Autumn has long been the busy season for Doug Shippee, owner of the Rhinebeck Artist’s Shop. The college students return looking for fresh supplies for their classes, and the professors are looking for a place to guide them. When it comes to college-level art studies, Doug and his knowledgeable staff know exactly what students will need.
“Our advantage is that we deal with this all the time,” he says. “Every professor has a specific list of supplies, and teachers get in touch with us and work out a list. Then they’ll bring everything to the first class, and the students can pay for it on the spot. It saves everybody a lot of hassle and minimizes the carbon footprint of the whole endeavor.”
Every employee in the retail department at Rhinebeck Artist’s Shop has been to art school themselves, and it shows. “I know nothing about what supplies to get and what would be best for what I need them for,” writes a satisfied customer online. “I went into the store to get supplies for a class I’m taking and the woman there was phenomenal! She helped me above and beyond what I was expecting. I will definitely be coming back and I will recommend this store to everyone!”
“Every professor has a specific list of supplies, and teachers get in touch with us and work out a list. Then they’ll bring everything to the first class, and the students can pay for it on the spot. It saves everybody a lot of hassle and minimizes the carbon footprint”
The Rhinebeck Artist’s shop is conveniently located near two prestigious New York colleges with excellent art programs—Bard College in Rhinebeck’s neighboring town of Annandale-on- Hudson, and SUNY New Paltz, within walking distance of the Main Street shop. The Rhinebeck location houses four floors stocked with the best paints, brushes, canvases, papers, and sketching materials that a college student budget can buy, and are regularly re-stocked and updated.
Walking through the shop is a fun trip for anyone, whether you’re an artist, a student, or just thinking about starting a new creative hobby. These days, many people are looking to fill in more down time at home. Doug, himself a working artist with an MFA in painting, has welcomed many customers who are just getting started or who are looking to help their kids get started. “Parents come in wanting supplies for their kids and maybe themselves—everybody needs something to do, and creating is one of the best things you can do for yourself. The kids within walking distance come in on their own behalf.”
Walking through the shop is a fun trip for anyone, whether you’re an artist, a student, or just thinking about starting a new creative hobby.
Whatever your back-to-school plan for the fall, be sure to make art a part of the picture. After all, here we are, in the luscious Hudson Valley, beside a river that inspired an entire school of art.... Wikipedia will tell you that the Hudson River School, with its romantic tendencies, was a Thing in the mid-19th century, and that creative inclination is still alive and well in the valley. Hudson River art is very much a living force. (Romantic? Well, hey. This is easy scenery to get excited about.)
Whether school’s in or out, whether galleries and museums are open or closed, art— like food, like music—is in our very DNA. Doug and his team will help you figure out what you need to translate your vision into living color. And when you’re ready to display your masterpiece, or someone else’s, on the wall, they’ve got a wonderful team to frame it for you, too.
need an artfix ?
Dia:Beacon is offering Carl Craig: Party/After Party, an online series of cutting edge screenings and discussions. diaart.org
The Samuel Dorsky Museum is offering Stay Home, Make Art: Hudson Valley, NY, Edition on its Facebook and Instagram feeds, and there’s a recorded online symposium on YouTube exploring the work of Jan Sawka, the exiled Polish visionary who made his home in High Falls and some slammin’ backdrops for the Grateful Dead. newpaltz.edu/museum
The Art Effect is offering superb programming for all ages along with Artpocalypse: #ArtAtHome During COVID-19. feelthearteffect.org
Rhinebeck Arti st’s Shop
56 E. Market Street, Rhinebeck
845-876-4922
188 Main Street, New Paltz
845-255-5533
