper, less pigmented versions of these supplies, an artist might need to add several layers of the paint, pencil or pastel to create the level of vibrancy and pigmentation they desire. This could add a lot of time to the art-making process, particularly if they are using paint and need to wait for each layer to dry before adding further layers.

The second advantage of using these very pigmented supplies to make art is that because such a small amount of each colour is needed to create a rich hue on the paper or canvas, the artist may find that these supplies last a very long time (even if they make a lot of art with them). As such, even though these supplies may be expensive to buy, they can turn out to be better value for money than their less-pigmented, cheaper counterparts.

Expensive canvases and paper tend to be less prone to damage and easier to work with

Other art supplies, such as high-end canvases and paper, are often worth the money because they tend to be less prone to damage and easier to work with than cheaper alternatives. For example, high-end canvases tend to be more tightly woven than inexpensive ones. This makes them more robust and less prone to warping. Similarly, high-quality expensive paper is less likely to tear or buckle when saturated with water-based paints than cheaper paper.

The robustness of these materials can make the process of using them to create art more fun for the artist because they won't need to be worried about, for example, applying too much pressure when drawing on them or oversaturating their paintbrush when painting on them. Furthermore, they won't need to handle their finished artwork quite as gingerly, just to ensure that it doesn't get damaged before they have a chance to put it on display or sell it. 

Visit a local arts and crafts store to learn more. 

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