Maybe a little eclectic for an artist with a single style, but perfect for one who's still searching for himself. Or for any hobbyist. There are no (2) brushes exactly alike in this set of (15). They all have natural bristles, color-coded wooden handles and metal ferrules, but they range from fairly fine to 1/2" wide, and 7" to 10" long. There are at least (3) different kinds of bristles, and they are round, blunt and pointed. A nice variety, and a very nice quality for this price.

When we call this a monster paint kit, we mean it’s huge—not that it’s meant for painting Godzilla or the Hulk. Although you could. Plenty of green. It’s a (40)-pack of (2)-oz tubes of assorted tempera paints, which are water-based and great for kids. Comes with a nice 9” x 6-1/2” oval mixing palette with dimples and a thumb hole, (5) brushes and (1) foam spatula. Paint is non-toxic and includes (10) neon, (10) glitter, (8) vibrant, (7) metallic and (5) glow-in-the-dark colors. It’s time to get creative. This set makes it easy.

And you can’t lose. Really. Five bucks buys you (4) good quality artists’ paint brushes, 5” to 12” in length, from an extremely assorted collection. You’ll get sable, nylon, ox hair or camel hair, long or short, very fine to very wide, round to flat, in sizes from very fine to very wide, all from Duro Art Industries in Chicago. Gives you something to look forward to.

The Lone Ranger was a closet calligrapher (we know because he was a customer), and he would have dropped his mask if he'd ever seen this chisel-tip silver-ink calligraphy marker from Painters®. Works on almost any surface, from wood to walls and plastic to cloth, and is perfect for personalizing backpacks, shoes, toys and possibly palominos. Easy to use—just shake and depress the nib. Permanent, streak-free, non-toxic and acid-free.

Bob Ross would have turned this set of oils into thousands of little happy trees, although no matter what Bob said, not all trees are happy. There are weeping willows everywhere, and think about all the pines. You can paint just the happy trees, though, with this 24-pack of 12ml (0.4 oz) oil paints from Derwent Academy™. Includes titanium white, zinc titanium white, lemon yellow, yellow, yellow ocher, peach, orange yellow, vermilion, scarlet, crimson, emerald green, viridian, cerulean, black, blue, ultramarine blue, phthalo blue, Prussian blue, rose, violet, raw sienna, burnt sienna, raw umber, burnt umber and silver gray.

As a devoted Surpie, you know by now that we don’t sell doughnuts, at least not the kind you can actually eat. This “double dozen” refers to heavy body acrylic paints from Klossers. Set includes 22ml (.74 oz) tubes of (24) different vibrant colors, perfect for canvas, leather, glass or rocks. They’re rich-pigment, artist-quality paints—good for adults and kids—and they’re non-toxic. Colors include many shades of red, blue, purple, orange, yellow green and brown, plus black and white in (2) stackable trays that slide into a sturdy cardboard sleeve for storage.