Don't Buy Anything Pre-Made

"Warm Water"
30" x 30" abstract painting
​Click here to purchase.

More Cost Saving Tips!
If you want to save money then don't buy pre-made. Do it yourself. If you are an artist who primarily paints on canvas, you can save a lot of money by learning how to do things yourself! Stretching your own canvas is not difficult, and it only requires a few common household power tools. Not only do you save money, but you can make your own custom sizes as well. 

You don't have to paint on canvas either, if it seems like too much effort to build something every time you want to paint, you can also work on masonite panel. Masonite is the same thing as 'hardboard' in art supply stores. You can find a 5' panel of masonite at any hardware store for about $6, and most chains (like Loew's or OSH) will cut the panel into smaller boards for you. You can save a lot of money doing this ... one store bought hardboard will cost the equivalent of about ten you make yourself.

Another do-it-yourself tip - learn to mix colors! I am a "pre-mixer" and I only use six colors (including white). So I never buy odd colors that look good in the art store but are rarely used back in the studio. I also have a "tube-wringer" and I do not waste paint! Take a color theory class, or take one of my on-line classes. You really only need a few tubes of paint to make every color in the spectrum. Six large tubes of color is much less expensive than 12 small tubes of various colors!