Luxury Art Christmas List 2019
Luxury Art Christmas List 2019
I have been running The Art Gear Guide for three years now, that includes when the site was called Coloured Pencil Reviews and every year at Christmas time I have published a Christmas list. I selected ten items that I felt were good quality products and affordable, so that artists could drop a few hints to their loved ones as to some Christmas presents, rather than getting those Christmas socks that are wore once and put to the back of the Twilight Sock Zone never to be seen again.
This year however I have done it a little bit different, I have completed two lists, a realistic affordable list and a Luxury Art Christmas list. Lets face it, not everyone is as penniless as me and so as Christmas is a time for extravagance and one off indulgences, I thought that a luxury Christmas list was a good idea; so here goes.
I have selected as many different brands as I could and tried to make sure I added a many different art mediums as possible. I didn’t want the list to be all colored pencils and just from the same one or two companies.
As always, I just want to make something very clear before you look through this list, I always try to make sure that my reviews and posts in general are as honest and transparent as I can possibly do. All of the items in this list can be purchased directly via the links provided. I have tried to make sure that I have linked the very cheapest of the sets on Amazon. If however, you do decide to purchase anything via the links, it is important you know that I get a small financial percentage of the purchase made from Amazon. The product does not cost any more to the buyer at all, never the less I just want you to know this before making your decision.
I have in the past spoke about the pros and cons to purchasing art supplies in wooden gift box sets and not that long ago, a 76 set of Caran d’Ache Museum Aquarelle would cost at least an extra £100 for the same set in a wooden box set. This is not always the case, when I purchased my set of Museum Aquarelle in the box set, I only paid an extra £30 or £40 which I really felt was worth the extra. With all of these items I have tried to make sure that the wooden box sets are not hundreds of pounds, dollars or euros more that the same set in a tin.
Koh-I-Noor Polycolor 36 Wooden Box Set
The first of the luxury Art Christmas gifts is by far the cheapest on the list, however, as I have said many times before, don’t think the cheapest equals the lowest quality. This is a 36 set of the gorgeous Koh-I-Noor Polycolor Colored Pencils, the set also comes with two Koh-I-Noor graphite pencils. 36 Polycolor colored pencils and 2 graphite pencils. If you are no familiar with the beautiful Koh-I-Noor Polycolor range, you can check out my in-depth review of the pencils before making this purchase. To purchase this gorgeous set of Koh-I-Noor Polycolor it will cost you £50.
Faber Castell Art and Graphic Collection
Faber Castell are a phenomenal name in the world of art and in particular pencils, this beautiful set from Faber Castell gives the artist a wonderful taste of some of their finest products. In this particular art collection, you are given 36 Faber Castell Polychromos, 36 Faber Castell Albrecht Dürer and 36 Faber Castell Pastel blocks. These three wonderful products come in their own compartments, enclosed in the most gorgeous mahogany veneered gift box. As well as the aforementioned products, there is a selection of Faber Castell Pitt Monochrome items, small water color brush, eraser, sharpener, paper blending stump.
This is all presented in the highest quality presentation box, as with all things German and Faber Castell, only the highest quality craftsmanship will do and they don’t mess about with products such as these. To check out a more in-depth review of these individual products, just follow the links to the relevant page, Faber Castell Polychromos and Faber Castell Albrecht Dürer For this beautiful set, you can expect to pay £245.
Caran d’Ache Luminance
Caran d’Ache is another company in the art world synonomus with perfection, craftsmanship and quality. Colored Pencil artists all over the world know the name and love the products, however, there is perhaps no Caran d’Ache product as loved or as talked about than the gorgeous Luminance Colored Pencil range.
In this beautiful dark wood box set, you get the full Caran d’Ache Luminance range 76 Colored Pencils which includes two white and two black pencils. In the set you also get two full stick blenders, 1 HB Grafwood and 1 5B Grafwood graphite pencil. As with most of the items in this Christmas art list, you can check out my individual review of the Luminance range by following the link. To get this gorgeous set you can expect to pay £215, which if you know anything at all about this glorious set of pencils, you will know that £215 for the pencils and this gorgeous wooden box is a really good price
Stabilo CarbOthelo Pastel Pencils
Stabilo is such an under rated company in the world of art, after reviewing a few of their colored pencil ranges and aquarelle pencils, I came to the conclusion that if anything Stabilo should be making larger sets of those particular product given how good they were.
However, the Stabilo CarbOthello Pastel Pencil range is rightly so very popular among pastel artists. This gorgeous set of 60 CarbOthello Pastel Pencils, which incidentally is the full range of pastel pencils, comes presented in this stunning red wood box set. As well as the 60 Stabilo CarbOthello Pastel Pencils, in this set you get an eraser, sharpener and paper blending stump. For this wonderful set you can expect to pay approximately £98 which again is such a reasonable price for such excellent quality product. To see a full review of the Stabilo CarbOthello Pastel Pencils follow the link.
Derwent Inktense 72 Wooden Box Set
The Derwent Inktense is such a unique medium, so many colored pencil artists absolutely love them, unlike watercolour pencils, once the pigment is activated with water, the results are permanent because you are working with ink. The Inktense range not only comprises of pencils, but also blocks, similar to large pastel sticks only water-soluble and of course Derwent has also recently released a wonderful travel Inktense pan set.
Derwent do gorgeous box sets and this one for the Inktense pencils is no exception. In the set you get the full range of intense pencils which is 72, each pencil is held into place between foam dividers, ensuring the safety of each pencil during storage or transportation. If you would like to know more about the Inktense range in general you can check out my review of them by following the link. To purchase this exceptional set of Derwent Inktense pencils you can expect to pay £114.
Caran d’Ache Supracolor Soft 120 Wooden Box Set
This set of Caran d’Ache Supracolor Soft is a wonderful gift in so many way. the Supracolor Soft range is a water-soluble pencil and with a 120 pigments, the sky is the limit in terms of mixing colors and creating your own blend of beauty.
120 pencils is one of the largest type of sets that a colored pencil artist is likely to purchase and so to have this full range in your arsenal is obviously going to help you with your creativity. To see my full and detailed review of the Caran d’Ache Supracolor Soft review simply follow the link, here you will also get to see the gorgeous colors present in this full 120 range. For this wonderful 120 wooden box set you can expect to pay approximately £239.
Sennelier 60 Half Stick Soft Pastels Black Box
Sennelier is a French company who have been manufacturing some of the finest pastels pigments in the world. With this particular set of half stick soft pastels from Sennelier, they are presented in a small black box, a box that actually resembles a makeup box.
This well made compact box is perfect for the traveling pastel artists, ensuring protection of the pastels during transit and opening out to a perfect storage system making pastel selection easy. To purchase this set of highly pigmented half stick pastels you can expect to pay approximately £97.
Lyra Polycolor 105 Piece Wooden Box Set
When I am asked by subscribers or casual readers of my reviews to recommend a reasonably priced set of pencils that are good quality and that will allow them to create gorgeous art they could possibly sell, one of the first sets I mention is the Lyra Polycolor.
In this particular set, you get 88 Lyra Polycolor pencils and if you are not familiar with the brand you can of course check out my detailed review of them here. As well as the 88 Polycolor, you get 12 assorted graphite and charcoal pencils, a sanding block, two blending stumps, eraser, sharpener and craft knife for sharpening the charcoal pencils. For this particular set which is 105 pieces in total, you can expect to pay £184
Caran d’Ache NeoColor II 80 Piece Wooden Box Set
As I have already mentioned, Caran d’Ache is a phenomenal name in the world of art and in particular colored pencils. the NeoColor II however is a product that so many people might over look as a child’s medium, but trust me when I say that the NeoColor range is definitely not just a childs crayon.
Visually the NeoColor looks just like the crayons we all used in primary school as young children, with our chubby wee hands gripping the crayon and scribbling for dear life to try and get some color on the page. With this beautiful NeoColor range there will be no scribbling, these waxy feeling crayons are bursting with pigment and water-soluble as well. 80 is the full range within the NeoColor and for this gorgeous Caran d’Ache NeoColor box set you can expect to pay approximately £200. I know this may sound unreasonable for what looks like crayons, but you can check out my detailed review of the NeoColor II to see just how amazing this medium is.
Derwent Lightfast 48 Piece Wooden Box Set
Derwents most recent iteration to their already impressive range of superb art products is the Derwent Lightfast Coloured Pencils, if you are not familiar with the Lightfast range you can check out my reviews on this product as well as a comparison article to other Derwent products.
The full range of Derwent Lightfast is 100 pencils, however, Derwent released the pencils in sets throughout the course of a year with their 72 set released in July 2019 and the remaining 28 released in September, however to get the full 100 Lightfast you can only purchase them in a wooden box set. This set is not available on Amazon just yet, however I have included this 48 wooden box set, which will cost you £135
Faber Castell Polychromos 120 Box Set
This list would simply not be complete if I didn’t include the Faber Castell Polychromos range. The Faber Castell Polychromos Colored Pencil has been the absolute work horse pencil for so many colored pencil artists, delivering a beautiful pigment coverage and a perfect core for detail.
This wooden box set comes with a unique locking system and carrying handle, almost turning the box into a briefcase type of system for colored pencils when traveling about. As with all Faber Castell products, this is a well crafted product, I some times wonder which is the more beautiful, the supplies we use in these wonderful presentation boxes or the art we create with them? you can be the judges on that one. For this set you can expect to pay approximately £205 and this would make any colored pencil artists Christmas a memorable one. To see a more detailed review of the Faber Castell Polychromos, you can follow the link.
Caran d’Ache Pastel Pencil 84 Wooden Box Set
There are a lot of artists who just can’t stand the feel of pastel dust on their hands, despite the fact that they love the art created by pastel artists, they just can’t get around the dislike for the texture of the pastel on their hands. Perhaps the best way such artists could ever over come their dislike is to use pastel pencils.
There is no doubt that the Caran d’Ache pastel pencil is the finest pastel pencil about, so if you would like to start using pastel pencils there is no better place to start. In this particular set you get 84 glorious pastel pigments, this is the full range. For this particular wooden box set you can expect to pay £270.
Derwent Limited Edition Pencil Collection 120 Wooden Box Set
Derwent are one of the most prolific companies in innovating new art products, their range is phenomenal and some of their ranges are quintessentially Derwent, for example, the Drawing Pencils, the Graphitint and the Inktense to name but a few. In true Derwent fashion they are compiled a few wooden box sets that contain a mixture of their finest collection and this box set is among the best.
The Derwent Limited Edition Pencil Collection consist of 120, water-soluble pencils and coloured pencils, the set is broken down into 24 Coloursoft, 24 ProColour, 24 Inktense, 12 Drawing Pencils, 12 Graphitint, 6 Metallic, 4 Graphite, 1 Graphite and 1 Water-soluble sketching pencil. This is a set filled with artistic inspiration for any artist. for this set you can expect to pay £183 which for such a rich selection of pencils is an excellent price.
Holbein 150 Wooden Box Set
This is by far the most expensive set in this list, the Holbein Colored Pencils are a Japanese import pencil, they are without an exceptional pencil. Again you can check out my review of the Holbein Colored Pencils if you would like to know more about them.
Although the Holbein Colored Pencils are among the most expensive, they are undoubted a gorgeous pencil to use. However if you do decide to take the plunge and purchase the pencil, check out my review as there are one or two downsides to them that might need consideration before purchase. This set of Holbein Colored Pencils 150 Wooden Box Set will cost you are huge £398
Merry Christmas
This was just a fun list for you guys to look at for Christmas present ideas, please don’t take it too seriously or feel under any pressure to purchase any of the items in the list. Thank you so much for looking through my Christmas list and even though it is only November at the time of writing and publishing this article, Merry Christmas to you all.
