JMR:
This may be a silly reason to start a new topic, but I just had to share this.
This week I have bought some new paint brushes and I put them to use for the first time yesterday. I got two Winsor & Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable brushes.
Now, I have read a thousand of times that these brushes are great. In fact, that they are the best in the world. Why do I start this topic? Because holy smokes they are fantastic!!!
Like most people, I started out with GW brushes. At some point I upgraded to cheap Kolinsky brushes. That was a huge difference. Now I’ve gone another step higher and it’s again a huge difference. It’s such a joy to be able to paint with brushes like these, I just had to share it with you guys.
If you enjoy painting and think you are ready for a higher level - heck, if you enjoy painting, but aren’t too good at it yet - do yourself a favour and buy high quality brushes. They’ll completely change your painting experience.
These brushes hold their fine tip so well, that I’m confident that I can do the tiniest of details with a size brush that I would previously only use to basecoat large areas. Just be sure that if you do buy expensive brushes like these, that you should treat them nicely too with brush cleaners/preservers etc.
If you’re like me and have read a ton of times how good expensive brushes are but haven’t tried them yet - treat yourself to a size 1 or 2 Winsor & Newton Series 7 brush. You won’t regret it.
What brushes do you use at the moment? Have you ever been this excited about upgrading your brushes too?
cornixt:
I had one many years ago. It was awesome, I used a size 1 for everything short of basecoating and dry brushing, even very fine detail that I could previously only do with a 00. My wife killed it with aggressive cleaning. So hard to find anywhere for less than $20.
Ben Saunders:
I tend to use cheap brushes. They don’t last that well, but at 4 for £2 I don’t have to worry about that and can start another any time I need a new one.
Abecedar:
Our local (only) artists store runs with >? (I’ll find a name(s) tonight) for between $7 TO $12 AU.
Kera foehunter:
I use cheep brushes… it doesn’t matter if there great brushes or poor brushes my painting style destroys them…
mad
G.2:
I bought some Winsor & Newton series 7 brushes a couple of years ago, and I use the for 90% of my painting. They are very nice, but indeed very expensive.
I have to let people know, if you are going to invest in a W&N series 7 brush, make sure you get the long version not the short version (which I think they call “miniature”. I don’t mean the brush handle is longer, I mean the brush hairs are longer, which means the brush holds more paint. I found this very useful.
Bloodbeard:
Thanks for the review. Never bought expensive brushes.
Don’t do detail work that really requires it.
So I use cheap brushes. Cut off the haira that get bend and chamge them after a unit of so.
JMR:
I have to let people know, if you are going to invest in a W&N series 7 brush, make sure you get the long version not the short version (which I think they call "miniature". I don't mean the brush handle is longer, I mean the brush hairs are longer, which means the brush holds more paint. I found this very useful.
G.2
I'll second that.
While browsing for brushes, I also noticed that apparently there's a shortage of Kolinsky sable brushes in the US at the moment. Apparently the hairs aren't allowed to be imported at the moment.
Don't do detail work that really requires it.
Bloodbeard
It's not just that good brushes allow you to do finer details. The fine tip (that stays as a tip!) also means that I make much less painting mistakes that I have to go back and redo later.
Also, I feel like these things have a much steadier release of paint and hold a good amount of paint. There's no "blobbing on paint and spreading it out on the surface" and I need to reload my brush less often.
While Winsor & Newton are supposedly the best in the world, Raphael brushes should be very, very good too. Some people prefer them over W&N and they are a bit cheaper too.
Before getting W&N brushes, I used cheap Kolinsky sable brushes made by em4 (I think), which were a big upgrade over the GW brushes I used before them.
The bottom line is; upgrading your brushes is awesome and worth it!
torn:
Very convincing I might have to have a look