I’ve previously stated on this blog, in almost a hostile fashion, I don’t sell anything and I don’t do affiliate links. Well, NO MORE! I have affiliate links, baby! It’s just up, up, up to wealth and riches from here!

Yes it’s true: I now have affiliate links for two of my favorite art supply brands – Da Vinci Paints and Rosemary Brushes!

I figured as long as I’m already intent on sending business their way, why not set myself up to potentially make a few bucks that I can kick toward my blog hosting costs? 

Why Da Vinci Paints?

Da Vinci is my favorite watercolor paint company. Located in California, they are local to the U.S., where I live, and are a great value here, often less expensive than the famous brands while rivaling them in quality. For those who haven’t tried them, I’d say the international brand they most resemble is Holbein. The paints are vibrant, long-lasting, and well-behaved (relatively low dispersion rate). One particular advantage, though, is that Da Vinci is especially notable for its gorgeously granulating earths!

I have extensively covered my favorite Da Vinci colors in Single-Brand Watercolor Palette Ideas and My Favorite Watercolor Paints by Brand, and they’re always well represented in my palette peeks. But I’ll just briefly touch on a few of my very favorite Da Vinci colors: 

• Quinacridone Red (PR209) – one of my favorite colors of all time, this vivid coral streaks through my sunset skies. Da Vinci’s version is the best because it is so bright and smooth-grading.
• Red Rose Deep (PV19) – I am a connoisseur of PV19s and this is one of my favorites because it perfectly balances the bright pinkiness of rose with the depth and intensity of crimson. If you can’t decide between Quin Rose and Alizarin Crimson, this is for you.
• Ultramarine Blue (PB29) – I always think I don’t like Ultramarine until I return to Da Vinci’s. It’s strong and rewettable, and doesn’t flake out of the pan like DS and WN’s. 
• Cobalt Blue (PB28) – intensely high pigmenting, this is the only Cobalt Blue I like, and it’s a staple of my palette.
• Burnt Sienna (PBr7) – I’ve been a Transparent Red Oxide diehard until I recently gave another shot to Da Vinci’s Burnt Sienna and it’s turning my head. It’s got a gentle mid-chroma rust color, lovely granulation and no drying shift, and it mixes wonderfully, making all sorts of browns and grays with Ultramarine and other blues. What more could you ask?

DV is also solid on the basics, and if you want to round out the above into a complete palette, you could very easily add Da Vinci Yellow, Phthalo Blue Red Shade, Phthalo Green… you get the idea!

And these are just off the top of my head. If you can’t decide, Da Vinci offers one of the best dot cards on the market: the dots are extremely generous. 

If you shop through my links above, I will receive a 5% commission. 

Why Rosemary Brushes?

Rosemary is just about the only place I get my watercolor brushes these days. Despite being located across the Atlantic from me, in the UK – so I have to save up and make rare big purchases to save on shipping – their brushes are still the best quality and value compared to the ones I can find at home. 

My favorite Rosemary brushes:

• Series 401 Pointed Sable Mixture. This is my watercolor brush of choice. I think the blend of sable and synthetic gives the best of both worlds: springy and durable like a synthetic, but with a sable’s soft brush-feel and the ability to hold tons of water.
• Sienna Oval Wash. My first favorite wash brush was an Isabey Petit Gris Cat’s Tongue, made from real squirrel hair; but I have to admit that once I got the Sienna Oval Wash, I could hardly tell the difference! It’s much less expensive and it’s synthetic, so no animal products. I use this brush for laying down big, juicy washes, like skies. 
• Beginner Brush Set – All Mediums. This set is so economical, I got it almost on impulse in my first order from Rosemary, and I’ve just found them so surprisingly useful! They are pleasantly springy synthetics, on the level of the more expensive Princeton Velvetouch. I use them for swatching, where my nice sable brushes seem like overkill. (And you know I swatch a lot.) They’re also great for gouache. It’s just nice to have a set of brushes that I enjoy using, but don’t worry about ruining. And it doesn’t hurt that they have hot pink handles. Fashion! 

If you’re in a hurry, here’s a list of the brushes I use most: Series 401 rounds 4, 8, and 12, plus a Sienna Oval Wash in ¾”. 

If you shop through the links above or enter affiliate code ‘BILLYIDYLL’ at checkout, I will receive a 5% commission. 

Why did I apply for affiliate links?

I’ve never expected to make a profit from having a blog. A lot of things would have to be true for me to make, say, minimum wage from a blog:

• It would have to be a year starting with 19
• I would have to optimize for search engines
• I would have to track my readers and make a case to advertisers that my audience matches the people they want to reach (I don’t even use Google Analytics, I have no idea who’s coming to the blog and I don’t care) 
• I would have to create content designed to draw people in, e.g. clickbait
• I would have to market myself on social media, instead of withdrawing from social media as I am currently doing
• I would have to game the algorithm
• I would have to produce a large amount of high-effort content, e.g. videos

None of that fits with my values or interests. I make content that I want to make, because I want to make it. Not only is that more enjoyable for me, I think that is what makes my blog a valuable resource for others, because they are following a genuine journey with my real thoughts and insights. 

But I have decided to dip my toe in the affiliate waters in an effort to make a very precise amount of money: $125/year, the cost of hosting the blog. It’s an amount of money that hurts just enough in my budget for me to wonder each year “Should I shut it down?” So far, I don’t want to, but it’s painful to see $125 come out of my art supplies budget. I could buy so much paint and brushes!

I hope to do a follow up post in a year or so with transparency about my financials to see if I reached my goal. 

All of my recommended supplies – affiliate or not – can be found on my Supplies Guide.