Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff Art Blog

Tips, Tricks, Thoughts, and inspiration from across the art spectrum.

  1. Better Blending with Alcohol Markers

    Better Blending with Alcohol Markers

    This step-by-step tutorial for beginners is a great place to start learning more about alcohol marker blending techniques. Even if you are familiar with the basics of using markers, if you want to level up your skills, keep reading to discover some of ...

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  2. What You Need to Know About Alcohol Markers

    What You Need to Know About Alcohol Markers

    Have you ever looked at a display of hundreds of colorful markers and thought how fun they would be to use, but you weren’t sure where to begin? We’ve got a few alcohol marker tips and tricks for you, whether you want to begin creating marker ...

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  3. Safety and Hazards in Art Studios

    Safety and Hazards in Art Studios

    Making art can be such an urgent emotional and spiritual experience that safety can be an afterthought. Plus, art supplies are so much fun that we can forget they may contain ingredients we should use cautiously for the safety of ourselves, those around ...

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  4. 5 Tips to Improve Your Observational Drawing Skills

    5 Tips to Improve Your Observational Drawing Skills

    Observational drawing practice is about more than just making your drawing look like the subject; it’s about improving how well you see and practicing hand-eye coordination. Our eye can trick us into making many assumptions about what we see, leading ...

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  5. Watercolor Painting Supplies: Joe’s List of Everything You Need

    Watercolor Painting Supplies: Joe’s List of Everything You Need

    “I was a practicing pharmacist in my mid-40s when I took up watercolor. All I wanted to do was paint nice little landscapes, local scenes, barns, homes, the mountains, etc. It didn’t take me long to come to the conclusion that I couldn’t ...

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  6. 20 Stocking Stuffer Studio Staples

    20 Stocking Stuffer Studio Staples

    If you find yourself struggling to decide what to get the artist in your life this Christmas, we are eager to help with recommendations for gifts artists will love any time of the year, especially during the holidays. With Christmas quickly approaching, ...

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  7. How to Create a Gift Set for Painting and Drawing: Tips from an Artist

    How to Create a Gift Set for Painting and Drawing: Tips from an Artist

    Step 1: Purchase a Cheap Joe’s Gift Card. (Just kidding, sort of, but it is an artist’s favorite gift!) We know it’s hard ...

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  8. 50 Best Gifts for Artists Under $30, $50, and $100

    50 Best Gifts for Artists Under $30, $50, and $100

    What makes a good gift for an artist? You want to spark their creativity and encourage their practice, plus surprise them with something special they might not buy for themselves. To give you some ideas on what artists really want, we’ve asked Cheap ...

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  9. Ways to Reuse Your Watercolor Paper

    Ways to Reuse Your Watercolor Paper

    Ever have a painting that just didn’t meet your expectations of a masterpiece? Well, we all have, yet discarding a full piece of watercolor paper is just out of the question. With the price of watercolor paper rising every year, you should never have t ...

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  10. Your Guide to Stretching Watercolor Paper

    Your Guide to Stretching Watercolor Paper

    People tell me all the time they have a hard time finishing the watercolor without getting all hard edges. Let me show you an old method--stretching paper--that also prevents hard edges. ...

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