Up on the Easel

Art Advice, Local Art Community & Inspiration

Gwartzman's is happy to provide insight to any questions you might have regarding art materials-- what's the difference between brush tip shapes? What does all the labelling on the back of a paint tube or jar mean? Find these answers and more below!

The art community can be a fantastic place to gain inspiration! Check out local artists that you may be familiar with, and some new art and new faces. Look inside studios big and small, and learn about some of our own favourite big names in the art world.

The Endless Pencil

A pencil. An artist's most basic and yet most powerful tool. They come in so many different colours, shapes and sizes, and each style has their own benefits. But they all have one common issue - they don't last. The traditional pencil needs to be sharpened to avoid the dull and blunt tip. And dep...

Ziller's Ink

Ziller's Ink is a high quality concentrated versatile ink. It can be used in many artistic creations such as calligraphy, comics airbrushing, ruling pens, and painting. It is perfect using your studio tools such as steel pointed nibs, board edge pens and brushes.Some key notes about Ziller's inks...

Speedball Modeling Paste

Speedball Modeling paste is one of those products that is unknown to so many artists but those who have tried it are lifelong users. Have you ever wanted to create texture on your canvas or wood panel and aren't sure what to do other than thick coats of paint?Well one solution is modeling paste. ...

Daler-Rowney Goldfinger

Sometimes you have a product you know is amazing and kinda wish everyone knew about it. Today we are discussing Daler-Rowney's Goldfinger. It’s an unusual name and not as well known as some other products in the art material industry. Goldfinger is an all purpose rub on paste that works on so man...

Urban Sketching Tools

We at Gwartzman's are big fans of urban sketching and supporters of the Urban Sketching Toronto Chapter (@usktoronto on Instagram) so naturally we have a vast collection of travel-friendly products designed for urban sketching! Here's a breakdown of tools that you need to get started on creating ...

How to Store Oil Paints

We understand that oil paints are an expensive medium and that often times it's not possible to complete an oil painting in one sitting. So we are going to break down how to store your oil paints when you're actively using them and when you are not to get the most out of your paints. Methods to...