Great selection! Everything for the artist and the only game in town. Plus the discounts keep me coming back. read more

Art Essentials - Acrylic on cardboard. Cuba 1957. by Angel Martinez - Art Supplies Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Fine art stores (not craft, like Michael's / Hobby Lobby) are getting really hard to find, particularly in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. This store has a great selection across many mediums and art practices. The owner is super helpful. read more

As an artist, I appreciated the extensive variety of several different products. I went in just to browse...but I'm sure you know the outcome of my visit! Indeed, I loaded up on art supplies I didn't even know I needed until I saw them. I ended up going crazy for some thin-tipped calligraphy pens, a couple of new palette knives, and a replenishment of some acrylic paints. When visiting, you really need to take your time because they have a lot of different aisles loaded with supplies. It's almost overwhelming because there are just so many options. The staff were incredibly nice and attentive, and asked if we needed anything while shopping. I'll definitely be back, but be warned, fellow artists...you won't be leaving empty-handed! read more

They have the best selection of art supplies locally. Friendly knowledgeable staff is always ready to assist you.

Service was excellent and selection was also excellent, they had a lot of high end materials. The value was similar to other art stores. But importantly is that the selection was ample. read more

Incredibly knowlegeable, helpful staff and huge selection: the Willy Wonka Candy Store for Art Supplies!

Have to cherish this place because it's the one well stocked art store in town but that doesn't mean it doesn't have room for opportunity. They recently moved to a new location, and the layout is not ideal since everything feels a little cramped and not as defined as in their old location. It can be a little confusing to figure out where one may find the products they need. I really wish they brought in a good merchandiser just once to make better sense of the space. Also, while well stocked, a lot of their products are basically the lowest grade version of a lot of things. Sure, they have some pricier options and art supplies aren't inexpensive in general, but in certain things it's only the most elementary version of something that they have in stock. That said, the costumer service is always nice and they do provide a little bit of all artists and creatives might need with a healthy mix of fun kits and things in the mix too. It can be a little dusty and outdated, but maybe down the line a younger, hipper, and better merchandising team will truly make this great place shine. read more

Great store, great inventory, but... Had a long shopping list of supplies for a new watercolor class. Had to dump everything and get out of the store because of the blasting "screamer" music. Unless you love screamer music, don't go in! read more

In an age of chain stores and mail order, we are truly fortunate to have a warehouse size, locally owned specialty store like Art Essentials in downtown Santa Barbara! Art Essentials has absolutely everything for the student and professional artist. A wide range of quality canvases and foamcore, including some the size of walls, easels, every paint brand and medium, brushes, pens, pencils, hobby/knitting supplies, stationery, framing, and much, much more - generally with good discounts. While Michaels leans towards crafts (and dare I say, a bit of junk), with a couple of aisles of fine art supplies, Art Essentials is the reverse. There is nothing better than browsing for a nice new brush, a tube of your favorite quality acrylic, or fresh sketch pad; some things are better done in person. I personally have always found the staff to be very pleasant, and my thumb is often reaching for Shazam as I walk in the door. I don't know how Art Essentials does it, but they do, and I'm glad! read more

Great to have a warehouse sized art store in Santa Barbara! A bountiful variety of all things art supplies, canvases, frames and more. Great prices as well with items frequently on sale. My go to art store when feeling creative! Highly recommend. read more

Was in need of screen printing supplies until more fabrics arrived in the mail and stopped here. This is my go-to for last minute supplies. I buy my powders here to mix for nail polish along with speedball for fabrics. They have a wonderful variety and a little bit of everything for everyone from school craft supplies to fill on professional quality supplies. Friendly staff that are incredibly helpful and knowledgeable about their products. Little on the higher price but it's to support local and expected. The variety of options for each category and friendly staff are worth it all. read more

Art Essentials - Got to play around with the paints until stencils come along to make better prints - Art Supplies Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Love this art supply store! Was so happy to find this place recently, they have a great selection of high quality hard, medium and soft pastels and pastel pencils. I no longer have to drive to Blick in Santa Monica to get what I need. They also have a great selection of oil, watercolor and acrylic paints and inks and lots more. Just a really nice selection of everything with good prices. Very helpful and friendly staff. Will be visiting this store often. read more

Art Essentials - Ryukin Goldfish - mixed media on paper - Art Supplies Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Excellent selection and helpful staff. Quirky and independent, but well organized! I'll definitely be back.

Went to this store for the first time looking for pieces to make a holiday gift for my son's teacher. While they didn't have large letters, they had a ton of other amazing things! The staff were friendly and very helpful. I ended up getting some canvases and walking around the whole store looking at all of their items. I will say it was a bit overpriced but that's pretty standard for downtown Santa Barbara. read more

Wonderful local art store. Great variety and service. I love visiting this store. The best!

Terrific store. Unexpectedly downtown and delightful staff. They have everything you need as a working artist or can order it. Great place!

Does not get any better than this, especially in SB where we are an art desert. Great inventory, great service, great prices. read more

I always go to Art Essentials #1 to support a local small business and #2 the staff always has good, practical answers for my questions about materials. My experience is that the staff are all doing art too, so they can tell you which brushes are best for a specific project or what kind of medium works best for a certain effect in oil. I love their papers and they often have items on sale at a great discount! read more

I love love love this little mom And pop store (that's been in Santa Barbara like forever basically ) I think 50+ years) it sells quality items and products you don't find at the chain store such as Michael's '. They also have a HUGE aISLE OF GELLY ROLL gel pens that you can pick and by individually!!!! read more

Lovely place with lovely staff! Carry everything you could need and their in house brand gesso is fantastic. Night recommend this wee art store. read more

Great store, has just about anything you could need. Employees know exactly where everything is which was impressive. They also were knowledgeable about their products and were able to advise me on what I should use to get the results I want. Plus, you can get a discount if you are a student or art professional they give you a discount. This became my go to art supplies store. read more

Fabulous setup and even better staff! They always are willing to help. I go multiple times a week!

With Covid I've had trouble sourcing some art supplies. Martin (mar-teen) and the owner have jumped through hoops to help me get what I need. They are absolutely incredible and I can't thank them enough. read more

Such a nice and big store but they didn't have any sketch books that I was interested in, I found the ones I wanted at Michael's. read more

Art Essentials - DEC2013 - Art Supplies Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

This is the best art supply on the west coast, lets make sure they continue to service the Santa Barbara Community during Covid.

The store itself is good. Good selection of art supplies. However, we walked into hardcore punk music playing and after about 10 minutes in, I had to leave and with a pounding headache. It's unfortunate because I really want to support local businesses. My husband even said it was too much and he likes punk. I wish I could have stayed and purchased what I needed, but had to get out of there. The owner should really set boundaries on music choice to set a nice environment for all to enjoy the store. read more

While I am a firm believer in supporting local art communities and suppliers, the staff were not wearing masks properly and THAT is a NO-NO for me. It was "suffocating" -- in which case you need a better mask or you need to man up and deal with the minor discomfort in order to save lives. I will not go back. read more

Great place for artists and crafters. Very nice and helpful staff. Dog friendly too! I called ahead to see if they had what I needed and the same person showed me where the item was when I arrived read more

When you walk in they don't greet you, help you with what you're looking for and feel like you are a bother to them just walking in. Great art store with the worst employees. read more

I came in, I asked where the replacement xacto blades are, they pointed, I bought, then I proceeded to cut myself in social protest of how asinine some of these complaints are. you want a bargain? go to Amazon. they don't pay resort-town rent read more

I visit Santa Barbara from San Jose and when I'm in town, it's a priority for me to shop in this store. You see, all of the independent art stores in the cities around me have closed. I love that this store reminds me of of the cool art stores that I used to go to in Berkeley and SF. The selection is wonderfully curated and presented. I don't want to be bothered by employees constantly hovering, but these guys cheerfully approached and acknowledged us. I asked questions, got honest feedback and suggestions from the friendly staff guys. I don't know why people here compare the selection or prices with big box craft stores, they don't understand how frustrations it is to ONLY have those available to them. They can go and try asking Tammy Fake Floral Arranger Crafty Pants about the subtle nuances between the different watercolor sets with their coupon of the week... I'll trade you stores any day! read more

Really the only place to get decent art supplies in SB. A good selection of stuff and they have an "artist discount". There is usually always something on sale. As far as help/service goes...well it's an art store, so what do you really expect? read more

This is really the only arts supply store in SB and thankfully it has pretty much everything you'd need. There's a great selection of basic brands and higher quality choices in every medium, and I'd say they're fairly priced. An art class of 20+ came in while I was there and all walked out with new materials - so if you're feeling artsy but missing some essentials, this is definitely your spot! read more

Enormous selection of real art supplies (more fine art than crafts). Contrary to some of the older reviews here, I just had a wonderfully attentive customer experience there today. Two different members of their staff enquired more than once whether we needed help finding something. Very helpful suggestions and explanations. When the staff found that they were out of a particular hue pencil with eraser tip (they had it without eraser), they immediately offered to place a special order (yes; a special order for ONE pencil). Some tact too: my son asked for a specific type of pen,but had the wrong brand. Rather than saying "You little doofus, Canson is a paper mill; they don't make pens", she elegantly said "we don't have Canson, but I can show you the same sort of thing from Faber Castellated and from...". Happy with both service and selection. read more

Art essentials has great quality merchandise and a helpful knowledgeable staff. It's a wonderful resource for artists in Santa Barbara and beyond. read more

I was visiting from Portland, OR and discovered that I needed art supplies for a watercolor class. Bonnie came to the rescue and found everything I needed within five minutes. They had a great sale on several items. Martin, the store manager, was also very happy to help. It is my go to store for art supplies in Santa Barbara! read more

I have unfortunately used the Framing department 3 times. Shame on me. All 3 times they cut mats incorrectly. Paintings slipped out of the mats twice because they used one piece of tape. I do not recommend Art Essentials. read more

(quick note: first two paragraphs are about the bad customer service, product reviews are after that if you want a bit less salt with your reading) Essentially I agree with the other critical reviews, customer service is really bad. I came in looking to spend money, and basically had to sell myself the items. Every question I asked came with an annoyed answer from the young gentleman helping me, shoot I was trying to upsell myself and he actually talked me out of purchasing expensive paint with a dismissive "its all the same". Not sure if this was trying to be helpful in a less than helpful way, terrible product knowledge, or simply apathy. This store is cool, but that does not somehow elevate you as an employee above your customers, but hey enjoy it while you can before life sucks the fun out of your $80k art degree. Jokes and bitterness aside If I could offer any advice coming from the perspective of someone who has worked retail sales before, cut your labor. There is certainly no justification to have two employees on the clock who cant be bothered to sell their products. In this trip alone I estimate the employee cost the business around $75 in product I budgeted to spend and a talented or well trained sales person coyld have easily sold me another $75 on top of that, and I happily would have spent the money. Customer service issues aside I enjoyed the store. They have a large selection of citadel/Games Workshop paints including some hard to find older paints. Their prices are higher than Amazon, but no higher than Michaels, with much better and deeper product selections and higher quality items. Whenever I go into a storefront, especially in a town like Santa Barbara I expect to pay a premium, and this store certainly delivers on the products and the premium is not as steep as I expected, perhaps on certain items, but certainly not all. Location is a bit challenging to find parking for, but not impossible. I hope their sales are strong despite the bad customer service expirience because these types. of art supply stores are becoming more and more rare. Good news for the owners is if your sales are. slipping, it is very clearly. your employees that need to be retrained, rehired or given a swift kick in the pants. tl; dr its no Dick Blick, customer service is terrible, product quality is mych higher than Michael's at close to the same prices. Seriously the customer service is just awful. ONLY PLACE NORTH OF VENTURA TO FIND GAMES WORKSHOP PAINT SUPPLIES! read more

Because of COVID I called to see if they were open. (Shop local) The guy who answered was really nice, inquired about what I was looking for, and gave me some tips. Which was really helpful because when I got there I was totally surprised about how HUGE the store was! I was able to tell the "kid" (sorry, I'm old) what I was looking for. He, too, was really helpful. I don't do any 'artsy' stuff anymore, but if I did I would shop here. read more

SARAH @ Art Essentials is fantastic. She goes out of her way to help me order items not in stock, and works hard to get the correct order in as soon as possible. We LOve her!!! SARAH needs a RAISE, Sam!!!! Woot! read more