Art Materials flat lay of supplies
Some of the art supplies available at Art Materials

Minneapolis-St. Paul's Best Art Supply Stores

By Diane Richard

You know those people who stand in front of an artwork and claim their kid could have done it? Well, here’s a chance for them to prove it. This list provides access to the raw and refined art-making tools. 

The only thing not for sale? Talent. But classes can help, which several of these stores also offer.

  1. Art Materials

    A sale display of opaque watercolors at Art Materials
    A sale display of opaque watercolors at Art Materials

    Good news for the artists of D.L.: After over half a century along Lyndale Ave. in Minneapolis, Art Materials has decamped to Detroit Lakes. This artist's haven provides an impressive inventory of art supplies — from 380 different kinds of pens and more than 5,000 types of paper to brushes, paints, and more. Plus, it offers custom framing and stationery. 

    For metro artists left behind, a robust website is a solace.

  2. ArtStart's ArtScraps ReUse Center

    A bin of beads at ArtScraps ReUse Center
    A bin of beads at ArtScraps ReUse Center

    All those supplies you bought when you thought you were the next Keith Haring? This is the place to set them free. A nonprofit store that also offers camps, workshops, school residencies, and studios, ArtScraps will resell your castoffs in its St. Paul retail storefront. 

    It’s also a good spot to gather goods. Seize the element of surprise: you never know what you’ll find.

  3. Blick Art Materials

    A set of green Utrecht paints on sale at Blick Art Materials
    A set of green Utrecht paints on sale at Blick Art Materials

    Unlike the others on this list, Blick is part of a chain. Which is convenient when you’re running errands near the Galleria Edina or Rosedale Center malls and find yourself needing turpentine or tempera. 

    A family-owned business since 1911, Blick has everything an artist or art teacher could want. Plus, it touts its philanthropic partnerships with local institutions like the Edina Art Center, Normandale Community College and the Minnetonka Center for the Arts.

  4. MCAD Art Cellar

    MCAD Art Cellar
    MCAD Art Cellar

    The Art Cellar is the Minneapolis College of Art and Design’s stealth on-campus art supply store. Descend to the bowels of a central building to find a treasury of art supplies at — it claims; I didn’t fact check — discounted prices. 

    The nonprofit funds MCAD student scholarships and is staffed by practicing artists who are knowledgeable about products and creative processes.

  5. United Art Supply

    Spray can displays at United Art Supply
    Spray can racks at United Art Supply

    Deemed the “best place in town to scoop your sprays,” this St. Paul store is a street-artist scene. Free of the hassle of a website, it also hosts monthly art shows in its gallery space. 

    As one Yahooer wrote, “There is an obvious focus on promoting the art culture above profiting from it.” And another: it’s a “chill” place for “dope merch.”

  6. Wet Paint

    A Wet Paint employee with a R&F Drawing Oils display
    Credit: Wet Paint

    Open seven days a week, St. Paul’s Wet Paint on Grand Ave. is there for you when the muse strikes, offering both classes and goods in its sunlit shop. Small and local since 1976, it’s a perfect place to browse for fountain pens, books, paints, and gifts. 

    Bonus: Educated staff know the difference between gouache and encaustic gesso and can teach you how to ink your pen.

Diane Richard

Diane Richard is a writer, editor and storyteller who spends most of her time at art museums. When she’s not immersed in all things art, she’s riding her Brompton to a farmers market.