The Artists Guild on 3rd Avenue in Sturgeon Bay has one of the largest inventories in the Midwest, unusual for a city of less than 10,000 population, but a boon to the many artists working in Door County.
It’s more than just a supply center, it’s a resource for artists. The Artists Guild has been running a life drawing session on Tuesday evenings since 2005, attracting a dedicated clientele year-round plus vacationers during the summer, college students on school breaks, and area high school students who need some life drawing examples for college or art school applications.
Jeff and Sarah Bradley started it as a simple art supply shop when Sarah, who has a degree in drawing and print making from the University of New Hampshire, grew frustrated with having to travel to Chicago for painting supplies. She is the third generation woman artists in her family.
The store draws a mix of customers, from amateurs to professionals has a mix of materials, from student grade to professional quality.
Four staff members are certified in arts materials and are also practicing painters, so they can discuss the paints, canvases, papers and brushes.
Art supply stores are being hit by the same internet-driven waves of change as book stores and other retailers.
“The whole industry has changed and small art supply stores are disappearing” said Jeff. To compete, it has expanded its children’s section and increased its emphasis on education and coaching.
The art supply community has changed, said Sarah, and has often lost its focus on educating and expertise.
“We offer education within the store and we have been doing that since we opened our doors; the days of just selling a tube of paint are gone.”
They can also discuss the health issues around painting.
Most of the health problems affecting oil painters came from the solvents like spirits and turpentine, but painters can also use safflower oil, linseed oil or walnut oil to clean up, and paint companies have developed water soluble oil paints that feel very similar to traditional oils.
Jeff, who taught high school chemistry for a year, said art paints had a period of rapid innovation in the 1840s through an explosion in the knowledge of chemistry. Ultra marine blue had been very expensive so it was used sparingly until a French artist approached a chemist and they developed French Ultra Marine.
“That changed painting and influenced the Impressionists.”
Another big change came in In 1841 when an American invented the paint tube, which was also important to Impressionists because it made painting outdoors - plein air — much easier. The next big change came in the 1930s and 1940s when the auto industry developed new colors to make cars more attractive.
Artists Guild has one of only 83 Master Certified Framers in the world, Jannine Buechner, who took first place in an international framing competition in Las Vegas.
“People want to come and get their work framed by her,” said Jeff, noting that she has framed originals by Picasso and Degas. Some owners drop a valuable work off in the morning and want to pick it up that afternoon, but since the store was originally a bank, it has several vaults to secure valuable works of art.
The Bradleys are also active in the community. They donate framing and money to the Miller Art Museum, the Hardy Gallery and the Peninsula School of Art and are a sponsor of the Sturgeon Bay Art Crawl and donate framing to the Boys and Girls Club. Jeff was on the board of Habitat with Glen Rossman.
It’s more than just a supply center, it’s a resource for artists. The Artists Guild has been running a life drawing session on Tuesday evenings since 2005, attracting a dedicated clientele year-round plus vacationers during the summer, college students on school breaks, and area high school students who need some life drawing examples for college or art school applications.
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| Jeff and Sarah Bradley |
The store draws a mix of customers, from amateurs to professionals has a mix of materials, from student grade to professional quality.
Four staff members are certified in arts materials and are also practicing painters, so they can discuss the paints, canvases, papers and brushes.
Art supply stores are being hit by the same internet-driven waves of change as book stores and other retailers.
“The whole industry has changed and small art supply stores are disappearing” said Jeff. To compete, it has expanded its children’s section and increased its emphasis on education and coaching.
 |
| Artists Guild carries a huge inventory of paints and other art supplies |
“We offer education within the store and we have been doing that since we opened our doors; the days of just selling a tube of paint are gone.”
They can also discuss the health issues around painting.
Most of the health problems affecting oil painters came from the solvents like spirits and turpentine, but painters can also use safflower oil, linseed oil or walnut oil to clean up, and paint companies have developed water soluble oil paints that feel very similar to traditional oils.
Jeff, who taught high school chemistry for a year, said art paints had a period of rapid innovation in the 1840s through an explosion in the knowledge of chemistry. Ultra marine blue had been very expensive so it was used sparingly until a French artist approached a chemist and they developed French Ultra Marine.
“That changed painting and influenced the Impressionists.”
Another big change came in In 1841 when an American invented the paint tube, which was also important to Impressionists because it made painting outdoors - plein air — much easier. The next big change came in the 1930s and 1940s when the auto industry developed new colors to make cars more attractive.
Artists Guild has one of only 83 Master Certified Framers in the world, Jannine Buechner, who took first place in an international framing competition in Las Vegas.
“People want to come and get their work framed by her,” said Jeff, noting that she has framed originals by Picasso and Degas. Some owners drop a valuable work off in the morning and want to pick it up that afternoon, but since the store was originally a bank, it has several vaults to secure valuable works of art.
The Bradleys are also active in the community. They donate framing and money to the Miller Art Museum, the Hardy Gallery and the Peninsula School of Art and are a sponsor of the Sturgeon Bay Art Crawl and donate framing to the Boys and Girls Club. Jeff was on the board of Habitat with Glen Rossman.
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