Smart Art is a fine arts subscription service that sends a new project every month and all the supplies needed to complete it. My husband and I are both artists, and we have been having a blast with our Smart Art subscription!
This box was sent to us at no cost to review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
The Subscription Box: Smart Art
The Cost: $49.99 per month with free shipping. Save with 3, 6, and 12-month subscriptions.
ACTIVE DEAL: $5 off your first subscription
CODE: ENJOYART5
The Products: A fine arts project, complete with instructions and supplies
Ships to: U.S. only
Good to know: It's a different project in a different media every month, using different techniques!
Check out all of our Smart Art reviews and the Craft Subscription Box Directory!
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This month's project was creating an abstract landscape! This is the booklet that Smart Art sends every month. It includes art history related to the project, a list of the included supplies, project pointers, and instructions.
Subscribers can upload a picture of their finished project to Smart Art's Facebook page for a chance to win a free box! That's really cool! On the other hand, our projects usually take forever, so we always seem to miss the boat on this contest.
This is the inside of the booklet. On the left are the art history and project pointers, and on the right, there's some info on abstract acrylic pouches plus the supply list.
The instructions are printed on the back of the booklet. They are pretty clear and easy to follow, but they still allow for as much creativity as you like.
Here are the supplies that were included for this month's project:
Sennelier Abstract Paint Pouches (x3) - Value $7.99 each
Abstract Set of 8 Assorted Tips - Value $9.95
Raphael Kaerell #4 Flat, #2 Round Brushes - Value $10 each
Art Alternatives 8x10 Canvas - Value $8.99 (buy a set of 6 for $53.94)
Please note that the values listed here are list prices. Almost all of them can be found for less at most online discount art supply stores.
My first step was to coat the canvas. I loved the three colors they sent! I used way too much, but I think I salvaged it okay. I am not used to doing backgrounds with such small brushes, but I think that it actually lent itself to a higher level of abstraction.
My second step was to use one of the 8 tips - the comb - to go over the entire background and give it a raked look. Pretty cool!
This is my completed painting! I am not in love with it as work of art, but it was a good learning experience for working with this particular set of tools. My fourth step (which I forgot to take a separate picture of, sorry!) was to paint in some trees to create a horizon. The last part was basically to take out the tips and experiment with them. That's not going to make a fabulous work of art probably, but it sure was fun. I used a dot tip to make the stars, I used a very fine dot tip to make some fish symbols in the lower left corner, I used a double tip to make the white river, and I used a broad, flat tip to make marker lines across the middle in red. It was very different than what I'm used to, but it could potentially be really useful.
The Verdict: My husband and I are both huge fans of Smart Art! I really enjoy working with acrylic paint, and I loved learning some new techniques this month! The quality of the materials was wonderful. The value of this month's contents was about $63, which is a good margin above the $50 cost of the box. That's unheard of for a fine arts subscription box! We love Smart Art!
What do you think of Smart Art?
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