Opus Art Supplies

10/23/2026

Your next job could be a little more colourful! 🎨

We're hiring at Opus!

Love art, creativity, and connecting with people? You might feel right at home here.

We're more than just an art supply store. We're a team of artists, makers, and creative thinkers who love helping others bring their ideas to life.

Sound like your kind of place? Explore our current job opportunities and find your place on the Opus team!

👉 https://opusartsupplies.com/pages/careers

10/22/2026

You know the gift. The one you pick up and immediately think of someone. The one they'll keep on their desk long after the wrapping paper is gone.

This season, we think it's the Caran d'Ache Toile de Jouy Geneva Edition. It's inspired by Suzanne Pinon's Toile de Jouy design and tells the story of Geneva in fine ink: the lake, the gardens, the Jet d'Eau and the Flower Clock, all drawn in delicate scenes.

There's something for everyone on your list. The collection has 849 ballpoint pens and writing sets, a matching A5 notebook, scented graphite pencils made with Mizensir, a watercolour pencil set and a mixed media set with Neocolor II Aquarelle. Each piece comes in an ivory gift box with burgundy or blue details, so half the wrapping is already done.

Explore the line: https://opusartsupplies.com/blogs/resource-library

10/21/2026

Who knew three little tubes could fill a whole colour wheel?

Introducing the new Opus Essential Watercolour Trios: three 8 ml tubes in every box, chosen to mix beautifully. Go warm with Warm & Rich, fresh and bright with Cool & Bright, or textured with Granulating Glory, whose pigments settle into lovely patterns as they dry. The colour wheel on each box is only a starting point. See how much further you can take it.

Here's a little challenge: how many different colours can you mix from just three paints? Pick a trio, fill a page with swatches, and share it with us. We'd love to see how far three colours can take you.

An easy first step into watercolour, a fresh palette for seasoned painters, and a thoughtful gift for anyone on your list.

Shop the trios: https://opusartsupplies.com/collections/opus-essential-watercolour-trios

10/20/2026

Your artwork is finished. Now it’s ready to meet the world. 🖼️

When Hornby Island artist Sarah Chase stopped into Opus Print Space on impulse, she just wanted to see if her botanical photographs could become cards. That small experiment grew into exhibitions, fine art prints and a growing collection. At her first show, every printed and framed piece sold within about fifteen minutes.

In our latest article on our website, Sarah reflects on that journey, and we share practical tips on:
🖨️ Choosing the right paper, surface and print size
🖼️ Ready made vs custom framing
💲 Pricing your work and offering different formats
✅ A presentation checklist for your next exhibition, market or open studio

Whether you’re getting ready for the Eastside Culture Crawl, the North Shore Art Crawl or simply sharing your work for the first time, this one’s for you.

Read the full article: https://opusartsupplies.com/blogs/resource-library/how-to-prepare-artwork-for-sale

10/19/2026

For many BC artists, American collectors have been some of the most loyal buyers. Since August 22, most of what artists sell to the US, from paintings and drawings to giclée and canvas prints, has carried an extra 50% duty. Even a single small print in the mail.

Over the past two months, so many of you have asked us what this means for your practice. Our new article on our website is our answer, in plain language:

📦 What’s affected and what isn’t (greeting cards may surprise you)
🧾 How to show the duty at checkout so your price stays the same and nothing surprises your collector at the door
🖨️ Other ways to keep selling, from printing US orders in the US to growing buyers in Europe and the UK
✉️ How to add your voice and write to your MP

The rules have changed, but the demand for your work hasn’t. We’re in this with you.
👉 https://opusartsupplies.com/blogs/resource-library/still-selling-to-the-states-us-art-tariffs

For many artists in British Columbia, American collectors have long been the most loyal buyers. Since August 22, 2026, every Canadian-made painting, drawing, sculpture and digital print that crosses into the United States has carried an additional duty of 50%. It is a heavy cost for an independent a...

10/14/2026

Skip the knife this year. Grab a marker instead. 🎃

No carving pumpkins are easy, mess free and great for all ages. With Liquitex acrylic markers, you can add bold patterns, faces, florals or anything that sparks your creativity, and your pumpkin will last much longer than a carved one.

Try it in three quick steps:
1️⃣ Wipe your pumpkin clean and let it dry
2️⃣ Sketch your design lightly
3️⃣ Fill it in with Liquitex markers and let it dry

🍂 Member offer: get a free Liquitex pouch when you buy 5 or more markers.

Shop Liquitex markers: https://opusartsupplies.com/products/liquitex-professional-acrylic-markers

10/09/2026

Gifting season is officially open, and the Opus Holiday Gift Guide 2026 is here to help.
Inside you'll find ideas for every creative on your list, from first-time painters to seasoned artists who seem to have everything: our new Deluxe Painting Sets, the Caran d'Ache Toile de Jouy collection, pens for the writer in your life, and 25 curious and creative stocking stuffers.
Pick up a free printed copy at any of our 7 BC stores, or explore the full guide online: https://opusartsupplies.com/pages/gift-ideas-for-artists

10/01/2026

Colour doesn't describe the world. It transforms it. 🎨

Every painting starts as raw pigment, like a heap of blue or a drift of yellow. In your hands, it becomes a coastline at dusk, a face, a feeling. That's the quiet power of colour, and it's where everything we make begins.

If oils have ever felt a little mysterious, we pulled something special from our archives. The Oil Slick was first published in 2000, and it answers the questions every oil painter asks eventually:

✔️ What does "fat over lean" actually mean?
✔️ Why do oils need months to cure?
✔️ Do you need a solvent or a thinner?

26 years later, the answers still hold. You can find it in the Opus Resource Library, along with our other articles on our website.

Read the article: https://opusartsupplies.com/blogs/resource-library/the-oil-slick-revisiting-a-great-resource-for-oil-painters-from-2000

09/29/2026

Eight new easels. One for every way you create. 🎨

Whether you paint at the kitchen table or need room to go big, the new Opus Essential range has you covered. It runs from a folding tabletop easel you can set up anywhere to a double mast giant that rises past eleven feet. We've also added the Nelson cart, so your supplies can roll right along beside you.

They're built for the studio and priced so the right easel is within reach.

A few tips for setting up your space:

✔️ Raise it to eye level. Put your work where your gaze naturally falls, whether you're standing or sitting, so there's no hunching or craning.
✔️ Match the angle to the medium. Go upright for oils, tilt it gently for drawing and lay it flat for pours and washes. You can adjust as the piece evolves.
✔️ Keep everything in reach. Put your palette, brushes and water at arm's length, on wheels if you can, so stepping back is easy.

Shop the new easels: https://opusartsupplies.com/collections/opus-easels

09/14/2026

What makes a dream studio?

For BC artist Steve Chmilar, it isn't simply a question of square footage, perfect natural light or having every tool within reach. It's about creating a space that understands the way you work, and letting that space evolve alongside you.

Steve's practice moves through drawing, sculpture, photography, digital image making and oil painting, with each stage informing the next. His studio reflects years of trial and error: considered but flexible, filled with the materials he trusts and the systems he's built by figuring out what he actually needs.

As Studio Season arrives, we visited Steve to talk about building a workspace around your practice, why good lighting matters, the tools he keeps close, and how a studio becomes a dream studio not through perfection, but through use.

Read the full article here: https://opusartsupplies.com/blogs/resource-library/steve-chmilar-inside-a-professional-artist-studio-practice