Thank you for your report!
We have received your report and it is currently under investigation by a forum moderator.
brushes in general
Welcome to the forum.
Here you can discuss all things art with like-minded artists, join regular painting challenges, ask questions, buy and sell art materials and much more.
Make sure you sign in or register to join the discussions.
Hang on Studio Wall
This is a Studio member-only feature!
Join our Studio membership and save your favourite Painters Online content, from gallery artwork to step-by-step guides, to your own online mood boards. Create your go-to place for inspiration and learning. Plus, members can also enjoy a range of exciting features including monthly art videos and a digital magazine library.
If you are already a Studio member, simply login to your account.
Not a Studio member? Why not try our free 30-day trial - no commitment, no credit card required
Message
Posted
I am mad about brushes. Before my local art shop closed some years ago i used to look at all the brushes there and inevitably i would find one or two i loved the feel and look of. Nowadays Bromley and Jacksons send me beautiful catalogues with lovely pictures of brushes of all kinds. I am charmed into buying one or more and they are added to my cllection which numbers 95 brushes at the last count I cant see myself buying any more as i now have enough to last me to the last ever painting. i actually use a lot of these brushes as i just pick up the. first one that comes to hand that is of the right size and type for me. Ofcourse I have the brushes grouped together for oil ,acrylic and watercolour so that makes things easier.When it comes to the sables i am more careful to use some favourites to the neglect of the others. Is there anyone out there with the same affection for brushes as myself ? .........Syd
Posted
I probably fit into the same category as yourself Syd. Like you I have a great many, too many to count, but not as many as you have, just had a quick look and there would appear to be around 60 or so. When my Grandchildren come over they invariably go back with one or two of my less used or less favourite ones, which I am now happy to let them have, having reached the same conclusion as you, I am never going to use all these in my lifetime.
I do have to keep replacing my hog oil brushes as they do wear out at an alarming rate, scraping up and down a canvas.
However, what does tend to happen is that I have my favourites, both for watercolours and oils, and they amount to probably only three or four of each type.
Why then, have I got so many? - I don't know is the simple answer, just a collector thing I guess.
Edited
by alanbickley
Posted
I don't know how many I've got now - I have a jar full of watercolour brushes, in sable, squirrel, and synthetic materials; another jar for my four Hakes; an old whisky bottle tube for my acrylic brushes, which are mostly synthetic; and separate whisky bottle tubes for my oil painting brushes: one for the filberts and fans; one for the rounds; one for the flats. The thing about having a great many is that I can reduce the wear on them: some of the old hog-hair brushes have been with me for 40 years and are still in good nick.
My belief is - you may have guessed - that you can't have too many brushes. It's just not humanly possible....
By the way Syd, did you get that swordliner you were after?
Posted
Certainly, my very old hog hair brushes were top of the range at the time - the best of them made by Geo Rowney (long before he and Mr Daler teamed up....). I also have some Guitar pure art hogs - these were the best products from Guitar, a Japanese company, at the time.
So yes - cheap brushes are never the answer: they'll shed like dogs, lose their shape, and generally fall to bits.
The only (mild) exception I'd make is for some oriental brushes - the hakes, for example: these tend not to be very expensive, and they do have a limited life (not so much the hair as the wooden ferrules in which they're glued and stitched). I would point you to Rosemary & Co for them, or the Ron Ranson hakes, though - I'm told there are hakes you can buy cheaply which will moult like an old goat and never stop. This would be infuriating. I bought mine from Chromacolour UK, but their range is much depleted at the moment - change of company ownership I think, and presumably some of the incidental products they used to stock are no longer going to be available: pity, because these have been good. But no supplier is going to be able to stock absolutely everything - Jacksons come as close to that as anyone.
Posted
Robert, as I,m relatively new to painting. I only bought a mixture of cheap brushes, which up to now have served me ok. I'm considering investing in a small selection of better quality brushes, and was wandering if I could pick your brains on the choices. I paint mainly with acrylic, and usually on canvasses ranging between 18'x24' or 36'x24, on the cheaper range of canvas. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Posted
Rosemary and Co sell excellent brushes. They are made in the UK (Keighley), postage costs are very low, and they normally arrive within two days.
I've tried three types
Ivory - a white synthetic bristle that mimics hog bristle, good for oils.
Masters choice - a soft natural hair, haven't used mine much.
Shiraz - a softish mid price synthetic, I now use it for both acrylic and oil. I think this might be suitable for you.
http://www.rosemaryandco.com/oil-brushes/shiraz-oils
Posted
Can't improve on keora's advice - Rosemary & Co brushes are just about the best I've yet found: the Ivory range is excellent, for oil and acrylic (which reminds me I could do with a few more), Shiraz are amongst the best brushes for acrylic I've ever used, and the Golden range (although cheaper) are also very good - they're rather less springy, a little softer, and that's often what you want. Rosemary also make excellent goat hair and hoghair brushes.
If I were to wander from them, I would suggest the Dalon range by Daler Rowney - very good brushes for acrylic and watercolour: I have a Dalon 3/4" flat which is often the only brush I ever use in a painting, perhaps augmented by a Dalon rigger: these have short handles, which may put some people off. I do like a long handle myself, but it depends on what you're trying to do.
Winsor & Newton make excellent brushes, some with an ergonomic handle - they can be a bit pricey, though.
There are, in truth, many manufacturers out there and a lot of very good brushes. You can usually tell a bad brush just by looking at it - bristles that are uneven, and look rough; those that are described as pony or camel hair - neither is any use for serious painting: you'd do as well to cut your own hair off, stick it to a bit of dowelling, and trying to paint with that (NB: this is NOT a serious suggestion). I noticed recently that the watercolourist Charles Evans (I think: the name just popped out of my senile brain, and while I think the right one popped back in again, I'm not sure!) uses Cotman brushes: these are made by Winsor & Newton and are officially described as student quality, but he swears by them; although I've only used their smaller ones, I can vouch for the fact that they're well made. Their Sceptre Gold range, much used by the great Arnold Lowrey, is fabulous - but not cheap.
You won't go wrong with Rosemary & Co, though - beautifully made, unbelievably good value for your money, and they keep trying to improve: the technology doesn't stand still with them, and their enthusiasm for their craft raises it to an art form in itself.