Artistic help from beginners to professionals

I've searched through four big suppliers of art and craft guides and materials and here are my favourites:

1 Hay on Wye - art shops in the mall at the top of the car park.
The art shop lady is most helpful. She sold me a box of round edged postcards. She pointed out that the box is half full of a piece of foam but I still wanted the round edged blank postcards.
Almost next door is a shop where the artist gives lessons if you have an hour,or half an hour to spare. I stopped there just before catching the coach home so only had time to buy a signed copy of his book on cartooning.

The Derwent manga kit contained a picture to copy and a pencil for the drawing and four coloured pencils which turn into paints if you dip them into water or paint water over them afterwards.

2 W H Smith (Brent Cross and many other branches.
Lots of sets or paints and crayon paints aimed at children and artists and a rummage box of half sets and broken packaging.
I spent a lot of time looking at paints and made friends with an art teacher and illustrator who was also browsing and buying.

3 Hobbycraft, Watford, and many other branches.
Lots of free leaflets which give instructions and tell you what to buy. For example, the one on jewellery making not only tells you how to make jewellery but gives you the technical terms so if you have a broken necklace you can see what kind of pliers you need and what they call the spacer beads and little tips - like using nail varnish to make the end of thread go through a bead, and tying knots between beads so that if the necklace breaks you don't lose all the beads around the room or down the nearest drain.

4 Foyles, Tottenham Court Road, and there's another branch in the Westfield Shopping Mall which is next to Shepherds Bush underground and overground stations.
I asked for more sets of books and crayons which they did not stock and could not order but they kindly told me about the artists' materials shop Cassart.

5 Cassart
Cassart, walking from Foyles, is on the right as you walk south down Tottenham Court Road, after the tube station just before
Leicester square. They sell a handy little male of female human body about eight inches high. Ironically the larger one is cheaper but they'd sold out. Their flagship larger store is in Islington.

More Information- addresses, tels, websites, information and shopping
www.hobbycraft.co.uk


This blog is 'under construction' so come back later as I add more details of books, websites etc.

Lessons and workshops - English O and A level, creative writing including poetry, crafts, card-making and drawing for fun, caricatures, Photography and how to illustrate your books.
One hour lesson in Hatch End, Singapore or on line.
For friendship, business, advice and lessons call or email annalondon8@gmail.com