Apex Art Supply on Omaha Street is one of those stores that rewards browsing. It carries a serious inventory of professional and student-grade materials — oils, acrylics, watercolors, printmaking supplies, drafting tools, sketchbooks — and the staff actually know what they’re talking about. If you need something specific, ask; they usually have it or can point you somewhere useful.
The store sits on the east side of Rapid City in a low-key commercial stretch, easy to miss if you’re just passing through on your way to the hills. It’s not a boutique. The shelving is dense, the lighting is functional, and the layout is organized by medium. That’s the point. You’re not here for the atmosphere; you’re here because you need Arches cold press or a specific brush size and you don’t want to drive to Sioux Falls or wait a week for shipping.
For working artists in the region — and there are more of them than you might expect, given how the Black Hills draw painters, photographers, and illustrators — Apex is effectively irreplaceable. The nearest comparable shop is hours away. That geographic reality shapes what the store stocks: they carry a wider-than-average range of plein air gear, which makes sense given that half the artists in the area are hauling easels into Custer State Park or up into the Badlands on any given weekend.
Prices are in line with what you’d pay online after shipping, and occasionally better on house-brand items and bulk paper. A basic pad of 140 lb. watercolor paper runs around $12–$18 depending on size. Quality brush sets start around $20. If you’re just picking up a sketchbook and some Micron pens, you’ll leave for under $25.
The store also keeps a modest selection of pre-stretched canvases and canvas boards, plus a few easels if you’re just getting started or broke yours on the drive out from somewhere. Nothing is marked up absurdly. The framing section in the back offers standard sizes and some custom work, though turnaround times can vary — worth asking about before you commit if you’re on a deadline.
If you’re visiting Rapid City and you paint or draw, it’s worth stopping in even just to restock. Hours are standard retail — Monday through Saturday, roughly 9 to 6 — and parking is straightforward. Don’t expect a gallery vibe or weekend workshops, though local bulletin boards near the front sometimes post community class listings and open studio events around town.
What makes Apex worth knowing about is simple: it exists, it’s well-stocked, and it’s run by people who use the products themselves. In a city this size, that’s not nothing. The Black Hills attract serious landscape painters every summer, and those painters need somewhere to buy paint. Apex is that place.
