Need some ideas for wildlife & nature artists? At this time of year many people's thoughts turn to the coming gift giving season. A quick search of the internet will spout forth lists of 'ideal' gifts for artists, cooks, gardener, in fact every hobby and lifestyle type imaginable. However, when I look at the lists for artists I tend to come away confused as to who curated the list - or who exactly they were aiming their list at. I hope that this gift guide will be a little different.
If you have a loved one who likes to paint animals or wildlife then this might be of help as it comes from a wildlife artist. These are gifts that I have, would appreciate and find useful - or are just plain glamorous. They are mainly watercolour related but the places I link to also offer gifts for other media users. Some of my ideas are low cost stocking fillers, others are luxury gift ideas. Some are from small, handmade businesses, others are from larger companies. While you might not like my exact thoughts, the list might throw up other suggestions for you.
The links in this article are not affiliate links and any prices are accurate as of October 2024. Links to Amazon are for the UK site.
Art tools for artists:
Art tools are always useful for artists. Sometimes we have our eye on things that we would not buy for ourselves. That's where our loved ones can swoop in and save the day - keep your ear to the ground and you might pick up some cute gift ideas.
1. Portable Painter Micro Travel Watercolour Palette
This is such a great idea for anyone who goes out and about to paint. A few watercolour paints in this palette can open a whole world of plein air painting. My top five watercolour paints that would go in it can be found in this post.
You can find the Portable Painter Micro at the Portable Painter web site or at Jackson's Art Supplies (£27.50).
2. Ceramic Water Pot with Paintbrush Holder
I have one of these wonderful paint pots (see photo below). Not only are they beautifully made, they are soft, smooth, sturdy and great for painting - and only £22. I cannot tell you how often I have to put my paint brushes down only to watch them roll off the desk and onto the floor. Instead of an ungly, paint stained jar to hold my paint water, I now have a stylish, practical water pot. This one is from Ruth Pike Ceramics on Etsy whom I can highly recommend as a seller.
3. Ceramic Watercolour Paint Palette
I recently bought myself a beautiful miniature ceramic palette from a lovely Etsy seller. It's is great for fitting in small spaces. Sadly she is no longer making them but you can look on Etsy and find similar peices that are great for mixing paint and made by local artizans - please look out for mass produced piece masquerading as handmade though. Whereas plastic palettes make small amounts of watercolour paint bead up rather than create a pool, ceramic palettes allow the paint to move freely and form a lovely, juicy puddle of colour that can be dipped into with a large or small brush. Check out Green Bird Boutique and Muddy Ceramic for alternative handmade mini-palettes. Both are UK based businesses.
4. Handmade Ceramic Rabbit Brush Rest
A similar, practical gift to the ceramic paint pot. Great for stopping your brushes rolling off the desk. I also have one of these (see the photo above, next to the paint pot) and find it indespensible. If you don't need a waterpot with brush rest, a brush rest on its own solves the problem of wandering brushes - and the rabbit shaped one I have adds a little cuteness. It came from The Paper Zoo Keeper on Etsy and although my rabbit has sold out, she often has lots of others shapes from bears to chickens with prices ranging from £8-12.
5. Peg and Awl Artist Pouches
These pouches are gorgeous. Ideal for painting and drawing outdoors, they are waterproof and sturdy. If it gets dropped in a muddly puddle then there are no tears. A quick wipe down, it's good to go and the brushes, pens or pencil are still intact. Peg & Awl are also a small family business and it is lovely to see their products more widely available. See the Peg & Awl web site or Jackson's (from £31.00).
6. Peg and Awl Pallettes
More Peg & Awl products. Like the pouches, these are beautifully made and stylish to look at. Wooden palettes with leather covers, great for travelling with your paints and a little bit more special than tubes floating around in a bag. Jackson's have them in the UK (from £39.00) or you will find them on the Peg & Awl web site.
7. Two Tumbleweeds Art Dice
Update: October 2024 - I have had trouble finding these this year. They seem to be available in the USA but not the UK. However you can find a similar but much cheaper product on Amazon in the UK but a different brand. Just search 'art dice' and they should come up.
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Something a little different - great for inspiration when your imagination refuses to play ball. Choose one or more die, shake them up, roll them, see what combination of creative suggestions fall, then create art using those ideas. Such a simple idea. In the UK you can find them on Amazon (from £36.00). They are not the cheapest gift but they are useful for those of us who are prone to a bit of artist's block.
8. Talens Art Creation Sketchbook
This is my favourite sketchbook. Sadly sketchbooks have become very expensive. They used to be a place for experimenting and letting loose your creative inspirations. These days many sketchooks are hardbound with A grade paper - or at least try to make out that they have quality paper until you add certain kinds of media and it all goes wrong. Thankfully the Talens sketchbooks are designed to take pencil, pastel, acrylics, gouache, ink, charcoal, and light washes of wet media. And I have to admit that they work very well.
I have 7 of them in various sizes and colours. You can have classic colours like black and blue or go wild with vibrant yellow or pastel green. They are low cost when compared to a lot of sketchbooks and actually make really nice journals too. The paper is cream coloured and smooth and each has an elastic closure. They are quite widely available online. I buy my colourful ones at Amazon or the classic black, white or red at Jackson's. The one below is currently £8.10 and is 21x14.8cm in size.
9. Adjustable drawing table
For those lacking a proper space to paint and draw, these little tables are marvellous. They are small enough to pick up and move around and sturdy enough to lean on. They are made of natural beechwood and come in two sizes, A2 and A3, giving a good size surface to work on. They tilt to five different degrees or they can be used flat - which also makes them easy to store. Some years ago my parents bought me something similar and it was very useful. I have moved up to a larger drawing table now but for a beginner artist - or an established one - it's a great help. This one can be found on Jackson's (£29-41).
10. Paint sets
Ah, paint sets! Those wonderful little tins and boxes fill with a rainbow of pigment. I have spent hours looking at videos of paint sets, trying to decide which would be useful. You can't beat the magic of a collection of paints - especially when you it is gifted to you. However, picking the correct paints can come down to personal preference. Some artists have their favourite paints, some will try anything. If in doubt, ask. In the meantime, these are some of the paint sets that have interested me. I am not overly familiar with the Daniel Smith or QoR sets but I have been told by other artists that they are some of the best paints around.
Daniel Smith : Watercolour Paint Sets
Schmincke Horadam Watercolour Supergranulation Sets
Golden QoR Watercolour Sets
Reference & Education Gifts
11. Art or nature books
These are just a few, small suggestions. Some I have read, others I have not (but they are on my reading list). It might give you and idea or two if you are looking for beautiful and interesting wildlife books on general subjects. If you want to find out a bit more about nature related art books, I have a previous post which you can find on my blog, here. The links below go to Amazon but if you can use your local, independent bookshop that is even better.
Flora: Inside the Secret World of Plants
The Science of Animals: Inside their Secret World
The Wild Isles: An Anthology of the Best of British and Irish Nature Writing
The Ecology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained
The Science of the Ocean: The Secrets of the Seas Revealed
Wildlife of Britain and Ireland
12. Art magazine or wildlife magazine subscription
Two of my favourite magazines that I subscribed to for years are Artists & Illustrators Magazine and BBC Wildlife. The titles speak for themselves but both are filled with information about their subject areas and have been valued sources of inspiration for me. For Artists and Illustrators Magazine you can subscribe via several magazine subsription web sites including Chelsea Magazines (the official supplier), Magazine.co.uk, iSubscribe, Readly and Pocketmags. I have used both Chelsea Magazines and Pocketmags for subscriptions and buying single issues with no problems (though I cannot vouch for the others). For BBC Wildlife you can via the Buy Subscriptions web site.
13. Learning opportunities
If other artist or wannabe artists are like me, they will love learning new art techniques or enjoy learning about wildlife. In that case, a subscription to a learning platform is a great idea. Domestika is a relatively new art platform. I have been using it for a couple of years and it has shown me new ways of working, utilising social media or just entertained me by letting me see how other artists work. A Domestika Plus subscription allows the subscriber access to loads of free content - over 1,000 courses plus end of course certificates. Courses cover Illustration, Photography, Crafts, Marketing, Design, Architecturea and Web & App Design. Alternatively, Domestika offers gift cards for 1,3,5,or 12 courses. There are lots of other learning platforms out there. Perhaps your arty friend or family member has a favourite.
Alternatively, some artists host their own classes, either online or in person. Artists usually have links to information about their own classes on their web sites if they offer them. Gifting a class to someone's favourite artists is bound to be a winner.
Gifts of Something Fancy
This section is for those things that are a little more expensive and luxurious. The dream team of the gifting world. I won't say too much about them, take a look for yourself and the products will likely speak for themselves.
14. Luxury gifts for artists
- Peg and Awl Plein Air Boxes - Beautiful wooden boxes for painting out in the open. There is one for oil/acrylic artists and one for watercolourists. Just grogeous. Find them on the Peg & Awl web site or Jackson's (from £450.50).
- Makers Cabinet: Høvel Pencil Plane and Accessories - Another beautiful little tool for the discerning artist. A brass pencil sharpener that uses a small blade in a woodworker's plane-type holder. Various accessories are available along with replacement blades. Find them at Jackson's (£74).
- Ystudio : Brass and Copper Luxury Mechancial Pencil - For those who like mechanical pencils (like me), this one gives a little style to creating graphite art or drawing out your watercolour outlines. On Jackson's (£107).
And if those luxury gifts don't tempt you, perhaps there are others on the Jackson's Luxury Gift page that will. They also have a less luxurious/more practical Gift Guide for those of us who can't spend their hard earned cash on these beautiful treasures until their lottery win comes through.
Art from their favourite artists
15. Original work, Prints or Merch
If your loved one/gift recipient have favourite artists or illustrators they often have prints of their own work or even original art. Some of my favourite wildlife and nature illustrators are below:
Lizzy Harper has a section for her original illustrations. They are very reasonably priced.
Lamb Little sells prints and other items like mugs and tote bags on Etsy.
Jessica Roux sells stationery and prints or you can find her books in bookshops and Amazon (of course).
Richard Lewington has both prints and originals for sale - (Although the date at the foot of the web site is 2010-15, the site has been updated more recently with dates for the 2023 Birdfair and tours listed. Richard is also active on Twitter so I am sure you can always get in touch with him if you need to.
Moonlight and Hares has a beautiful selection of stationery, prints and original art on her web site.
Amanda Clark has stunning prints, cards and original work in her Etsy shop.
Dani Williams has lots of magical wildlife illustrations in the form of prints, posters, decorations, cards, stickers and other stationery.
Phew! I hope that list gives you a bit of inspiration for buying gifts for the creative people in your life.