The Jackson’s team is made up of a number of painters, printmakers, illustrators and designers. We recently discussed our thoughts on the ideal art gift – the materials we’d like to receive, give or treat ourselves to. As people who are well acquainted with the range of materials available at Jackson’s, here are our recommendations.
Oil Painting
Michael Harding Plein Air Master Set
A selection of colours by the world-renowned paint maker Michael Harding. This set of ten 40ml tubes of colour comprises yellows, blues, reds, greens and an orange, from which you can mix an extensive range of colours for painting all kinds of landscape.
What oil painter wouldn’t love a good selection of Michael Harding paints?
– Julie
Cobra Water Mixable Oil Paint Value Pack Set of 10
Water mixable oils answer the need for a low odour, solvent free painting experience, without necessarily missing out on the rich, unique lustre of oil paints. Cobra paints, made by Royal Talens, are often considered some of the best water mixable oils available today. They are highly pigmented, dry with a gloss finish, and when dry are indistinguishable from other traditional oil paint brands. They can be washed from tools and palettes using soap and water.
Acrylic Painting
Jackson’s Acrylic Paper Block
This is a 15 sheet, 290gsm acrylic painting paper block. The glued edges keep the sheets flat, even when loaded with paint. Once the painting is completed, allow it to dry and then slice the top sheet away from the block with a palette knife, ready to frame or place in a portfolio. The paper is acid-free, FSC Certified, and vegan-friendly. A great lightweight surface, practical for painting outdoors or taking to an art class.
Golden Artist Colors – 6 Professional Acrylics Set
This set of six Professional Golden Heavy Body Acrylics provides an excellent introduction into the working properties of a professional quality, highly pigmented, heavy body acrylic paint. You can explore rich, vibrant colour while investigating the abilities of these paints to retain brush strokes, as well as water down to thin washes. Set includes 6-22 ml tubes in a reusable plastic case.
Colours included: Napthol Red Light, Hansa Yellow Medium, Titanium White, Mars Black, Permanent Green Light, Ultramarine Blue
Watercolour Painting
Kuretake Large Pan Set of Watercolours Set of 12
This enticing set of beautiful Japanese watercolours are ideal for sketching, illustration, sumi-e, calligraphy and more. The range includes a good selection of vivid colours with creamy consistencies that will be activated on contact with a wet brush. All of the colours are extremely lightfast.
Frazer Price Brass Watercolour Box
The Frazer Price Brass Watercolour Box is functional and beautiful, produced with an electro plated brass finish that wipes clean with a soft cloth.
Designed for painting in the studio or en plein air, it can be held comfortably in one hand. This allows artists to paint in the manner of a traditional palette, leaving the other free to paint.
Inside it features white enamelled mixing trays, with one that opens out to allow the box to be used as a palette (either right or left handed). It also has an accessible compartment for housing either whole or half pans, and a water bottle and non spill reservoir. All compartments can be easily removed for cleaning in warm soapy water. Half pans not included.
Pastel Painting
Unison Colour Soft Pastel Set of 8 Midnight
Unison Colour Soft Pastels are loved internationally for their intense colour and creamy consistency. Each pastel stick is made by hand in their small workshop situated in the Northumberland landscape. This set of 8 Midnight inspired colours
A great way to approach colour if you normally work in black and white. – Gemma
Conte Carres Box of 12 Sanguine 18th Century
A set of hard rectangular pastels that are capable of expressive crisp lines and blocks of shading. This 18th Century Sanguine set will allow you to work with a natural terracotta shade, often associated with classical 18th Century sketches.
Printmaking
FOME School Etching Press
Once clamped to a table top this invaluable printing press can be used for relief and intaglio printmaking processes. It’s perfect for small – medium format printmaking, and would suit those in the early stages of their printmaking journey, or those with limited work space. A great investment.
Pfeil Linoleum and Block Cutter Set of 6 : Set C
We’re yet to meet a relief printmaker who doesn’t love Pfeil cutting tools! The mushroom handles sit snugly in the palm of your hand, while the razor sharp blade glides through lino or wood. Set C offers an array of shapes ideal for trying out for the first time – the tools would also be useful for carving a wood sculpture or bas-relief. The blades can be sharpened using a slipstrop or sharpening stone, making these tools an investment with the potential to last a lifetime.
Drawing
Viarco Vintage Pencil Collection Pack of 12 HB
This complete collection of pencils by Viarco includes six packs, each of which contains 12 pencils. Five of these packs contain hexagonal HB pencils in a variety of colours, while one contains 12 Viarco Copying Pencils which are based on classic nineteenth-century copying pencils, which used a permanent violet dye instead of a graphite core. With designs based on Viarco products from the 1950s and 1960s, these would make a great gift for any design enthusiast or artist.
Palomino Blackwing Pearl Balanced Graphite Pencils – Set of 12
A stylish looking pencil that is satisfying to work with. These Palomino Blackwing Pearl Graphite pencils contain a medium-hard graphite lead, and a rectangular eraser at one end which is replaceable when it wears low. The presentation box has a minimal, contemporary design that would make this a lovely gift to open, as well as have sat at your drawing table.
These graphite pencils use smooth, medium-firm quality graphite, and have a replaceable eraser. The 12-pack gift box doubles as a pencil cup, ready for your desk. – Christine
Useful Items For The Studio
Magic Palette Colour Matching Guide
This ‘fan’ of colour swatches will help you to identify, match and select colours for your painting. The guide includes 36 colours printed on individual cards with 144 tints and shades. You’ll be able to overlay colour cards to view hundreds of exciting new colour combinations.
Daylight Lighting – Lumi Task Lamp
Ideal for use in any studio or work space, this professional workstation lamp will enable you to see fine details and true colours while working. The large shade can be smoothly adjusted vertically, horizontally and laterally to any desired position. The dimmable light allows easy adjustment when less light is required.
A very practical gift, especially if you’re working without enough daylight. Ideal for a home set-up or in the studio. – Gemma
Golden Tube Gripper
The Gripper Tube Opener from Golden will help you to open paint tubes that are stuck, stubborn or paint-coated. It’s made from strong, flexible ABS plastic and can be used with Golden, Williamsburg, QOR Watercolor, and other similarly sized paint tube caps. The Gripper is perfect for artists with limited strength or diminished manual dexterity.
As a stocking filler or added to some other painting materials, I cannot recommend this tool highly enough. I use it every day to open tubes of oil, acrylic or watercolour paint. I no longer struggle with stuck on lids, they come off easily. – Julie
New Wave Easy Lift Palette
The New Wave Easy Lift palette is easy to hold and easy to clean. The New Wave unique three point design distributes the palette weight between the hand, rear forearm, and torso providing maximum balance and comfort. This significantly reduces stress on muscles and tendons in the hand, wrist, arm and shoulder.
Dried acrylic paints simply peel away from this palette, while oil paints are easily removed with solvents. The Easy Lift comes with a flexible silicone thumb ring that is interchangeable for right and left handed painters, providing an unmatched level of comfort. At 11″x16″ this palette is easily transportable and extremely lightweight.
I’ve chosen to add a New Wave Easy Lift palette to my Christmas wish list because I find mixing colour on a white surface easiest – and the shape of this palette makes it great to use on a table top or holding while out painting. I also love that you can use it with both acrylic or oil. – Lisa
Jackson’s Viewfinder
A handy aid for composition and scale to help you when painting, Jackson’s Viewfinder is gridded to allow you to effectively segment and position a landscape. This rectangular, perspex viewfinder can then be drawn upon to be used when scaling artwork up, perfect for painting on the go!
Jackson’s Medium Cotton Duck Canvas – Universal Primed 10oz 10m Roll
A full 10 metre roll of 10oz universal primed canvas can be invaluable if you love to paint with acrylics or oils. You can cut pieces from the roll at whichever size you need, and stretch it to a frame or staple it to a board or the studio wall and start to paint straight away. 10oz weight cotton duck is ideal for most canvases, although if you’re stretching a canvas on a frame that is over one metre in any direction you may wish to invest in a heavier weight, 12oz cotton duck, or linen. A very useful gift for the prolific painter in your life!
More Gift Ideas at jacksonsart.com
