A Love Letter to Office Supplies

A first love and a life long love

I love art supplies. Drop me in a store full of paints, pens, pencils, yarns, or fabrics and I’ll be happily entertained for the rest of the day. Beautiful colors crafted by companies that have long storied histories in the craft. Knick knacks that solve small problems that only those deeply involved in the art encounter. New unique materials that promise a opportunity to attempt a new technique. Art supplies are fun! They are also expensive! Sometimes I can’t afford to shell out for Windsor and Newton watercolors, Posca markers, or Faber-Castell pens. On those days, I go next door to another one of my favorite stores, the Office Supply Store!!!

Black ballpoint pen on the back pages of a day planner from a meeting heavy day at work. The only art supplies available? Office supplies!

I’m sure most artist have used office supplies as art supplies at some point in their lives. Whether it be drawing on looseleaf paper with #2 pencils and ball point pens, or building elaborate statues or jewelry with a box of paper clips. Office supplies have a major benefit over other art supplies. They are accessible! They also foster creativity in ways that traditional and high end art supplies don’t.

Lotus is highlighter and ballpoint pen. Tiger and girl are ballpoint pens and highlighter

One of the most obvious aspects of accessibility when it comes to art supplies is cost. A single Posca marker at my local craft store is €4.50. A pack of four highlighters at the convenience store was €3.50. I know the Posca markers are worth the mark up. They are a much better quality. But, sometimes the money just isn’t there. Buying more affordable art supplies allows a person to continue exploring their art while saving up for higher quality materials.  

Winged persons: Blue ballpoint pen; tiger: highlighter and ballpoint pen

Another aspect of accessibility is that office supplies are just easier to find. As much as I love an art and hobby store, not everyone has specialized shops nearby. Office supplies are available in convenience stores, grocery stores, bookstores, sometimes even gas stations. For students, office supplies are often provided at school and for office workers, they can access these supplies in … the office. I have sat through many a boring call with a notebook and pen in hand and used the time to draw.

Pirate Girl and Tree: Blue ballpoint pen; Goblin: ballpoint pen and highlighter

Office supplies are also great for boosting creativity. Because offices supplies are so accessible, I don’t find myself as careful when using them. When I’m sitting with a blank page of expensive paper, with my expensive art supplies, it can be hard to try something new. I generally feel the pressure to make ‘good art,’ so I’m more likely to stick to techniques I know work. But if I have a notebook, ball point pens, and highlighters, I’m more willing to try something different. I can just play. I’m not worried about wasting the supplies. Often, the playing doesn’t work out, but that’s fine. It's not like I burned through a fist full of €5 markers. Even if I did use all the ink in a highlighter, it’s a lot easier to replace it. Sometimes though, I learn a whole new technique that I can eventually try with those more expensive materials with the confidence that it will probably work as I know it worked with the office supplies.

Happy Wave: pencil; Bird Girl: highlighter and ballpoint pens

Another way that office supplies help with creativity is the limitations they impose. There is a well known phenomenon in the art world that a limited palette is often better than having every color in the world available. Working with one color in watercolors teaches the painter how to use different amounts of water in the wash to achieve different value and intensity without relying on hue. Office supplies put these kinds of restraints on artists. When drawing in the margins of notes, a person may only have their pen and paper. If they want to add shadow to their drawing, they need to learn how to cross hatch. They can’t simply switch to a different color. For me, I’ve recently been drawing people with dragons. I didn’t have my art supplies close by, so I used office supplies. The only colors I had were highlighters. I ended up coloring the dragons with bright colors, but the colors didn’t fit the human figures, so I simple lined the figures with ballpoint pen and shaded and colored with a combination of pencil and pen. I liked the results so much, when I had access to my art supplies, I kept the look, and the highlighters, only trading the ballpoint pens for faber-Castell pens. I would not have tried the technique if I had my art supplies, but I’ve been having a lot of fun with this look.

Original highlighter, pencil and highlighter of dragon and person. I fell so in love with this look, I started using it with more traditional drawings.

I have been playing with blending highlighters with more high quality Faber-Castell pens and paper.

I love quality art supplies, and I know they have their purpose and place. They are longer lasting and archival. They have better pigmentation. There are tons of resources to improve style and technique with traditional art supplies. But I also love office supplies. They are accessible and they facilitate creativity in a unique way. Like with most things, both have their place and I love to sing the praises of each.