Help with a gift

sue311 · ‎05-05-2013

My husband is always saying he can draw and he was very good in school. I want to give him a drawing set or maybe a painting set. Any suggestions. I looked at Michaels/Hobby Lobby but I am lost.

Stevie Nix · ‎03-09-2010

What medium does he prefer? If he likes only to draw then a nice set of charcoal or professional colored pencils, coupled with a sketch pad, would be nice. Don't buy him a paint set if he's not a painter.

haddon9 · ‎03-09-2010

If he likes colored pencils get a quality set like Prismacolor colored pencils. Not all colored pencils are created equally. They make beautiful sets!

sue311 · ‎05-05-2013

@haddon9 @Stevie Nix I have never seen him draw anything but want to get him started.

nyc1 · ‎03-19-2010

A set of beautiful art lead pencils would be nice. There is a huge range of softness/hardness. The "B" pencils are soft so you can have a 1B or a 6B, and the softer the pencil, the more he could work the line and smudge it. It also comes out darker and normally thicker than the "H" pencils, which are the harder range and much sharper and more crisp on the page. Pencils and a nice drawing pad would be a wonderful gift.

I was also going to recommend a Rapidograph, but those are somewhat costly and come in a range of various point thicknesses.

You're probably best off starting with the pencils to make sure he is enjoys taking up drawing once again.

haddon9 · ‎03-09-2010

I think it' a great idea! If you think he'll be happy with either pencils or paints I would opt for the pencils...much easier clean up and not as much work to set up!

@sue311 wrote:
@haddon9 @Stevie Nix I have never seen him draw anything but want to get him started.

RoughDraft · ‎03-09-2010

If all you know about his past experience is that he can draw and was very good at it in school, I'd start out with some good drawing pencils, gum erasers and several spiral sketch pads.

If he indeed picks up on it, it's best to start simple and not inundate him with various choices of mediums, i.e. paints, pastels, etc. which can be frustrating to a relative novice.

~The only difference between this place and the Titanic is that the Titanic had a band.~

sue311 · ‎05-05-2013

@RoughDraft he has talked about a lot over the years but he is getting ready to retire so this is just one of the many things I want to get him.

RoughDraft · ‎03-09-2010

@sue311 wrote:
@RoughDraft he has talked about a lot over the years but he is getting ready to retire so this is just one of the many things I want to get him.

@sue311 That's why I suggested starting out with something simple If he hasn't ever demonstrated his drawing talents in the years you've been married, it's best to not spend a lot of money on materials at the outset. Drawing and painting is like any other talent. If not used, one gets rusty and it takes time, patience and practice to bring it to the forefront again. Staring at a plethora of art supplies can be daunting at first blush.

Good luck. I hope he will enjoy expressing his art once again.

~The only difference between this place and the Titanic is that the Titanic had a band.~

aroc3435 · ‎09-30-2010

@sue311

Strathmore produces quality drawing paper and pads of paper.

If he is going to use graphite pencils and or charcoal also get him a kneaded eraser or two. There is soft--vine charcoal--and hard--or compressed charcoal. Using both types makes interesting effects.

The best fixative spray for his finished work is the Krylon brand. They have "workable" and permanent versions.

This is a very thoughtful gift that you've come up with.