10 Gift Ideas for Artists That Are Nothing Short of a Masterpiece
Not Sure How to Create the Perfect Present for a Sculptor, Painter, Sketch Artist, or Even Digital Designer? We’ve Got You Covered.
Creative pursuits are incredibly popular – according to a recent survey, 41% of respondents count arts or crafts among their favorite things to do with their free time. But the thing about being an artist is that you’re always going through materials. Whether it's paint or clay or digital brushes, there’s always something new on their wish list.
So if you’re not sure what to get the artist in your life, don’t worry! We’re going to take you through 10 amazing gift ideas for artists that they’re sure to love. Even if you’re not artistically inclined yourself, you can get them a masterpiece of a present.
Get to Know GiftYa - Your Artistic Ally 🎨
Ready for a creative spin on the traditional gift card? That’s where GiftYa comes in. In just a few simple steps, you can tap or click your way to a custom gift card they’re sure to love. Choose from thousands of local or national brands, then it’s time for the fun part. Add a picture or video and a personal message to complete the gift, and it’s off! Delivered to their text messages or email inbox in seconds… or any other time you choose.
But GiftYa isn’t just convenient for senders – it’s convenient for your recipient too. They can redeem the balance from their phone or connect it to a card they carry every day already. And if for some reason they want to exchange or regift their gift card, they can do it in just a few clicks.
1 - Michaels
The Holy Grail of National Art Supply Store
Michaels is more than just the place “where creativity happens.” It’s a home base for creatives around the country. With over 1200 locations across the US, there’s sure to be one within reach of your artsy loved one. And if there isn’t? They can still shop Michaels impressive array of supplies online.
With everything from inexpensive student crafts to professional-level art supplies, they’ve got it all. Not only can they stock up on everything they need for painting or drawing, knitting or crocheting, sewing, baking, or papercrafts, they can also take classes to learn a new skill or shop the MakerPlace for goods created by local artisans.
2 - An Art Supply Organizer
Keep All Their Goods Good and Organized
Keeping your art supplies organized can be a challenge. With so many little, specific things that go with each form – latch hooks for tufting, tortillons for pencil drawing, aluminum wire for building sculpture skeletons – there’s a lot to keep track of. And considering the stereotype that creatives may have their own unique organizational systems, a little help goes a long way.
This multifunctional wooden organizer has plenty of cubbies and drawer space for all of their fiddliest art supplies, and although it looks like a million bucks it won’t break the bank.
Shop art organizers like this Marbasse wooden desk organizer>>
3 - New Canvases or A Sketchbook
Give Them Space to Work Out Their Next Masterpiece from Idea to Finished Product
Think your artist won’t use a sketchbook? Think again! Even if they’re more into rug-making or acrylic-pouring than sitting and sketching out still lifes, a sketchbook can be a practical gift for any creative. It’s a place for them to jot down ideas, plan out their project, or just doodle to get the creative juices flowing.
Plus, you can find options as unique as they are. Places like Etsy have everything from elegant leather sketchbook padfolios to miniature watercolor boxes.
Or if you know that the artist in your life puts their ideas down on canvas, consider grabbing a couple for them to showcase the refined version of their idea. Places like Blick, Big Duck, and Canvas Lot should have plenty of options to choose from.
4 - Amazon
A Little Bit of Everything All of the Time
Okay, so the creative in your life might balk at the idea of shopping from a big corporation like Amazon, but when it comes down to it sometimes they need those oil paint pens fast. Plus they can pick up viral sensations like the TikTok-famous Himi gouache paint set – for a paint texture that’s somewhere between watercolor and acrylic.
They can get book nook kits or polymer clay, candle making sets or even a cricut machine (if your gift is especially generous.
Not to mention, even artists have to buy cat food and home decor. So whether they’re in search of quirky seasonal decorations to express themselves at home or just the socks and underwear Santa forgot to bring this year, they can cash in an Amazon gift card to do it.
5 - Barnes & Noble
Perfect for Artists in Search of a Little Inspiration
Buy a Barnes & Noble gift card
If artists created only when they had that lightning bolt strike of perfect inspiration, they would never get anything done. Because like a lightning strike, those moments of total clarity and purpose are few and far in between. Luckily, for all of those in between moments, there are plenty of ways to get yourself drawing or painting or sculpting.
Enter: Barnes & Noble.
They can pick up 301 Things to Draw: Creative Prompts to Inspire Art and challenge themselves to do one every day next year (with a few days off built in).
They can kick it old school with Vasari’s Lives of The Artists, widely considered the first art history book ever.
They can let glossy full-color images of Van Gogh’s works inspire them.
Or they can just get a little silly with something fun like Colorstrology.
Whether they go for audiobooks or sketchbooks, bestsellers or grown up lego sets, a Barnes & Noble gift card makes for a versatile gift for the artist in your life.
Buy a Barnes & Noble gift card
6 - New Paint, New Brushes, or New Pencils
Keep Them Stocked on Their Art Supplies of Choice
This one might come off as too practical to be fun, but art supplies are a great gift option for any artist. Painters always need different shapes and sizes of brushes. Pencil artists are always wearing down their pencils.
If you know what medium they use, all the better – but lots of artists like to cross-train their creativity by working in different forms as well. Translation? Even if you get the oil painter in your life a set of color pencils, they’ll probably have a use for them.
So drop a couple of questions about what they’ve been working on. If they’re talking about varnish, oil painting is probably their go-to. Beaux touché? That’s oil-based sculpting clay that doesn’t dry out easily. Prismacolor? High quality colored pencils or paint pens that blend like the real thing.
7 - Calm
Mental Health is The Hidden Creative Skill Every Artist Should Have
There’s a reputation out there that creativity and mental illness go hand and hand, and there are certainly high-profile cases that suggest the same thing – Ernest Hemingway, Vincent van Gogh, Kurt Cobain. But when it really comes down to it, it’s hard to create breakfast let alone a work of art when your mental health is suffering.
And while creating art and other forms of self expression give mental health a clear boost, it never hurts to dedicate some extra resources to maintaining mental wellbeing.
Calm is the #1 app for meditation, and users can choose from a variety of goals to focus on like reducing stress or improving focus. And honestly, either one of those makes a valuable addition to any artist’s skill set!
8 - Spotify
Help Them Hit Their Creative Flow Without Ad Interruptions
Ask any artist you know, and they’ll tell you about those magical times when they’re just in the zone, creating art in a flow state. It’s not always possible to achieve that level of effortless focus – especially when the baby’s crying, or the dog’s barking, or their partner’s asking them what they want for dinner.
Luckily, music can help with that. Listening to tunes is reportedly a shortcut to getting into flow states. That’s why a Spotify gift card makes a great gift idea for an artist. With over 11 million artists and 100 million songs to choose from, they’re sure to find something that helps them get (and stay) in a creative headspace.
9 - Micron Fineliner Pens
For Getting All the Little Details Right
Micron Fineliner Pens are the felt-tip pens that artists and writers know by name. With precise tips ranging from .5 all the way down to .005, they’re perfect for getting all the details right in a drawing or adding their signature to the little bit of free space in the corner of a finished piece.
10 - Visa
For Just About Anything Else They Could Need for Their Creative Pursuits
Create a custom Visa gift card
None of these other gift ideas for artists feel like the right fit? Then consider building a custom Visa gift card with Gift Card Granny’s handy card builder. Choose from expert-created designs or make one yourself – maybe a photo of the artist in their studio or one of their latest works.
Plus, Visa gift cards can be used anywhere that accepts Visa credit cards, which means they can cash in your gift at countless websites and businesses around the country. So whether they need a new easel for their plein air painting or drop cloths to protect the carpet from the mural they’re putting in the living room, a sketchbook padfolio for their artistic adventures or a teacher to help them master a new technique, a Visa gift card can help them get it.
Gift Card Granny’s personalized gift cards usually print the same day and ship out the next, which means that your gift will be on its way in no time flat. You can even have the Granny team write a handwritten message to complete the gift for less than $2 extra.
Flex your own creative muscles and create a custom Visa gift card
That’s it for our best gift ideas for artists!
Whether you’re shopping for a painter or a sculptor, a knitter or a needlepointer, we hope these gift ideas for artists have given you some serious inspiration. We think they’d like anything on this list, but if you’re still not sure, check out the full GiftYa catalog for more ideas.
From local art galleries to national art supply stores, you’ll find plenty of gift cards any artist would be happy to receive. Customize and send in just a few clicks. So ditch the plastic and grab a GiftYa! Happy shopping.
Trae Bodge
Trae Bodge is the shopping expert here at GiftYa. Trae helps people find the best deals and ideas on popular new items to purchase.
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