Written by:
Berkeley Staff

As these ancient cave paintings show, people have been spraying paint for as long as there has been art!  These sprayed hands could have been one of the first uses of a “stencil.”  They also could be a kind of a signature or “I was here.”

Written by:
Berkeley Staff

Ok, maybe not the actual bay but rather The Bay Area.  And maybe not with actual etching ink, but rather with the beautiful work it helps to produce.  I know I said that we were super excited to have the full line of Montana Gold, and we still are.  But if it’s possible, we’re even more excited to have the full color assortment of Charbonnel Etching Inks in stock!  Yes it’s true that we drink a lot of caffine and are therefore easily excitable, but that should in no way diminish how awesome it is to have these premium quality inks to offer you.  You have, after all, been asking for them and rightly so.  There are 51 lucious colors to choose from and we’re offering them in the handy 60ml/2 fl. oz. size so you can flirt with colors such as Nasturtium Yellow, Spring Green, and Solferino Violet without having to make a huge commitment.  Our commitment to you still stands though, the highest quality products at the best prices and the greatest staff on earth to assist you.

Written by:
Berkeley Staff

Woooo Hoooo!  We are so excited that we got the full 91+ color assortment in that we are running a super special deal on them right now…$7.99 ea. and buy 4 tips get the 5th tip free!  This paint is super thick so you don’t have to go back over your work a hundred times to get the full color strenth (and you also don’t have to buy as many cans).  The color saturation is intense and the finish is ultra matte.  People who try Montana are never satisfied with anything less again.  On top of that the colors they offer are so sensory satisfying like “best of times”, “flipper”, “ketchup” and “sugar melon”.  They are laquer based so the sky’s the limit for what you can paint with them.  I personally have painted shoes, clothes, an exterior door and my bike helmet on top of the more usual applications of signs and paintings on canvas.  Are you a fan of instant gratification?  Grab a can of Montana or ten and turn your world technicolor!

Written by:
Berkeley Staff

In our effort to help students gear up for their summer classes we’ve put a lot of the most common supplies on super sale.  We have a lot of figure drawers here in the East Bay that should take advantage of these great sale prices!  18×24 drawing pads, vine and willow charcoals and sketch books are just a few of the items that have great savings right now.  Printmakers should take advantage of our current sale on handmade Japanese papers!  These papers rarely go on sale and they are gorgeous, guaranteed to take your work to the next level. 

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.