Elan exists to make starting cheaper. Cutting mats, canvases, gouache, oils, watercolours and brushes, chosen to hold up to real use and priced so that cost is never the reason you put it off.

We are straight about where we sit. If you are learning, or painting regularly without doing it for a living, Elan is the sensible pick: a clear step up from the cheap end, at a price that leaves something over for everything else on the table. Artists working professionally, who need the very best pigments and surfaces, will want to look above us, and we would rather tell you that than pretend otherwise.

One thing to note: our supplies are not designed or tested for children.

We don't run our own shop. Everything Elan makes is sold through Amazon in your country, which means your order is picked, shipped and, if it comes to it, returned by an operation that does this better than we ever could. It also means the price you pay is Amazon's, not ours with a margin on top for running a warehouse. We'd rather spend our time on the mats.