The price of paint

Jackson's Art Pricewatch Scheme is the sort of marketing effort by art supplies companies which impresses me. 

Jackson's Art website page for the Pricewatch Scheme

Pricewatch Scheme

Our dedicated team of price watchers will constantly check our online competitor’s prices for the most popular branded art materials so that we can guarantee that the lowest prices can always be found at Jacksonsart.com

I'm a committed buyer of goods from John Lewis and one of the reasons I do is because they promise to match the price of the same goods on sale somewhere else so that they always offer the lowest price on normal (ie not clearance) stock.

A commitment from art supplies companies to introduce a price watch comparison service has been long overdue.

The Jacksons scheme is not perfect.  They've picked popular products and very reasonably have matched it against "competitor websites chosen on the first search results for the term ‘art supplies’ on Google.co.uk"

Which means it doesn't cover every product and it doesn't cover every competitor - but it's a start.

It could also mean that art supplies companies start to look very carefully at the price they're charging and introduce a bit more competition into the marketplace.

However, one might be forgiven for not being aware that the system actually exists.  They don't exactly shout about it on the front page of their website!

In fact, it's new and if I hadn't read their 24th January blog post Price Watch scheme I wouldn't have known anything about it.

To my mind, the quality of this scheme will depend on reliable reporting and updating of prices across the board. I could imagine other art suppliers becoming very annoyed and even litigious if their prices are misrepresented in anyway - that's if the Trading Standards people don't get there first!

My conclusion is that it's good to see somebody trying this approach - let's see how it works in practice before arriving at any conclusions about the scheme as a whole.

Cost of shipping

My normal caution to individual artists when comparing prices for art materials is 'ALWAYS look at the cost of shipping' because of the scope for suppliers to balance losses on cutprice goods with premiums on shipping costs.  I've certainly spotted suppliers in the past who have operated according to this strategy.

In this instance I note Jackson's Shipping Information indicates all shipping - at UK standard postage rates - is free once you've topped £39.  The usual sort of premiums apply to the Islands and Ireland.

The Top Five Artists' Watercolour Paints in 2013

Personal preferences were expressed in the product review poll "Which are the best artist-quality watercolour paints? (2012 / 13)" on my website Which is the best brand of watercolour paint for artists?

The chart below records the results of 360 responses.

Derived from
Which are the best artist-quality
watercolour paints? (2012 / 13)

The TOP FIVE WATERCOLOUR PAINTS IN 2013 are:

1. Winsor & Newton - 27%
2. M. Graham Watercolour Paints - 11%
3. Daniel Smith Watercolor Paints - 10%
4. Fine Schminke Horadam Aquarell - 9%
5. Sennelier Aquarelle Extra - 8%

It's basically Winsor & Newton way out in front and then four brands - two American and two European - bringing in the next significant group of artist grade paints.

Those who are unfamiliar with M. Graham Watercolor Paints may be surprised they came second. However you should note:

• Reviews of these paints generally provide high praise for the quality, saturation and lightfastness
• 95% of those buying this paint from Dick Blicks would recommend them to a friend.
• The Wilcox Guide to the Finest Watercolours gave high ratings to these paints across the watercolour range.

Below that most paints got little or no support of significance - although there is a good spread of those that did get votes

The chart below reflects the paints in the poll in alphabetical order - and indicates the percentage of the vote each attracted.

The ranking of different brands of paint - in percentage order - follows the chart

Ranking of Watercolour Paints

This is the final ranking for the 2012-13 Poll to identify

• 27% - Winsor and Newton Artists Watercolours 
• 11% - M. Graham Watercolor Paints
• 10% - Daniel Smith Watercolor Paints 
• 9% - Fine Schminke Horadam Aquarell
• 8% - Sennelier Aquarelle Extra
• 6% - Holbein Artists Watercolor
• 3% - Royal Talens
• Rembrandt
• St. Petersburg Watercolors
• 2%
• Daler Rowney Artists Watercolours 
• Kremer Pigmente Watercolors
• 1% 
• Da Vinci
• Dr. Ph. Martin's Hydrus Fine Art Watercolor Paints
• Grumbacher Watercolor - Finest
• Lukas Aquarell
• Maimeri Blu
• Mijello Mission Gold Watercolors
• Royal Talens - Van Gogh
• Shin Han Premium Watercolors

The following paints failed to get a vote:

• Art Spectrum Artists Watercolours
• Blockx Extra Fine Watercolors
• Holbein Irodori Antique Watercolor
• Old Holland Classic Watercolours
• Pebeo Fragonard Extra-Fine Artists' Watercolors
• Robert Doak's Concentrated Watercolors
• Stephen Quiller Watercolors
• Utrecht Artists' Watercolors

I'll be posting a new Poll for 2014 in the next few days.

Print on demand: top choices are Zazzle and Fine Art America

Zazzle and Fine Art America are the most popular choices of artists using print on demand services for their artwork.  

Print on demand is a service where you upload an image and a company fulfils all orders for a giclee print, invoices, processes payments and despatches the print on your behalf - for a fee.  many artists like it as they can make money from their artwork even if the original has been sold and can spend more time on making art and less time on doing the administrative aspects.

However print on demand doesn't just happen - just as with original art, you still need to work at the marketing!

But which site offers the best service?

My poll which investigates which print on demand service artists like best has been running on my website dedicated to Print Art on Demand - Resources for Artists since last August.  You can see it below.

POLL: Which "Print on Demand" site for art prints do you like the best?

Poll ran for 13 months
from 14 August 2012 - 14 September 2013

The poll ran for 13 months between August 2o12 and Sepetmber 2013. I'd have liked the poll to have been bigger - that said it still represents responses from 64 people, some of whom have also left comments on the website.

Key results

• Zazzle managed to snare nearly a third of the print on demand clients 
• a quarter opted for the services of Fine Art America.

While the traffic for Cafepress and Zazzle is ostensibly similar, it's very clear that Zazzle is the site of choice for smaller and less fine art oriented items with images. Zazzle continues to remain very popular with artists wanting to sell at the 'popular art'/low priced end of the market

Upon further investigation, while there's not that much to choose between them in terms of traffic in the summer months, Zazzle absolutely thrashes CafePress at Christmas with some 2 million more visitors (9+ million compared to CafePress's 7+ million).  So if you want customers for your art at Christmas you might want to give Zazzle a try.

Zazzle also has the snazziest looking website - which is bang up to date.  It's already got its offerings up re. putting artwork on the new iPhone cases on its home page!

Redbubble is close to the Zazzle and Cafepress end of the market - however the general consensus is that this once popular Australian based firm has maybe peaked.  It's been giving an impression of a site which lost its way in business terms.  The website also has a more conventional look about it. A number of people have been looking for other venues since they changed the way they do business.

Fine Art America is a more popular choice for those wanting to sell fine art prints of their artwork on demand - with the company doing all the necessary to fulfil the order.  One of the aspects artists appreciate is the fact that they can choose whether or not Pinterest can pin their images or not - it's their choice, not a choice made for them by the website.

What I like about Fine Art America is that all the basics are explained - with a decent amount of detail - all on one page.  You also have the chance to sell prints direct from your own website.  With a premium membership you can also sell your art via Amazon.com.  On the other hand, its sop site is by far the most traditional looking and is likely to attract an older customer.  In my view, Fine Art America could do with reviewing how its site stacks up compared to the competitors.

My original choice of website for prints (Imagekind) was spot on in terms of quality of print - and absolutely dreadful in terms of their business model and their overall approach to growing the business.  So while you can see my prints via my website I have been giving some thought for a while to switching to a new provider.

I'm not really into selling mugs and mousemats so I'll probably skip Zazzle and give Fine Art America another close look.  I'm also going to check out some of the photography websites which have well organised ecommerce options and will then review the options.

One thing I would say is if you've not given ALL their websites a once over for quite a while, I think you'll notice quite a bit of change.  Maybe time to take another look?

Please share your views

Please let us know your experiences of different print on demand websites either here or on Print Art on Demand - Resources for Artists

2013 POLL: Which is your favourite make of artist grade soft pastels?

I'm monitoring your favoured brands of pastel and I'd appreciate it if all pastel artists click this link 2013 POLL: Which is your favourite make of artist grade soft pastels? to visit my website Pastels - Resources for Artists and vote on the BRAND NEW POLL for your current favourite make of soft pastel.

Is it the same as in previous years or have you switched allegiance recently?

Kremer Soft Pastels

I've edited the choice of soft pastels this year to those which are currently available in open stock and rated as artist grade soft pastels. That means:

PASTELS ADDED

• Blue Earth (available from Dakota Pastels) and 
• Kremer Pastels (available from Kremer Pigmente - and Jackson Art in UK)

PASTELS DROPPED

• Blick (student grade), and 
• Winsor & Newton (no longer listed as an available product as per 2013 website)

PASTELS AMALGAMATED

• I've amalgamated all the different Diane Townsend Pastels into one category

You can see the trends in terms of the popularity of different makes of soft pastels in yesterday's post Unison is still favourite artist grade soft pastel.

Unison certainly take some beating - they've been top in each one of the four polls I've run to date - however the ranking of the top five pastels changes on a regular basis.

Unison is still favourite artist grade soft pastel

Unison Colour's Soft Pastels are still pastel artists' favourite brand of soft pastels.  The image below is of the poll results after 445 people voted between January 2011 and May 2013.

The chart comes from the opinion poll which asked this question in a poll held on my Pastels - Resources for Artists website.  Only soft pastels available at the beginning of January 2011 were listed (alphabetically) in the poll.

The top three brands of soft pastels are all made in Europe.  They were:

• Unison (18%)
• Sennelier (13%)
• Schminke (9%)

Others which did well included Talens Rembrandt (8%); Terry Ludwig (6%); Winsor & Newton (6%) and Girault (5%).

As in previous polls a lot of smaller brands have carved out a niche and have some support - generally around 2-3%

Soft Pastels Popularity - Trend analysis

Here's what the trends in terms of poll results have looked like over the last 4 times I've reported on which are the favourite brands of soft pastel.

• As you can see Unison has averaged c.20% +/- 2% and has consistently topped the poll for the last 6 years.  
• Sennelier has continues to maintain its lead over Schminke
• Talens Rembrandt continues to challenge for third place - but isn't achieving at the moment
• Terry Ludwig continues to lead the USA 'pack' of artisan pastel makers

BRAND OF PASTEL	2011-2013	2011	2010	2006-2009
Unison	18%	22.1%	21.9%	19.6%
Sennelier	13%	14.7%	13.3%	15.9%
Schminke	9%	6.6%	15.2%	11.7%
Talens Rembrandt	8%	11.2%	9.4%	9.4%
Terry Ludwig	6%	6.6%	6.1%	11.7%
Winsor & Newton	6%		4.7%	6%
Girault	5%		5%	3.1%

Notes:

1. the 2006-09 poll was run continuously for three years and had 
2. the 2010 Poll ran for a year and had 361 responses
3. the 2011 Poll was checked in February 2012 and had 252 responses - so the poll was left to run until the end of 2012.  
4. The 2011-12 Poll was not various reasons led to the final tot-up to this poll not happening until now (mid-May 2013)
5. The 2013 Poll will not be a full year and may run until the end of 2014.

Previous Polls

• Soft Pastels: What's your favourite make? (2011 results)
• Which is your favourite make of soft pastels? (2010 Poll Results)
• Opinion Poll: Which is your favourite make of soft pastels? (200609 results)

Unison Pastels

Unison Pastels - Resources for Pastel Artists is the website I created after Unison came top of the first three polls.  It provides more links to information about the pastels and the products available.  You can see pictures of the shades available - and what I've produced while using them.

The Best Art Supplies Stores in New York

Yesterday, I added a new section The Best Art Supplies Stores in New York to my 'resoources for artists' website USA: Art Supply Stores & Online Art Supplies

Pearl Paint, 308 Canal Street, TriBeCa, New York NY 10013

I've constructed the section by reviewing what I can find online.  

The thing is - I KNOW I've read excellent reviews by art bloggers in the past about different art materials stores in New York - but I simply can't find them!  It's driving me potty!

Have people stopped writing reviews of art supplies stores in New York or has Google stopped identifying them?  The only ones I've found so far are the Handprint reviews of retailers which include three reviews of stores in NYC.

Anyway I'd like to develop this section to include a poll, links to reviews and a map on the website to help people visiting New York.  However first I'd like to be clearer as to the relative ranking of the top ten stores - so I can construct my top 10 poll!   My initial conclusions to date are:

• Pearl Paint in Lower Manhattan, between Tribeca, SoHo and Chinatown probably gets the most visitors and certainly gets the most reviews - but it also gets quite a lot of dissatisfied customers.  
• Dick Blick in NoHo, Manhattan gets the most favourable reviews and is actually the top art materials store on Yelp.  Plus points are well laid out store makes it easy to find what you want and helpful staff
• New York Central Art Supply between Green Village and the East Village is very much the "go to" store for fine art paper

So I'd like to ask you two questions:

• Which are your top three art supplies stores in New York? Please leave the names and locations of your top three as a comment
• Have you written a review of any of them?  If so please leave a comment with the URL of your blog post and I'll link to it or reference it.

I'll then add in a poll to the website and more links to reviews of the different recommended stores.

The Favourite Coloured Pencil Awards! (2012 Brand Poll Results)

This is my Annual Report on the results of the Annual Poll which asks which is your current favourite brand of artist grade coloured pencil.

Artist grade in this connection means:

• used by fine artists (whether professional or amateur) - people who would like their artwork to last and/or to sell it.
• suitable for fine art rather than commercial art where longevity is of no relevance once the artwork has been photographed.

Below is the chart of the results from the Annual Poll on my resource website Coloured Pencils - Resources for Artists (VOTE on this 2013 Poll by clicking this link - 2013 POLL: Which is the best brand of artist grade coloured pencil?)

Chart of the Results of the 2012 Poll:
Which is the best brand of artist grade coloured pencil?

This year 347 people voted during 2011 to determine which is the best brand of artist grade coloured pencil.  This is fewere than in previous years but I didn't remind people about the poll at mid-year as I've done in the past.

The results are as follows

• The Favourite Artist Grade Coloured Pencil in 2012 - Faber Castell Polychromos (33.4%)
• 2nd - Sanford Prismacolor Premier (15%)
• 3rd - Derwent Coloursoft (8.4%)
• 4th - Caran d'Ache Luminance (6.6%)
• 5th - Caran d'Ache Pablo (5.5%)
• The Favourite Lightfast (6901) Artist Grade Coloured Pencil in 2012 - Caran d'Ache Luminance (this is a pencil which is accredited as being compliant with the standard ASTM D-6901 for testing Lightfastness in Coloured Pencils created by the American Society for Testing and Material).
• The Favourite brand of Artist Grade Coloured Pencil Media in 2012 - Faber Castell Polychromos - by a mile!

Which means Faber Castell is now the dominant brand and Polychromos is the dominant artist grade coloured pencil within the coloured pencil marketplace for fine artists.  

For a further explanation of how this comes about see below.

Analysis of changes in coloured pencil brand preference over time

It's worth remembering that the performance of different pencils in Opinion Polls is highly dependent on how easy they are to obtain and the patterns of buying behaviour in different countries.  

What I have found noticeable over time is that as more people buy online they are more likely to try new brands of pencils - and are no longer dependent on the pencil in open stock at their local art store - assuming that this store has survived the recession!

The recession has also inevitably had an impact.  One might expect the cheaper pencils to be doing better.  In fact the reverse seems to be occurring and those with more disposable income seem to be favouring the top quality pencils - even if they are more expensive.

Changes in coloured pencil brand preferences 2008 - 2012

I've been running the Poll since 2008 so it's developed a few trends in that time - and we'll look at these below.

CLICK THE CHART below to see a MUCH LARGER version of this chart which shows the percentage share each manufacturer earned in the annual polls.  The very minor brands have been eliminated from view in the chart for the purposes of this analysis.

• GAINERS: Faber Castell, Caran d'Ache
• LOSS OF SHARE: Prismacolor, Lyra Rembrandt
• NEUTRAL: Derwent, Blick and Talens Van Gogh

The Annual Poll was started partway through 2008.  The pattern over time, based on the poll results for the last five years, can be summarised as follows:

• There have been three dominant brands in the marketplace in the last five years - Sanford Prismacolor, Faber Castell Polychromos and Derwent (various)
• Two more brands Caran 'Ache and Lyra Rembrandt have been competing for attention - and one - Caran d'Ache - is beginning to have a serious impact in 2012.
• There are two minor brands - Talens van Gogh and Blick
• In 2012, there has been a significant shift
• Faber Castell is now dominant over the combined pencils of all other manufacturers. 
• One pencil - the Polychromos - now has a 1/3 share of the market.  It is more than  twice as popular as its nearest competitor.
• Prismacolor has lost 45% of its market share in the last year - and is no longer rated as the premier brand of coloured pencils.  For the last four years it has consistently had just less than a third of the market (28-32%).  This year its share has reduced to 18%.  (I'll comment on this further)
• Derwent and Prismacolour are now neck and neck in the popularity stakes
• The Caran d'Ache Luminance pencil - which is lightfast - has continued to build its share of the market DESPITE being the most expensive coloured pencil in the world!  This very clearly demonstrates that price is obviously NOT a barrier to building market share amongst fine artists if people want a quality pencil which is lightfast.  It comprehensively demonstrates that any failure of previous brands of lightfast pencils (which have been dropped) is very probably down to:
• the quality of the pencil in terms of application and use 
• the marketing of the product
• and/or both the above!

While there may be weaknesses in my poll results, so far as I am aware there is no other consistent polling of preferred brands of coloured pencils on a global basis.  If there is I'd be happy to study the results and any inconsistencies with the results of my poll.  (I used to crunch numbers and analyse them for a living!)

Conclusion

The following summary is a product of both the poll, consumer comments available on the Internet (and offline) and recent research.

To my mind the current situation can be characterised as follows.

• Faber Castell has been very focused around the quality of one pencil.  It delivers a high quality product of consistent reliability.  This has earned the Polychromos many admirers - who in turn recommend the pencil to others!  This focus on one pencil gives it a much bigger impact in the marketplace.
• Sanford has lost its way both in terms of  product range, its target market and the quality of the product produced.  I have observed lots of changes and no discernible direction in strategic terms plus lots of complaints about matters which the company has failed to address over the years. It no longer feels to me like a manufacturer which is serious about producing quality products for fine artists.  Its cheap unreliable pencil appears to be targeted at the younger / student market and children and adults who like colouring pages.
• Derwent has a huge range of pencils - none of which do particularly well - apart from the Coloursoft.  Effort and marketing appears to be spread thin.  They could have had the lead in the Lightfast Pencil market - and abandoned it.  Issues around lightfastness continue to be relevant to the artist grade range.
• Caran d'Ache is playing a blinder.  It took time to produce a well thought out pencil which has become very popular - the Luminance.  Despite its high price, this pencil is attractive, works well and is readily available - it looks likely to continue to be very popular and to grow its market share over time.  Not least because it is certified as ASTMS 6901 compliant - and is the only leading artist grade pencil which can claim this. Its growth has also not seriously dented the market for the Pablo Pencil.  The company persuade me (and others) that they recognise how long it takes a new product to establish itself in the market and have a focus on continuous improvement.

Thus we have my personal 'take' on four manufacturers who all demonstrate a very different approach to how to win share and make money from coloured pencils.  

While fine artists are only a small part of the coloured pencil market as a whole one is led to wonder why more artist grade pencils don't emulate the success of the Polychromos!

I'm going to follow up this Poll Report with in-depth analysis of the main brands.  I have eclectic tastes rather than being a dedicated fan of one brand - so this should prove interesting.

I've started by updating the analysis of brands in the Artist Grade Coloured Pencils: Brand Information section of Coloured Pencils - Resources for Artists.  Each of the sections on the manufacturers of artist grade pencils now has a section which covers:

• SUMMARY
• Favoured by
• No. of artist-quality coloured pencils 
• Meets 6901 Lightfastnes Standard
• Characteristics of coloured pencils
• Pencil equipment/aids available? 
• Characteristics of Manufacturer
• Country

This is my post about The Favourite Watercolour Pencils Awards! (2012 Brand Poll Results)

You can now vote on the 2013 POLL: Which is the best brand of artist grade coloured pencil?

Do SUBSCRIBE

if you'd like to be kept informed about the other Poll results for 2012 

and/or reviews of art products and art books in 2013. 

You can find a subscription link near the top of the side column.

Links:

• How to vote for the best coloured pencils in 2013
• The Favourite Coloured Pencil Awards! (2011 Brand Poll Results)
• The Favourite Coloured Pencil Awards! (2010 Brand Poll Results)

The Favourite Watercolour Pencils Awards! (2012 Brand Poll Results)

This post is about my Annual Poll to determine the best brand of Watercolour Pencil on the market from those available to purchase at the beginning of the year.

Once again Faber Castell is the market leader in terms of both market share and the favourite watercolour pencil.

The Favourite Watercolour Pencils Awards 2012

1. Favourite Watercolour Pencil in 2012 - Faber Castell Albrecht Durer
2. Favourite Woodless Watercolour Pencil in 2012 - Joint Winner: Cretacolor Aqua Monolith & Derwent Aquatone
3. Favourite brand of Watercolour Media in 2012 - Faber Castell

The results also indicate that wood pencils are more popular than woodless pencils and that the market for woodless pencils appears to be shrinking over time.

Results of the Annual Poll on Coloured Pencils - Resources for Artists

This poll was first introduced in 2010 when 144 people voted. 125 people voted in 2011 while only 64 people voted in 2012 on my 2012 POLL: What's your favourite watercolour pencil?.  The poll is now closed.

Here's a table of the results over the last 3 years

FAVOURITE	2012	2011	2010
Watercolour Pencil	Faber Castell Albrecht Durer	Faber Castell Albrecht Durer	Faber Castell Albrecht Durer
Woodless Watercolour Pencil	Cretacolor Aqua Monolith & Derwent Aquatone	Caran d'Ache Neocolor & Derwent Aquatone	Caran d'Ache Neocolor & Derwent Aquatone
Brand of Watercolour Media	Faber Castell	Faber Castell	Derwent and Faber Castell

Below is a table indicating the actual numbers across all products for the percentage market share - of those people who responded to the poll.

It's very clear from this relatively small sample that Caran d'Ache and Derwent's results have reduced while Faber Castell has grown its share of the market.

A growing interest in Faber Castell is to my mind entirely consistent with more and more coloured pencil artists becoming aware that the favourite watercolour pencil is the Faber Castell Albrecht Durer. It's way out in front of the rest.  I'd always expect growing awareness of what people like and recommend to influence the buying patterns of those trying new media for the first time.

Table: Manufacturers percentage share of respondents

Watercolour Pencil Manufacturers	2012	2011	2010
(all brands)	%	%	%
Caran d’Ache (all brands)	9.4	18.4	20.9
Cretacolor	3.1	3.2	1.4
Daler Rowney	4.7	0	0
Derwent (all brands)	18.8	27.2	34
Faber Castell Polychromos	40.6	32.8	34
General’s Kimberley Thin Lead	6.3	0	0
Lyra Rembrandt	1.6	4.8	4.9
Sanford Prismacolor	7.8	6.4	4.9
Staedtler Karat Aquarell	4.7	2.4	0
Royal Talens van Gogh	3.1	4.8	0
	100	100	100

We do however need to remember that the results in part are ALWAYS dictated by the fact that not all brands are well known or easily available in local art shops.  However all are available from online suppliers (see below for links to Art Suppliers in the UK and USA) and I'm trying to enhance awareness via the 

I'm minded to ponder on the fact that CPSA banned from use of the Caran d'Ache Neocolor II for their main international exhibition in 2012.  To my mind it is to all intents and purposes exactly like other woodless watercolour pencil type media.  I have yet to come across a convincing argument as to why this medium is not allowed other than the fact it uses the word 'pastel' wjile others describe it as a crayon - while being neither a soft pastel nor an oil pastel!  Could it be a question of language?

Those using watercolour pencils will be interested to know that the Colored Pencil Society of America (CPSA) also tests the lightfastness of all watercolor pencils and provide the results in their CPSA - Lightfastness Test Result Workbook Version 6

A new poll is now open and you can find it here - 2013 POLL: What's your favourite watercolour pencil?

Links:

• UK Art Shops & Online Art Supplies
• USA: Art Supply Stores & Online Art Supplies
• Art Supplies Around The World - Resources for Artists

How to vote for the best coloured pencils in 2013

I like using different brands!

This is an invitation to coloured pencil artists to VOTE for your CURRENT FAVOURITE BRAND of:

• Artist Grade Coloured Pencils and 
• Watercolour Pencils. 

You can find two BRAND NEW 2013 Opinion Polls about coloured pencils for 2013 on my website Coloured Pencils - Resources for Artists

The links to the polls are below

• 2013 POLL: Which is the best brand of artist grade coloured pencil?
• 2013 POLL: What's your favourite watercolour pencil?

This is a brand new poll - so even if you have voted before in previous years you can vote again.

The purpose of having an Annual Opinion Poll is to identify which are the most popular coloured pencils in 2013.

This enables:

• artists to change their votes if they have been experimenting with brands which they've not used before
• new brands to be reflected in the poll.  
• voting to reflect changing preferences as to existing and new brands of coloured pencils
• feedback to the manufacturers about your preferences.  Hopefully this provides an incentive to continue to provide continued improvement in the quality and lightfastness of products available in the marketplace

Don't forget to check all the options before you vote. The coloured pencils are listed in alphabetical order. 

If any of the marketing people from the different pencil manufacturers are reading this and note that their new brands are NOT included please contact me with the date your product is/was made available in the marketplace AND on your website.

The results of the two polls about your favoured brands of artist grade coloured pencils and watercolour pencil in 2012 will be published tomorrow.

Brands of Artist Grade Coloured Pencils

The brands listed are all those which were available at the beginning of 2013.  Not every brand is included.  For example, they exclude those which are most suitable for children/school students rather than fine art.

You can find out more about the different brands in

• Artist Grade Coloured Pencils - Brand Information
• Coloured Pencils - Colours and Lightfastness
• Watercolour Pencils - Brand Information

The brands of artist grade coloured pencils included this year are

• Blick Studio Artists 
• Bruynzeel Sakura 
• Caran d'Ache - Luminance (6901) 
• Caran d'Ache - Neocolor II 
• Caran d'Ache - Pablo 
• Cretacolor Karmina 
• Derwent Artist 
• Derwent Coloursoft 
• Derwent Drawing 
• Derwent Studio 
• Faber Castell Polychromos 
• Holbein Artists 
• Koh I Noor Polycolor 
• Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor 
• Mitsubishi Uni 
• Prismacolor Art Stix 
• Prismacolor Premier 
• Prismacolor Verithin 
• Soho Urban Artists 
• Talens Van Gogh (6901) 
• Tombow Irojiten 
• Utrecht Premium

VOTE for your favoured brand of artist grade coloured pencil?

Brands of Watercolour Pencils

The brands of watercolour pencils identified for the 2013 Poll are: 

• Caran d'Ache Supracolor Aquarelle 
• Caran d'Ache Neocolor II Aquarelle 
• Caran d'Ache Museum 
• Cretacolor Aqua Monolith (Woodless) 
• Cretacolor Aquarell 
• Daler-Rowney Artists' Watercolour 
• Derwent Aquatone (Woodless) 
• Derwent Graphitint 
• Derwent Inktense 
• Derwent Watercolour 
• Faber Castell Albrecht Durer 
• General's Kimberley Thin Lead Watercolor 
• Lyra Rembrandt Aquarell 
• Sanford Prismacolor Watercolor 
• Staedtler Karat Aquarell 
• Talens Van Gogh Watercolour 

VOTE for your favourite watercolour pencil

Creating and Mounting Pastel Supports

Two new sections have been added into my 'resources for artists' website dedicated to sharing information about Pastel Paper and Pastel Boards.

In addition to:

• Which is the best pastel ground?
• Comparative Reviews of Pastel Papers and Other Supports
• Brands of Pastel Paper / Supports

it now also includes

• Pastel Grounds - creating your own support - looking at the process and materials required to create your own support. I'd really like to know if there is anybody out there who has produced their own recipe for their own approach which I've not yet found.
• Mounting Boards for Pastel Artworks | How to Mount Pastel Papers and Supports - the different approaches used by different professional artists to mounting pastel paper or a pastel support onto a board prior to commencing the artwork
• VIDEO: Mounting Surfaces with Pastel Painting - plus a video which shows you how one artist creates a mounted support ready for plein air painting

I've included links to all the information that I could find online

However, if you know of any article or online website which provides information which would be useful to share with pastel artists please leave a comment below.

Art Bookshop Review: Foyles (Charing Cross Road)

This is a review of the Art Bookshop area on the second floor within Foyles Flagship book store at 113-117 Charing Cross Road in central London. Below you will find a review including photographs of the bookshop.

Foyles Art Books
about half of the shelving in the art section on the 2nd floor of this bookshop

First a note for those who know the Foyles of old and have not visited for some time.

I first started going to Foyles when I was a student in the 70s when it was ran by Christina Foyle.  It was a complete and utter maze interspersed by book stacks on the floor as well as the shelves.  It had the most books of any bookshop in London but finding them wasn't easy and the process of paying for them was completely antiquated and very slow.  As a result, it's one of the few bookshops that has made it into Wikipedia.

Foyles was once listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest bookshop in terms of shelf area (30 miles/50 kilometres) and number of titles on display.[1] In the past, it was famed for its anachronistic, eccentric and sometimes infuriating business practices, so much that they made it a tourist attraction.[2]Wikipedia - Foyles Bookshop

However all that was swept away and the shop has enjoyed a complete and comprehensive makeover.  The shelving is now exemplary and shopping for books is a complete pleasure.


RECOMMENDED:  I'd go so far as to say this is probably my bookshop of choice for art books.  The only improvement I can think of would be the addition of a few comfy chairs and a rethink of the location of books on shelves relative to the demographics of its customers!

Name of Art Bookshop: Foyles Bookshop

(Branch) Address: 113-119 Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0EB conveniently located for people visiting Oxford Street / Tottenham Court Road / Covent Garden / Leicester Square area.  Two minutes from Tottenham Road Tube station (involves a walk around the CrossRail development between Centre Point and Tottenham Court Road Tube Station

Website: General http://www.foyles.co.uk/ Specific to Foyles Charing Cross Road http://www.foyles.co.uk/Public/Stores/Detail.aspx?storeid=1011 Twitter: @Foyles

Shop hours: Monday - Saturday 9.30am - 9.00pm Sundays 11.30am* - 6.00pm (*11.30am - 12.00pm browsing only) Public holidays 11.00am - 8.00pm: Closed on Easter Sunday and Christmas Day Easter Good Friday and Easter Saturday, normal hours apply; Easter Sunday, closed; Easter Monday, 11am - 8pm

Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7437 5660

Email: customerservices@foyles.co.uk

Of interest to: art students (beginners through to Higher Education); amateur artists; professional artists; art lovers; graphic designers; illustrators; typographers

Major section on Art Theory and Aesthetics Highlights very well laid out with good labelling;  includes a “new books” section specifically for art plus a section on catalogues for current exhibitions absolutely huge section devoted to art history and artists biggest selection of books on art theory that I’ve seen in a long time (this shop is close to a leading art school) good selection of books relating to art instruction targeted at amateur artists very extensive sections devoted to graphics, design, type, illustration and photography a selection of art DVDs - including fictionalised films about artists very wide range of specialist art journals lots of knowledgeable assistants and speedy processing of purchases a very good bookshop for other books as well (the music and history sections kept my other half absorbed for over two hours!) ART DVDs and Catalogues for Current and Future Art Exhibitions specialist shelving features not often seen in art bookshops

Think Again? not for those who like their art “dumbed down” you have to be able to bend down to see the art instruction books - Foyles might like to think about the fact that a lot of (less bendy) older people take up art in their retirement a visit could get expensive - because you see so many books you want! Art Instruction books a little too low for my liking A bit too low for those whose backs and knees don't bend as well as they used to

Art Instruction: Anatomy for Drawing and Portrait/Figure Drawing section Summary: This is the bookshop to go for art books if you like a good selection and you enjoy a better quality art book. I’ve got a very good awareness of art books in print and on offer and I was generally very impressed with the books they’d chosen to stock.  This is a very good place to start if looking for books on a particular art topic.

A New Bookshop and a Move for Foyles


Foyles is due to move to a purpose-built bookshop in the adjacent former Central St Martins building in late 2013 or early 2014. They are now actively involved in planning the design of the new bookshop.

Their leasehold for site of this original bookshop is and other adjacent properties are being marketed for a very considerable sum. One can only surmise that this relates to taking advantage of the development of the new Crossrail station and retail hub at Tottenham Court Road

Other art bookshops

You can read other reviews of Art Bookshops in London in the following posts:

• Botanical Art Bookshop Review - Kew Gardens
• Art Bookshop Review: Waterstones (Covent Garden)
• Art Bookshop Review: Tate Britain Millbank Shop
• Art Bookshop Review: Thomas Heneage Art Books
• Art Bookshop Review: The National Gallery Bookshop

Plus good art bookshops in the UK are listed in Art Bookshops - Resources for Artists