Vendors, Suppliers and Manufacturers, oh my.

Merriartist - competitively priced Daniel Smith, free shipping over $90. Fast shipping. I used to buy most of my Daniel Smith paint from Merriartist. It's at my door in usually 3 days. That beats everyone else. However they have changed their website and now it doesn't save my shopping carts and I find it intensely annoying to come back to revise, find it empty and have to start all over again so I've stopped buying from them unless I have no other supplier available.

Jerry’s Artarama - I’ve bought framing supplies and some matting supplies and paper on sale. But for the most part I don't buy from them. 

Cheap Joe’s - Shipping is slow but prices are good. I’ve bought brushes, paint and paper. 

Dick Blick’s - I buy mats and pans from Blicks. They also carry paint and it’s fairly competitively priced. Now that Aaron Brothers has been absorbed by Michael's and the fabulous buy one get two free sales on paper are no longer, I am reduced to buying my Arches watercolor blocks elsewhere. I still have stock in my stash so haven't had to buy more...yet. But it's only a matter of time.

Jackson’s Art - Located in the UK, I buy my Winsor and Newton half and whole pans directly from them to save on shipping. I have also purchased a W&N giant pan which is ceramic. I really love the paints in them as they are more moist than their regular pan paints. Plus when the ceramic pans are empty, I can refill them with my Daniel Smith. They are discontinued now so I was lucky to get them when I did. Free shipping on brushes. I've bought a few brush cases from them and a nice plein air carryall/easel combo. 

Rosemary & Company. - Handmade brushes in the U.K. You’ll be amazed at the variety. I buy travel brushes from her as she goes beyond the normal rounds and few flats you find. I’ve bought travel brushes in mops, combs, rounds and flats. High quality at competitive prices. If you can't afford Escoda, check out Rosemary.

Fine Art Store - This is the only store that carried the Arches squirrel mops I was looking for. They also have Kolinsky sable rounds in pointed and very pointed. All have long handles. I believe Arches has discontinued them as when they are out of stock they are never re-stocked. They are pricey and shipping is expensive but when they’re the only game in town, you bite the bullet and pay the piper. 

Amazon - amazon is not the most economical source for art supplies. You can usually find an item cheaper from a specialized art vendor. They’re great for seeing what there is, and if you can’t find it anywhere else, at least you can get it and if you have prime quicker than Blick’s, Jerry’s or Cheap Joe’s.
Judson's Outfitters - They have some great prices on plein air equipment, especially Guerilla Painter. They also have "seconds" and clearance items. I've bought two things from them as "seconds" at a great price and have found no defects whatsoever. They also have parts for repair.

WetPaintArt - Haven't bought anything from them but you never know. St. Paul, Minneapolis.
Ken Bromley Art Supplies - In the U.K. I have purchased Winsor and Newton half and whole pans from him and also the giant ceramic pans. Purchased same from Jackson's. Why? Because neither had ALL of them or the prices varied from paint to paint. So I complied a "cheapest" list from both sites. I think in the long run Jackson's beat out Ken because sometimes Jackson's will ship for free. Yeah. No kidding. Those giant ceramic pans are long discontinued now, more's the pity.
L. Cornelissen & Son - In the U.K. I have them on my list because they have the unbranded metal FOME palette boxes that Whiskey Painter's use. Occasionally they are cheaper than amazon, even with shipping. I think they came up when I was looking for a few other things too. They have a leather travel brush case that would be perfect for my DaVinci travel brushes.
Rex Art - In Miami, FL. Because you can't have too many places to buy art supplies.
Society for All Artists - In the U.K. You need not be a member to buy. Membership makes no sense unless you are in the U.K. They have a nice little community group you can join. They have a store and occasionally sell on amazon in the U.S., which is how I found them.
The Italian Store - In New Jersey. I found them when I was looking for Rekab squirrel mop brushes (which are made in the U.K. You can read their history at Handprint.)
Vermont Art Supply. In Vermont. Duh.
Green & Stone of Chelsea. In the U.K. I swear the U.K has the BEST watercolor art supply stores.
Art Spectrum. They carry Maimeri Blue and Old Holland. They're in New Jersey, not Texas as you might expect.
Terry Madden - There is only one thing I've bought and one thing I recommend. His weirdo palette knife, The Original Scraper. I've been using it instead of the butt end of my brushes to scratch and if that's something you might find yourself doing, you might want to get his tool. I've used the pointy end to scratch lines and the flat end to pick up paint and lay it down in strait lines for fences or rope lines. It's pricey at $12 plus shipping so don't get it unless you're sure you'll use it. if you're frustrated trying to do something with something that is not designed to do that thing, then maybe you need the proper tool. This might be it.

(Also see posts on Palettes, so many choices, Paint manufacturers and On the road - going portable.)

If you get serious and you get good, you can buy some pretty expensive paint. (You can also buy some pretty expensive palettes. See my post on Insanely expensive palettes.)

Etsy has several people who make their paint by hand. I’ve purchased some from Matteo Grillo in Australia. He does his best to keep shipping down and I do like his paints. I have some half and whole pans. Why? Because he makes Indian Yellow with the coveted and discontinued PY153. That’s a pigment. More on that later. There are several others on Etsy that make their paint. Just make sure they are making paint and not just selling you pans they’ve filled with commercial paints from a tube. *YOU* can do that. 

Greenleaf and Blueberry. Jess Greenleaf is in Colorado and she and her company make paints by hand from natural sources. Very much like the Daniel Smith Primatek line, only she carries some pigments that Daniel Smith has discontinued, like malachite and azurite. Her Lapis Lazuli also looks much better. But...you can’t just buy paint. Since her opearation is all hand made they only offer paint on their website perhaps once a month on a certain day at a certain time. You have to be fast to get what you want in the cart and pay for it before it is sold out. She sells both individual half and whole pans, plus some pre-selected travel sets. She will also occasionally offer some limited edition colors like azurite, lapis lazuli, malachite, fuchsite and cotê d’azur. They are VERY expensive. But they are also hand made. If you start to get really in to painting and are thinking of plein air or a lot of journaling while traveling, you might want to try a small travel set. Even just three colors. She also offers dot cards with two different styles of butterflies to try out her paints. I took my set to a day trip to San Juan Capistrano and the more I look at the journal entry I did, the more I like it. Like any paints, they take a little getting used to as these are all natural pigments and so don’t behave like commercial paints. They are more difficult to rewet and may have more granulation or be grainier.

Wallace Seymour - Just recently Jane Blundell had two blog posts regarding an updated company. Pip Seymour is now Wallace Seymour. He and his partner hand make paints but unlike Greenleaf and Blueberry you can actually buy them in stores, but NOT in the U.S., but they do supply to an art shop in Canada, Select Fine Art Materials, where you can pick them up. Only in whole pans but less pricey than Greenleaf and Blueberry. They do have a line of historical earth pigments which look intriguing. When I have a few hundred to spare, I may pick up a set of 18.

So, once you buy your paint, what do you do with it before you smear it on the paper? Well, you need something to hold it. More on palettes in another post.