Art Stores

 

I've been twice to Clifton Art Supply, the new place on Frankfort Avenue, and now I can review it as a pretty good store. I'm glad that there is a decent, locally-owned art store closer to my side of town. They have a respectable selection of art supplies; not quite as broad as Artist & Craftsman Supply or Preston Art Center, but still a hundred times better than a place like Michael's.  It's nearer my home, the sales clerks have been helpful, and the prices seem to be on par with the other art stores, so this will now be my preferred local spot for art supplies.

 

The other two stores are really good, too:

 

I went to Preston Art a few months ago after not having been there in a long time. They are locally owned, too, with one store on Bardstown Road and one store in New Albany. They have a broad selection of materials and a helpful staff.

 

Artist and Crafsman Supply is a national chain with a store located conveniently close to my parents' house, on Barret Ave.  Although I prefer to "shop local," I've been impressed with the store.  Their selection is fantastic, with their store space crammed full of a great range of supplies in various brands. Their paper selection is about the best I've ever seen, with many papers stacked in the walkways, tempting me to flip through and inspect and drool over them. They also have a very impressive range of…well, pretty much everything I normally use: acrylics, oils, pens, brushes…everything except relief printing ink.

 

Relief printing ink is sort of a problem in all the stores. Everyone carries the Speedball brand inks, which (in my experience) is nearly unanimously regarded as inferior to other brands by printmakers. Yet Speedball is the only brand that any of the stores carry.