Written by:
Berkeley Staff

This weekend, June 13th at Defremery Park (1651 Adeline St. Oakland) the 2nd Annual Children’s Memorial Day in the Park is taking place.  This event is put on by a group called GMOM (Greiving Mothers On a Mission) and is dedicated to educating youth on the devastating impact of gun violence within our homes, schools and communities.  It is also to honor all Oakland’s children lost to gun violence already.  This organization and event was started by a woman who lost her 5 year old son two years ago when he accidentally shot himself in the head with a gun while visiting a relative’s house.  Since then she has dedicated her life to ensuring that his death wasn’t in vain through her efforts to raise awarness in hopes of preventing other families and children from such needless loss.

Utrecht Berkeley is proud to donate art supplies and volunteers to help Alise and the GMOM crew have a successful event.  Their plan is to keep the focus on a positive future for the children and amongst other things they will have several art activities for the kids to enjoy and get “hands-on”.  You can help too by bringing a special child or children out to the park this Saturday!  Art, music, games, food and meaningful awareness…what could be better!?!

Written by:
Berkeley Staff

We have an unprecidented sale happening on nearly every bit of canvas we have!  Seriously, I’m talking rolls of canvas that usually retail for $94.99 selling for $52.99!  And it’s not limited to rolls, it’s that mindblowing on all sizes and profiles of stretched canvas and folds as well.  And please don’t misunderstand, we have amazing sale prices on so many other items around the store as well including all tubes of Utrecht paint (superior quality for the lowest money always) both oil and acrylic!  Here’s the bad news…as you know sales like this can’t last forever and the end is near!!!  This Sunday, May 31st is the last day to take advantage of these incredible savings so hurry in!

 And don’t be the only kid on the block without an Artsmart Passport this summer!  Call or come in for details.  Unless you’re just not going to be in town this summer you’re going to want a passport of your very own!  Of course, just like all super duper things, it won’t last forever so make sure you get yours before June 28th so you get the savings it offers all the way into August!

Written by:
Berkeley Staff

Are you going to do any traveling this summer?  Do you need to give a graduation gift?  Do you hang onto your old sketch books like diaries?  You need a Moleskine journal!  We have a wide range of them in stock and we’re kicking off summer with a 20% off Manager’s Special on your choice, no limit!  If you haven’t yet figured out why these things have a nearly cultish following then that’s because you haven’t owned one yet.  The legendary notebook of Hemingway, Picasso, and Chatwin to name a few will bring tears to your eyes when you see how this super high quality paper takes pen, pencil, gouache, etc.  Don’t miss out as this offer is only while supplies last and since these guys never go on sale they won’t last long (Special ends on May 31st).

Written by:
Berkeley Staff

Summertime evokes thoughts of barbeques, sun tans, and now mega art savings!  We want you to include art in everything you do this summer so we’ve created a Passport to get you to all your artistic destinations.  Come in and make a qualifying purchase of $10 or more and we’ll get you set up with a book full of coupons good for 30-40% off one item per week as well as 10% off every purchase thru August 7th!  Some restrictions apply so call us or come by for more details.  Oh, and don’t wait too long to come get yours as eventhough the Passport is good all summer long, you only have until June 28th to get one.

Written by:
Berkeley Staff

We will be hosting a FREE screen printing demo on Saturday May 16th and Sunday May 17th.  We will be printing from 1 to 4pm.

We will show you how to print your own T-shirts using Speedball screenprinting supplies. 

We will be answering questions, giving out free T-shirts, and offering discounts on select Speedball brand printmaking supplies.  Fun with ink and squeegees!

Written by:
Berkeley Staff

Parking in Downtown Berkeley can be a real bear… but fortunately we have the Golden Bear Parking Garage less than a block from our store with the entrance off Bonita (one block east of Martin Luther King Jr Way).  We’d be happy to pay for your first hour’s parking with a purchase of $25 or more!  Just mention this offer to the cashier at the time of purchase, and we will deduct the cost of parking from your order.  Never fear parking at our store again!

For those of you who depend on public transportation: The #51 bus stops directly in front of our store, and we are a short walk from the Downtown Berkeley BART station.

Written by:
Berkeley Staff

April 22nd is Earth Day!  We are proud to introduce four styles of Utrecht brand recycled sketchbooks, with a warm brown paper throughout. Brown paper has long been my favorite surface for sketching- it is less harsh than bright white, and it is great fun to add highlights to a sketch with white gouache paint, white colored pencil, or a white china marker.  Unlike a brown grocery bag, this paper is acid-free and ph neutral.  It meets your high artistic standards in addition to being friendlier to the environment. Check this space for more suggestions for earth-friendly art.

In other news: Tomorrow is Easter Sunday!  Our store will be closed for the day.  I hope you all will be out enjoying the beautiful spring weather (hunting for eggs, or not.)  We’ll see you again on Monday, when we’ll be back to our normal business hours. (9am-8pm Mon-Fri, 10-7 Sat, 11-6 Sun.)

Written by:
Berkeley Staff

It may not be spring yet according to the calendar, but it feels like spring here in Berkeley. Things are sprouting and growing. (Both plants and ideas.) Those of us who like to paint or sketch outdoors are raring to go (in between the rain showers, that is.) 

We have a great Spring Sale going on, including such popular items as Arches and Utrecht cotton watercolor blocks, stretched canvases, and Utrecht brand oils, acrylics, and watercolors.  Those of you who are on the Artsmart mailing list should be receiving a really good coupon in the mail. (Those of you who aren’t on the mailing list yet: Why not? You can register online, or we can easily set you up next time you’re in the store.)

There are also some exciting Berkeley-only specials!  That’s right, our manager got spring fever and decided that certain items should be 1/3 off!  This is not 1/3 off the manufacturer’s suggested price, this is actually 1/3 off our already low everyday price!  Currently this special applies to selected Drawing, Printmaking, and Sculpture supplies, including selected charcoal and pencil sets, sketchbooks, zinc etching plates, small unmounted lino blocks, Roma Plastalina, casting plaster, and other exciting supplies. 

Look for the items marked with a fluorescent green “1/3 off” sticker!

Written by:
Berkeley Staff

Happy Valentine’s from the Berkeley Utrecht team!

Forget about flowers and candy… we are secretly hoping that someone gives us a bouquet of a dozen brushes… or maybe a jewel box containing a tube of Cadmium Red Deep. 

We wear our art on our sleeves!  And we are passionate about what we do, be it painting, printmaking, drawing or design. 

We would love to fulfill all your art supply needs.  

Go ahead, art your heart out! 

We also carry materials to make the most the most artistic and creative Valentine card that your sweetheart has ever seen! Nothing says “I love you” like “I made it myself!”

Our Winter Back to School sale is still going on, all through this month.  And Back to School is not just for students… professional artists know that now is the best time to stock up on big tubes of oil and acrylic paint, brushes, sketchbooks, and other essentials.

Written by:
Berkeley Staff

We love art.  But we are artists, and this means we are often broke.  (What money we have, we often end up spending on our own supplies…)  Art museums are expensive, but many museums have at least one day a month when they offer free admission.

Here’s a breakdown of when and where you can see art for free*:

Asian Art Museum 200 Larkin St San Francisco CA 94102  http://www.asianart.org

The Asian Art Museum offers free admission on the first Sunday of every month.  Next free day: Sunday, January 4th, 2008.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art 151 Third St San Francisco CA 94103 http://www.sfmoma.org

The SF MOMA offers free admission on the first Tuesday of every month.  Next free day: Tuesday, January 6th, 2008.

deYoung Museum(in Golden Gate Park) 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive San Francisco CA 94118 http://www.famsf.org

The deYoung Museum, like its “cousin” the Legion of Honor, offers free admission the first Tuesday of every month.  Next free day: Tuesday, January 6th, 2008.

The Palace of the Legion of Honor (in Lincoln Park) 34th Ave & Clement St San Francisco CA 94121 http://www.famsf.org

The Legion of Honor, like its “cousin” the deYoung, offers free admission the first Tuesday of every month. Next free day: Tuesday, January 6th, 2008.

The Oakland Museum of California 1000 Oak St Oakland CA 94607 http://www.museumca.org

The Oakland Museum offers free admission the second Sunday of every month. Next free day: Sunday, January 10th, 2008. (Please note that the Oakland Museum is currently renovating, so some of their galleries may be closed.)

*the obligatory asterisk* Free admission is subject to availability.  There may still be fees for special exhibitions.  Please contact the museums directly for details.