If you’re a creative person or want to be one, this is the art shop for you
Art comes in many forms. Some people like pencil art, some like charcoal, some like oil paintings or sculpture. We all have different personalities and, as such, we also have different ways or techniques to express our own creativity. Whether other people consider it art is not the question. How we define and create our own art is based on our own expression.
I loved to draw ever since I was a child. I guess most kids do have a love for drawing or doodling. In college, I took Interior Design as a course, although I didn’t really continue with this profession after graduating. My first job did involve a bit of interior design but my interest and passion have shifted to marketing, which have become my career for life and I still love it.
As my son continues to grow up, he exhibits an increasing interest with creative activities. I nurture his interest by providing him the tools, time and guidance. I also enjoy doing all these with him; it brings me back to the roots of love for art, just like being a child again.
Although we can easily come up with improvised materials to do creative things, I still want to find and buy more stuff that he can use. The challenge lies in finding art items in stores or specialty shops around here. I first came across Art Friend at The Gardens Mall. Me and my son have made this a destination every time we visit Mid Valley. Art Friend has a branch at The Curve as well, which has wider and brighter spaces. But whichever branch may be convenient to you, a visit to Art Friend is always worth your while.
So far, this is the best shop to look for art and creative items. Art Friend covers almost every possible art material that my son and I would need. From a wide selection of coloured pencils, watercolours, oil paint, moulding clay, up to different types and brands of art papers, Art Friend has got your art needs covered.
It’s not just a shop for professional artists. Art Friend has materials for beginners, for kids and for pros. Love rubber stamps? Look at the biggest selection of rubber stamps I’ve seen!
This is a pretty butterfly stamp…
For collage lovers, you can find a lot of choices for embellishments here.
For those who like to paint, Art Friend has a wide selection of different art brushes. Narrow tip, wide tip, kids brushes, they’re all here.
My son likes to paint and we found ships, cars and planes made of styrofoam. I bought him a set of Pentel Water Colour tubes and he had a great time painting this styrofoam ship.
It’s a common sight to see parents and their children shopping inside Art Friend. It’s such a joy to see moms, dads and kids doing shopping together for art stuff.
My son’s interest for art has revived my art interests, too. It’s amazing how spending precious time with our children can bring out the child in us. I’ve begun to rediscover my own passion and interests to draw, color and use art brushes again.
I remember during my college days when money was so tight and my parents had to struggle to afford buying me a set of Derwent Watercolour Pencils, which was required for my course. Back then, Derwent had very few types of products but it was the only brand with water-soluble pencils available, at least in my country.
But now, wow. I’ve fallen head over heels with Derwent with its wide and useful products. It even has water brushes that can be filled up with water to use easily. In my school days, we had to do the classic way of filling up a mug with water, use a paintbrush and paint palette to colour our drawings with water-based art. It is time-consuming and uses more water than necessary because we keep washing the brushes. But this Derwent water brush is genius for watercolour pencils.
I enjoy mixed media rendering, which means I use 2 or more different types of art materials to colour or draw. My latest colouring set is the Derwent Inktense ink pencils. If you love finishes in bright, vivid colours, this is perfect. It is water-soluble but can be used together with non-soluble coloured pencils. Here’s a sample of my drawing:
Art items used:
Cretacolor Fine Art Graphite B for outline drawing
Pigma Micron 05 Archival Ink for fairy dust
Colleen Coloured Pencils
Derwent Watercolour Pencils
Derwent Inktense Ink Pencils
Here’s another one using the same colouring items but with ink outlines:
Another great thing with Art Friend is that you can buy Derwent pencils individually. At one point, you’ll definitely finish one colour before the rest and it doesn’t make sense to buy the whole set just to get the color you need. I often finish my black, blues and purples first. It’s great that I can buy one Derwent coloured pencil at a time.
Even if you’re shopping for your kids, you’ll more likely end up buying something for yourself, too. Believe it or not, these entire lines of shelves are all glue stuff.
Always having problems with stains or spots ending up on clothes or seat cover? This might be something that can help you…
More fun activity kits for kids…
Whatever your or your child’s art interest is, a stroll along the aisles of Art Friend will make you love art (again).
Celeste de Jesus 