The holidays are fast approaching, and it’s time to give presents to the special people in our lives again. We’re guessing you have a few creatives on your list to shop for, so we came up with a guide to the best paintbrushes to gift to any artist in your life!

Brush Sets

Brush sets make a perfect holiday gift! Princeton Brush sets include several brushes in different shapes and sizes to give an artist multiple tools to paint with. It’s a great way for them to test out a new series of brushes or have a wide variety of shapes to work with if you’re not sure what to get them.

For the watercolor artist: For anyone that loves watercolor we recommend our Aqua Elite Professional 4-Piece Set or Professional Box Set, Neptune Professional 4-Piece Set, Heritage Professional 4-Piece Set, or Watercolor Floral 5-Piece Set. Pair it with Daler-Rowney’s new Aquafine Studio Set and Strathmore Watercolor Paper, and you’ll have a happy artist on your hands!

For the acrylic painters: We recommend Select Artiste sets, Velvetouch Professional 4-Piece Set, or Catalyst Professional 4-Piece Set.

Mixed media artists: Any mixed media artist would love a Lettering Professional 5-Piece Set, Velvetouch Professional 4-Piece Set, Select Artiste sets, or a Mini-Detailer 6-Piece Set.

For the oil painters in your life: You can’t go wrong with an Aspen Professional 4-Piece Set, Dakota Professional 4-Piece Set, or Imperial Professional 4-Piece Set.

Travel Brushes

Know an artist that likes to travel and paint outside? Our Travel Brushes come in two pieces making them easy for storage and keeping the brush heads safe. They are perfect for painting en plein air. When it’s time to paint, open them and flip them around to bring the brush end out.⁠

For watercolor and gouache artists we have an Aqua Elite Travel Set and Neptune Travel Set that come with 4 round brushes. For acrylic and oil painters we have a new Aspen Travel Set that contains an Angle Bright, Bright, Flat, and Round brush. You can also buy travel brushes as individual brushes.

If you want to go all out, you can get them a Strathmore Watercolor Hard Bound Art Journal and a Daler-Rowney Aquafine Travel Set to take with them on-the-go!

Stocking Stuffers

Looking for an easy stocking stuffer? Or not sure what the artist in your life uses? Get a singular brush!

New artists: If you have a new artist in your life the best staple to gift them is a round brush! They’re versatile and can be used for a lot of things. A round brush is perfect for thick-to-thin strokes, detailing, or filling in large areas depending on the brush size and pressure applied.⁠

Watercolor/Gouache: If you’re shopping for gouache or watercolor artist, an angle shader, wash, and round brush in either Aqua Elite, Neptune, or Heritage series are great options. If you know someone who loves painting florals, our special Velvetouch Petals brush is perfect for loose florals and leaves.

Acrylic: Short-handle Catalyst brushes are stiff and have great shape retention for heavy-bodied acrylic artists. For regular acrylic or fluid acrylic artists, we recommend a Select Artist Filbert, Flat Shader, and Round brushes as staples in their arsenal. Add in Daler-Rowney System3 Acrylics and some Strathmore Canvas Panels and you’ve got the perfect gift!

Mixed media: Any artist that loves mixing their media will love Catalyst blades and wedges! They make great stocking stuffers and work well with all mediums.

Oil: The new Aspen Short Bright and Short Round will become the oil painter’s new favorite! If your artist likes a softer brush for oil painting our Imperial Angle Bright and Long Round brushes are a great go-to.

Give the best paintbrushes to the artists in your life this holiday season! If you want a more in-depth guide for each medium, you can check out last year’s gift guide.