Central Art Supplies is an independednt business housed within Adelaide Central School of Art…read more Entry is via the laneway just before you get to the school if heading from the parade. It's proprietor is Greg Hanisch and he is a most amicable chap. If you have been there three or four times he will more than likely remember your name. If you are looking for budget supplies it is probably not the perfect place, as Central Art Supplies primarily caters to the proffessional artist and the serious art student. Quality is of main concern here, and although they do stock some student brands, such as Van Gogh oils and acrylics, their specialty is really at the high end, for instance, the Michael Harding hand ground oil paints, which although amazing, can be a bit on the pricey side. Greg is extremely knowledgeable and of great assistance. If you have any queries as to the properties or use of materials he is certainly the man to ask and will often be of much more assistance than one could find at Eckersleys or other big retailers. Unstreached canvas, calipers for sculpture and various interesting painting mediums are on sale here, which can be tricky to find elsewhere. They also have on sale some fine hand crafted easels and offer canvas streaching services.

I order a lot of my art stuff online, they deliver super quick, also very helpful instore. They…read morehave a a big selection of products. It' a pleasure to visit their store on Sir Donald Drive.

Art, art and more art - my mantra. If I accidentally got locked in here I wouldn't be calling for…read morehelp too quickly. I've moved across town and so, although they knew me by name at the Glen Osmond Road store and I was sad to leave, there are all the same supplies at the Harbour Town store. So I'm grateful for a quick solution if I run out of paint part-way through a 'masterpiece'. This store has a large and varied range of art materials. Many of them are low prices. They don't stock all the top end or specialised supplies, but one can go to Premier or Eckersley's for those. Apart from art supplies, there are craft and gifts, so there is something for everyone. And no excuse not to get creative!

I had a disappointing experience at the Eckersleys St Leonards branch. I felt I was treated…read moredifferently to another customer who wasn't a person of colour, when my request to have my sheets wrapped in a recycled plastic sleeve was refused, yet another customer received packaging for her items without issue and with extra charges. Instead, my sheets were folded and wrapped only in paper, which got wet from a sprinkler on my way home and damaged part of it. If my request had been followed, this would not have happened.

Eckersleys is on the whole a very good art and craft store…read more I find that Premier Art is cheaper and Central Art Supplies more informative and of higher quality than Eckersleys and would usually use one of those in preferance to Eckerslys. However, they do have a very broad range, stock a number of items which are not available at the other art stores and from time to time have specials on offer which are cheaper beyond comparison when compared to other art supply stores. They have a very broad range of craft papers, as well as a good selection of easels and canvasses. (I recently got a very large italian made studio easel ultra cheap from eckersleys on special.) They stock as a standard item an acryllic paper pad (which I find very useful for water colour painting) which has a great deal more than the standard 12-20 sheets at a very affordable rate. I have not found anything comparable anywhere else. I also picked up a very high quality Kolinsky-Sable brush (a real not synthetic one) from Ecersleys which although expensive is fantastic and has lasted me years of use.

This is my first port of call when I need to restock on art and craft supplies as they really are…read morethe cheapest, have the biggest range and have two stores to choose from..this one and one at Harbourtown at the airport. A friend of mine once purchased a whole carton of decorative picture stands from this store at a even further discounted price, she paid $2 a stand, whereas elsewhere they were going for about $7 each. A few months ago I purchased five cartons of ten slightly bigger than A4 size canvases for a project I was doing and it was the equivalent of paying $3 each...bargain! Now these products and prices are not always available but keep and eye out for specials and grab them...if you need it that is and support your inner Picasso!

I LOVE this shop so much! My imagination runs wild here and I create at least 20 masterpieces…read morebefore I've even left the store. They stock a massive range of art materials including my favourite paint. They don't have all the top end supplies, nor do they make canvases to order (I recommend Pimlott Framing for that), so there are times one might want to visit the likes of Premier Art supplies or Eckersleys for some specialised items. There are a range of craft and gift items to bring out those creative juices for everyone. There is also off street parking and the staff is helpful and will help cart big boxes of canvases to your car (so I've discovered! And also help squeeze them into said car). They also promote local art classes and happenings via a noticeboard in store. My tip is to visit and let your imagination soar!

Helpful staff, always happy to discuss what options they have in store for the outcomes you are…read moretrying to achieve as an artist. Something I find helpful is their written receipts, because it is always good to have a clear understanding of where the money has gone, especially with the tax man; it is also helpful when you are trying to cost something out to price it for sale. No problems with the service or the stock and the hours are pretty good as well. I am a regular customer because I'm at AC Arts just up the road.

Art Stretchers is quite a good Art Store on Morphett St in the City…read more It is the South Australian distributor of Art Spectrum, Australia's own oil paint, and has a very large range of the Art Spectrum Pigments. However, consequently it does not stock any other brand of oil paint. In addition, Art Stretchers stocks a number of other Art Spectrum products, such as watercolours, guashe, soft pastels and inks, as well as non oil products by other brands, such as acrylics, brushes etc. In addition to more generic art supplies, Art stretchers specialises in painting grounds and has a broad varietry of unstretched canvass and linen etc as well as stretcher bars of varying dimensions. The Staff at art stretchers are very helpful and friendly and will always provide assistance where required.

The Plaster Fun House on Unley Road possess a large chunk of my childhood (same to the nearby Fairy…read moreShop) and although they have moved premises, I spent many a friend's birthday sitting on the little plastic chairs and trying to emulate the display pieces of my chosen plaster mould. Oddly enough, I found myself back here as an adult, sitting on the same little chairs sipping on a juice box and covering myself in paint and found the experience just as fantastic as it was when I was smaller. For $10 you can pick one of the basic moulds to paint AND get a packet of twisties and a juice box. Amazing really. The Plaster Fun House was an amazing experience and allowed my friend and I to wile away an hour or to whilst singing along to the Peter Coombe pumping from the stereo. The kids and parents sitting around my friend and I, appeared to seriously enjoy their time. Kids took a lot of time seriously pondering their choice and then spent a long time in silence carefully painting away and thinking of the most unusual colour combinations possible. The Plaster Fun House is well worth the stop on Unley Road, no matter your age, bonus points for the Peter Coombe.

I don't care who you are, this is an awesome place to go…read more SUPPOSED to be for kids, but me and my friend see it as our guilty pleasure as we sit there on the small tables painstakingly painting small plaster models whilst having our adult conversations and PAINTING THEM BETTER THAN ANY STUPID KIDS IN THE SHOP. Because we're adults. Add some glitter? sure! add some stupid glasses and a fuzzy haired hat? Why not?! Get a softdrink and a packet of chips whilst you talk. Affordable and fun, great for kids and no one will tell if you shed your accountant exterior for some naieve painting fun.