All of My Watercolor Brushes | DaVinci, Escoda, Raphael , and more!

[@SadieSavestheDay]

I’ve added links and time stamps to the description!

[@marissaswinghammer3149]

This video has me missing my brush collection. I just moved countries again and brought my travel brushes with me but let my husband talk me into putting my big brushes on the air shipment. Never again because it got lost! It was eventually found and is currently sitting in Sydney customs but I can’t wait to paint with them again. I felt ill about losing my Isabey brushes! PS those Simply Simmons brushes are American branding on I believe Daler Rowney brushes. I have both and they are the same. Great basic synthetics that I love for gouache.

[@askialuna7717]

I grew up with the Da Vinci Nova brushes, those were the first synthetic brushes I saw as a child. I bought one for my first watercolour box, they were the cheapest brushes in the shop. Through this brush I noticed that there are also good brushes. In school, we had to paint with bristle brushes and at home we always had such cheap sets with bristles and hair brushes, the hair brushes were far too soft and there was always hair on the picture.

[@MalamikArt]

I find that my cheaper brushes are always what I grab. I have no idea why, but I use them the most! :)

[@jenwilly7260]

The Cosmotop Mix B brushes hold SO MUCH water. The big ones are the best wash brushes! I just wish they held a better point

[@ColoringKaria]

Now i wish i had sent you some silver black velvet brushes! They are VERY affordable here in america costing less than many all synthetics but are very nice and hold a good point and a LOT of water.

[@mightyredstallion]

The are nice.

[@predragdjokic3761]

Finally someone to make a video who uses Da Vinci and can talk about them from personal experience..Ty Sadie this was very helpful for me i want to try out Da Vinci and now i definitly will buy Cosmo Top Spin .Ty again you rock

[@SadieSavestheDay]

Oooh I love DaVinci! I think you can’t go wrong with them. I hope you like the cosmotops

[@predragdjokic3761]

​@@SadieSavestheDay I still didn't order from that shop to try out Cosmotop Spin honestly because that is the biggest shop we have in country so i save money to order at least 10 different brushes because they have awesome prices on them compared to other shops.I live in small town we have art shop here but not nearly supplied as others in big cities.I will order Cosmotop Spin and also i will try dagger Casaneo they are not mix they are also syntetic i think they will also be amazing.Ty so much for clearing my doubt and making me sure to buy them Sadie.

[@AriellaKK]

The Princeton Aqua Elites are wonderful. Wait for them to be released in major art stores. They are a step above the regular Princeton Elite.

[@SadieSavestheDay]

Those sound interesting! I’ve never used either

[@bugeyedmonster2]

I should see if my local art shop has those. I like the Princeton Neptune brushes. I don't remember seeing the Elites.... must check again. (Now why am I wanting to buy more brushes when I have good brushes already?)

[@craig243ful]

all I know is I you get a brush you really like they'll quit making it

[@SadieSavestheDay]

You’re not wrong 😂

[@laulau3641]

😂

[@bugeyedmonster2]

IKR? Like I remember the Grumbacher Beaux Arts brushes, which was their 'reply' to the Winsor & Newton Series 7 brushes. Why did they stop making them? I loved those brushes. Also, I have one Isabey Kolinsky quill, which is now a vintage brush, I think. OOooo, and the Isabey Marte sable or kolinsky line. (I honestly don't remember what it was.) But the brushes were really nice. Mine were unfortunately eaten by some moths. It's why I don't leave my good brushes out in the open. We seem to be really prone to moths around here. When I'm done with them, they have to be in a bug proof container. (Hint, that brush box from ArtBin is *not* bug proof. I lost some really nice brushes that were in that box.) I'm also trying to remember the Grumbacher red sable brush line that was great. I have a few of those. So 'soft' yet so springy. It was a 'number' line, like a 826 or 2286 or something.... (I probably have those numbers wrong.) I'm also trying to remember what other vintage brush I started out with in the early 90s, that is no longer made. I know I have some, but they're in a cedar box. Sometimes you can find discontinued brushes on eBay or Etsy. It's just those sites seem to be money-suckers. I go just to search for vintage brushes, and next thing I know, other stuff has jumped into my cart!

[@bugeyedmonster2]

Sometimes, not always, you can get a synthetic hair brush to regain the point or shape by boiling the brush hairs for a bit, then reshaping it. DO NOT try that with a real hair sable or kolinsky though. I have a vintage Kolinsky quill from Isabey. They don't make them anymore. I love it, it's my favorite brush. I also got lucky in finding a DaVinci Kolinsky quill brush on the Etsy shop ColorMeetsPaper. I ordered it and it has yet to arrive. I'm so happy to see you using it here. PS I have a couple favorites on my brushes- One is the Winsor & Newton Series 7 kolinsky sable. (Yes, I really have one. I got it from some estate re-seller on Etsy.) Another- my old Beaux Arts brushes from Grumbacher that they don't make anymore. They were really comparable to the W&N or higher end brushes in quality (IMHO.) They were made in the US and a bit cheaper than W&N Series 7. I sure miss those brushes. I've since retired mine, as I'm scared they'll get messed up.

[@Dan.B.Artist]

Nice collection, I've recently started hoarding brushes. I went with the Escoda for Kolinsky as they were the most affordable here, i find it's ok. Ive heard great things about the Raphael sables but the price!! Ive recently tried a black velvet brush and love it.

[@natalieodisho7264]

I liked your review! Using a fan brush for eraser shavings is something I'll try.

[@SadieSavestheDay]

It’s really convenient!

[@greekveteran2715]

Cut or break the Fan brush to make it a lot shorter. It becomes the best tool to get rid of eraser shavings from your paper, without having to touch your hands on which is wrong.

[@janinacooper4199]

Thank you so much for this video! Very helpful to hear your take on all the different brushes. I have my mind set on only purchasing synthetic brushes and it is kind of frustratiing, because no synthetic brush has really made really me happy yet. Amazing how much water real sable brushes hold and the fine tip for detail....i always marvel at that. I would love to to have those characteristics in a brush, but thinking about the suffering of the animals who get killed only for their tail hair makes me sad. It would be so awesome to get a true great alternative for real hair. Though every brand of course claims their synthetic version of squirrel and/or sable are almost identical to the "real deal", trying them side by side reveals big differences.....

[@pierrenilsson6189]

Interesting... I love Escoda brushes and I am slowly replacing everything with the Escoda Reserva, Optimo and Perla series. They have never let me down so far.

[@LeySketch]

Ugh, this whole video is like brush porn! You have a beautiful collection 💜 What are the paints you're using in the demos? That brown and blue are so gorgeous together!

[@bluejchou4404]

Greetings! I just found your channel searching for help in purchasing my next level watercolor brushes as I finally had the time to learn how to water color during the pandemic slow down of life. So glad I found you. Your channel looks like it has a lot of great videos. Love your calm voice too! 💖 Thank you for sharing your art with the world. ❤️

[@empress_craft]

What is the hot water trick? My Escoda sable brushes arrived to me messed up too -_- I got one to start behaving, but the others do not

[@SadieSavestheDay]

You put the hairs in boiling water. That’s apparently helps to relax them. Then shape them gently with your fingers and hang it upside down. Then the hairs should behave a bit better. I hope it works! I only tried it as a last resort because I couldn’t use it otherwise anyway.

[@empress_craft]

Wow that is kind of terrifying. But considering that my size 8 literally will not come to a point, this is probably what needs to happen. Gonna keep a pillow nearby in case I need to scream into it from the nerves and terror.

[@SadieSavestheDay]

I know what you mean! 😆 I just kept telling myself I couldn’t use the brush anyway so the hot water trick couldn’t make things any worse! Make sure not to put the ferrule in too though, that’ll loosen the glue and that’s no good.

[@marsbeads]

yes, boiling water will bring them back to shape. I gently swoosh the brush in the boiled water a few times and then gently swipe the the hairs over a brush cleaner soap bar and gently bring the hairs to a point and hang them upside down on my brush holder. the soap helps the hairs stay in place as it dries. Just make sure to rinse before use.

[@emmamariamakes]

Nice video! My favorite synthetic brushes so far are the Raphael softaqua mop and Escoda Versatil round. You get wat you pay for :) I also like the Winsor & Newton and Rembrandt kolinsky brushes that I got secondhand.

[@greekveteran2715]

Do you have any other Kolinsky to compare the Rembrandt you own please?I mean are the Rembrandt top of the line,like Da Vinci and Raphael?

[@emmamariamakes]

yes Rembrandt 100 kolinsky are top of the line artist grade quality, similar to Winsor Newton Series 7 or better. They look like Da Vinci Maestro but I don't have experience with Maestro myself @@greekveteran2715

[@ad6449]

No Billy Showell's brushes? For some reason, I thought you had some. Thanks for this lovely video.

[@monikawiedmann8594]

I bought a Leonard Aquarellvs to try out and i have to say I absolutely love it!

[@bugeyedmonster2]

I'm trying to think if I have any extra Escoda Kolinsky brushes..... My favorite brushes are my Isabey Kolinsky Quill, my W&N Series 7 brush (that I got from an estate re-seller.) I loved the Beaux Arts brushes by Grumbacher, but since they don't make that anymore, I retired mine. I actually like the Princeton Neptune line. It's imitation squirrel, but it's not as soft as squirrel, it has a little bit of spring and can actually do a point. It's pretty cool. (I think I have an extra brush or two of the Princeton Neptune, if you want to experiment with them.) I actually have two Winsor & Newton Series 7 brushes, but I tend to favor the older one, as it has a shorter handle. The newer one (well not that new, I bought it maybe 10 years ago) has this crazy long handle. I sort of want to cut the handle down, but I'm afraid to do so, as it's a W&N Series 7. Though my older Series 7 is showing some wear, I just noticed that last night. Sigh.... brushes do wear down, but I'm not ready to replace it yet.... Anyway it was cool to look at the brushes you use. Thanks for posting this.

[@greekveteran2715]

Would you rate the Raphael Kolinsky,higher than the Da Vinci Maestro please? Which is the better of the 2?

[@bu_katsudo]

Your collection of brushes are so wow 😍😍😍. Love them an artist's collection....

[@SadieSavestheDay]

I’m glad you like them too ☺️

[@bu_katsudo]

@@SadieSavestheDay it's unbelievable that you replied I've watched all your videos.

[@cynthiazick3125]

thanks for your great vids, Sadie! I really love the Princeton SNAP white taklon brushes, you can see them in use by Emma Lefebvre YT channel here --- love them... more than my expensive Escodas etc. altho I do still love my Escoda & Rosemary travel brushes too. but the Snaps are SOOOOO snappy! super delight to work with, & only $9 on Amazon, & there's a set of 4 other ones too, smaller rounds and a slanted flat ... so great for detail work. but the size 12 round does almost everything!!

[@volcanowb]

If you could own only 2 watercolor, travel brushes, what would they be?

[@jennifer-pm6ql]

What was the color you were swatching with? Its very pretty

[@drbasiakowalik2666]

Thank you for a great video! I was wondering if you have any experience with Silver Black Velvets?

[@mudraofwitches]

I really am going to look into that da vinci forte, I’ve been hunting for a firm brush 💛

[@SadieSavestheDay]

Then you’ll love it!

[@johnd942]

You sound like you're talking in your sleep!!