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What brand of acrylic brush do you find best/long lasting?
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Message
Posted
Hi,
I`m new here, I was just wondering what brushes people find best? most of my brushes are`nt that great I find, lasting only a year at most, and if I accidentally wash them in hot water (its a bad habit of mine), they start to lose their shape, there is one brush though that has really impressed me its a
Da vinci cosmotop size 50, its been left in water for 2 days,the paints cracked i`ve wash it in hot water many times and it still holds its shape....and blends better than any of my other brushes still, i`ve been using it for 18 months now. they are quite expensive though.
I have a friend who makes a living from her paintings, she uses harris brushes a lot, and yes I do mean the painting and decorating ones ! I used to use them,but went off them due to them holding too much paint imo, and you lose a lot when you wash them out....i prefer thinner brushes.
Stu my paintings online
Edited
by StuArty
Posted
I've used Rosemary and Co brushes for about 5 years, they are very good and aren't expensive. They aren't sold in shops, just phone them up and they'll arrive in a couple of days. The one I use most is the Shiraz, which has synthetic bristles. It's designed for both oil and acrylic.
http://www.rosemaryandco.com/oil-brushes/shiraz-oils
I have tried another brush of theirs, Ivory, has white synthetic bristles, fairly stiff and similar to hogshair. I still prefer the Shiraz, as the bristles are softer
Posted
Although I don't paint in acrylic too often these days, much preferring to use oils, my selection is also from R & Co, they make fabulous brushes, possibly the best in the world. I use the Ivory short flat and round and the Ebony short flat and round, these are the two recommended by Ken Howard so I'm in good company. Both perfect for acrylic and oil paint.
Posted
To start with, you have a bad habit that needs breaking (you may have many, but, wisely, you've not shared more with us). Do not use hot water to clean brushes, ever - it's extremely bad for them. With hog brushes, the danger is chiefly that it'll denature the bristle and weaken the glue holding it in place. With nylon brushes, it will do that and distort the shape as well. People say you can leave brushes standing in jars of water, and so you can - but if you do, the coating on the handle is likely to flake away: this won't damage the brush's painting properties, but will make it less pleasant to hold in the hand.
As for which brushes - I often use a couple of Harris decorator's brushes for a variety of applications, but they're not much use for the finer work, and here I am yet another devotee of Rosemary & Co - my preferences vary: I used to employ the Shiraz or Reflex range (it's been called both, the product is the same) and would avoid hog hair: but I found myself using a hog brush a few weeks ago, and it worked perfectly well. On the whole, I use synthetics, the only criterion being that they're well made, as Rosemary's are. But then, there are ranges made by all the big companies - I use a Dalon brush quite often, for example - and the quality is generally high. I still use a clutch of very basic nylon brushes from nearly 50 years ago, with George Rowney & Co stamped on the handle: they still work, still snap and give a sharp line, and I'm sure Daler Rowney as they now are still make them.
The only brushes I would avoid with acrylics are the best sables and squirrel mops - it's very hard to avoid a certain amount of residue collecting in the heel of the brush with acrylic - not enough to be a nuisance with most brushes, but quite enough to destroy the qualities of a sable: and acrylic is harsh on brushes - again, this doesn't matter with most, but it can leave sables lifeless, dried out and brittle.
Finally, more out of completeness than anything else, you can of course use painting knives with acrylic, and very satisfying they are too.
http://www.isleofwightlandscapes.net
http://www.wightpaint.blogspot.co.uk
Posted
I also use Pro Arte Acrylix brushes, I have rounds and flats and they are lovely to use. I also have a couple of Harris brushes as I'm doing a large piece at the moment and none of the brushes in the local art shop were big enough. They're fine for covering large areas, I've yet to try them on canvas though, but I will.
My first set of acrylic brushes were from Paperchase; I got them about 10 years ago. They were ok to practice with, my last one fell to bits (literally) last week.
Kay
Edited
by Triduana
Posted
Quickly on Rosemary & Co, and adding I don't have shares in the company .....
I have dealt with them for a good many years now, and have always found their brushes of the best quality. That doesn't mean they won't make mistakes now and then - but there are too many positive reports of their brushes, other equipment, and service for those of us who have recommended them to be wrong. I realize that it only takes one bad experience to put you off a supplier for life, but I would still suggest people give them a try and make their own minds up.
Jackson's, of course, also offer high quality products, as do several other suppliers - and they can make mistakes as well, on which I shall not dwell because usually they don't.
http://www.isleofwightlandscapes.net
http://www.wightpaint.blogspot.co.uk
Posted
da Vinci and Jax flats, round anything really, but mostly Léonard. I think that my brushes are worth more than any other equipment I have, as I am enthusiastic brush buyer. And I do not pain much :-D I just like brushes. Inks is more me. Anywho, I recommend that you build slowly stash by getting one or couple of better quality ones each month or so. Also you might find that having 30+ art shops in your list of favourite pages helpfull. They all have sales and sets of brushes are often in those. I got set of da Vinci for watercolour so cheap last year I would have questioned if they are genuine if I didn´t actually get them and didn´t see for myself they really were. Mind, I do buy tons of paper, so mostly get postage free as I go over certain amount of pounds while shopping and only get brushes if they are on sale or if some new type is out ;-).
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