What About Watercolor Brushes?

[@scruffy281]

Your video was SO helpful that I literally have created my entire brush wish list from your suggestions. Your instruction and explanation for the brushes uses was so clear and fun. I truly thank-you! I have subscribed and look forward to a ton more of your videos!! I think I see some binge watching in my future.....

[@scruffy281]

Yeah!!! Calorie free but JOY filled!! HA! HA!! ; )

[@suzalasuzala1135]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my rosemary dagger ! awesome for urban sketching as you can lay alot down and get really thin lines as well.

[@kevinfrancisco4483]

thank you for this! It was very helpful as I'm looking into creating larger pieces and looking for new brushes.

[@SharonCullenArt]

I’m glad it was helpful. 🤗

[@robind8155]

The Chinese painting brush usually has 3 kind one is pure wool, the mixed ( wolf sable and wool), and pure wolf hair....... the wool uses to blend or use water to thinning the pigment.

[@SharonCullenArt]

I need to learn how to use them. The jury is still out.

[@robind8155]

Thank you for your video, I learn a lot as a newbie. Your video is also save me lot of money too👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@SharonCullenArt]

Great. I'm glad to hear it.

[@MalamikArt]

I've noticed that the animal hair are not as predictable as synthetic. I love rounds to liners and filberts. I have way too many brushes now, I refuse to shop for more. I inherited a bunch from my grandmother when she passed and when I use those I feel so connected to her. :) PS, When I did oil painting I used short flats a lot, but have since switched to watercolor, something I never thought I'd do! I"m getting Holbein Artists Gouache set of 12 in the mail soon, so excited to try gouache for the first time!

[@gorway7]

The "plastic" on the squirrel mop is traditionally made from goose quill. Some manufacturers are now using polypropylene.

[@gorway7]

+Sharon Cullen Art Yes, the goose quills do soften if left wet for a long time then harden again as they dry. It is quite normal on traditional mops especially the smaller ones. It should not effect the handeling in any way, if it does, you could try softening the end (just up to the first wire binding) then try to reshape it - maybe bind it with a small cable tie until dry then snip it off.

[@gorway7]

+Peter Sobocki If you say the brush head / hair is coming loose, soak the whole quill section in some hand warm water then lift the ends of the twisted binding wires and give them an extra twist with some pliers, being careful not to break them. Then let it dry well - head down preferably.

[@monsoongirlnyc]

I’m just ready to upgrade to better brushes and this video was so helpful! Thank you.

[@SharonCullenArt]

I'm glad it helped. You're welcome. 😊

[@annenorth8553]

Yes me too, I am ready for better brushes but don't just want to get anything, I want to get just a few.....but the right ones.

[@danakolpin1289]

I am a beginner to watercolor. I use the Silver Black Velvet brushes and they are easy to use.

[@SharonCullenArt]

it can be difficult for people to make the switch from snappy synthetics to floppier squirrel brushes. These do have synthetic risslon in them which helps them hold their shape but people will usually give up and go back to synthetics. I know I did as well in my early days. But now I prefer DaVinci Kolinsky sable brushes. Much better in my opinion than silver black velvet and they never wear out like those do. The risslon wears out and then hairs start poking every which way. I’ve gone through a few of them in the last ten years. Davinci’s though don’t wear out. I abused a coup, of the very small brushes and they did wear out.

[@crystalinedreams6039]

thanks so much for all the great info here!

[@lorihill5372]

Hi Sharon. Thanks for all the info about watercolour paints and now brushes. I was so pleased to hear at the end of your video that you're going synthetic all the way. I refuse to buy anything that an innocent critter was sacrificed for to support my hobby. Like you said--the synthetic brushes are amazing quality now and much less expensive to buy. So I'm all for keeping the squirrels 🐿 in the trees and not in my water bucket. I found a great set of Mimik squirrel brushes at Jerry's Artarama that are both affordable and amazing quality. Paint on my friend 🎨 ... Can't wait to watch you create another pic for us. We love you up here in 🇨🇦

[@redsunset7856]

Thank you so much for the information! You have a gift when it comes to sharing very useful info on a wide variety of watercoloring topics!

[@SharonCullenArt]

Thank you I am so glad it was helpful to you.

[@Shirleyjl1]

I use the dagger and Sword for making long leaves. Double load and you've got beautiful elegant leaves.😃

[@btwilks]

Your last video had an incredible amount of useful (and interesting) material on choosing watercolours and now this one, with an equally incredible amount of useful information on the various brushes available (and aren't there just so many of them to choose from nowadays?). I'm glad to see that my own collection, which I put together when I still lived in England, seems to have the recommended basics - a few rounds, riggers, flats; a squirrel mop, a fan brush (which, like you, I hardly seem to use at all). My only recent addition is a Pentel Aquash brush, which I picked up at Christmas to help me with my early attempts at Urban Sketching, which seems to be all the rage amongst these young people nowadays (haha - spot the old man talking?). I'm sure anyone watching these last two videos will pick up a lot of guidance on selecting tools and materials and I'm sure I'll not be the only one thanking you again for the time and trouble that must be involved in putting together this material for us. All the best, Brian.

[@suzalasuzala1135]

btwilks , a dry fan brush w pigment in the middle is excellent for grasses. make sure to chrck out urbanskechers.com a fabulous international organization! And while its nippy out, put up your feet and enjoy the lovely and talented videos from Sharon C!

[@btwilks]

Thanks Suzala. I 'pop into' that urbansketchers site every so often, just to pick up useful tips. And, being in Florida, i don't have to worry too much about the weather outdoors - we're due to hit 79F today ... not bad for the middle of winter!

[@patm.7322]

Great video! Very informative! Again, thank you : )

[@debracarty170]

Sharon , I'd like to know if you have any experience with Turner watercolors and if so, your thoughts.

[@SharonCullenArt]

No I do not. But Lindsay Weirich from Lindsay the frugal crafter’s channel on youtube does. She seems to like them but she never sticks with one watercolor brand. I have used many brands and some that I can recommend are on a video I did recently. Here is the link. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4eWq3SbqLmKa7M

[@Skinnychelle48]

Lol, I jumped when ur dog barked! 😂

[@stevenjan2003]

Can I please ask what size lenght of brushes you bought from rosemarys website as they have small size 7inch and 11inch

[@SharonCullenArt]

7" the longer ones are more for oil painting or some acrylic painters like long brushes. Standard is 7"and is the norm for watercolor

[@lovesure]

This video is great! its helpful!!!

[@movedon12]

Thank you 😊 interesting video appreciate that.

[@PaulaDBrake]

Hi, Sharon. I am looking at placing the Rosemary and Co brushes on my wish list this year.. :) Was wondering if you preferred the standard handle length or long handle for the flats, rounds and the dagger/striper? Thanks, Paula

[@SharonCullenArt]

I prefer sports over longs but in oil painting that can be hard to find so I use long handles for oils. I don't use their brushes much anymore. My faves are DaVinci and silver black velvet. ~ But I've only tried a few of their series

[@PaulaDBrake]

@@SharonCullenArt Thank you so much. :)

[@SharonCullenArt]

I meant shorts!

[@ciannacoleman5125]

Question, all oval brushes I have seen remain oval when wet and don’t come to a point at all, the brush you said was an oval not a cat tongue looked like it was a cat tongue that just had a poor point on it. I however am not very experienced in the wide variety of brushes so do some ovals come to a point and some don’t? Or is it some companies sell cat tongues as ovals?

[@SharonCullenArt]

I think some companies may just sell a crappy brush that doesn't hold its point. It is the same with swords and daggers. I did an entire video on them. But I guess they can call them whatever the heck they want! I'm trying to remember which brush it is your talking about and I'm in KZbin studio right now so I can't see it.

[@gorway7]

Great review... The binder on your Arches quill brush is genuine goose quill, it is normal for them to go a bit wrinkly as they are repeatedly wet and dried. When soaked, the quill becomes quite pliable and you can re-shape it to an extent if it becomes a problem or uncomfortable to hold. Just roll the edge gently against a desktop or press with your nail. I suspect I swim against the tide when it comes to synthetics. I have used Sable and Squirrel brushes for more than 50 years and still using some of those early brushes. I am open to the idea of non animal hair but have never been satisfied with the performance of any I have tried - even the most expensive brands. I work in watercolour only, a lot of it stroke work and I need a brush that holds plenty of water/paint and will release it, fully loaded, evenly from start to the end of my stroke. Any brush that dumps paint heavily at beginning or end is just unusable for me and this seems to be a characteristic of synthetic fibers. I have a number of Sable/synthetic and squirrel/synthetic blend brushes which are quite good but even the Black Velvet brushes you need to be careful and dab off some of the water as they can tend to start heavy. All mix brushes are a compromise to some extent but a lot of it will depend on your style of painting. I do like one characteristic of Sable/Synthetic blends, that is their ability to form sharp edges or chisel points - this is real handy in a big round brush, it lets you create a large range of marks.

[@SharonCullenArt]

Ah thank you Peter. I will try it. I'm not liking at the video and I'm not sure if this is an old one but I have pretty much switched over to animal hair and save only a few synthetics for some gouache work. I struggle with the whole animal hair thing but agree that synthetics just don't work the same. And the other thing is the amount of money and frequent replacement needed with synthetics. I don't have this problem with animal hair.

[@Chris_M_Romero]

Not any squirrel will do, they need squirrels that know how to paint to make this brushes. So yeah, no surprises there

[@SharonCullenArt]

Not sure I understood that but it was funny.

[@Chris_M_Romero]

@@SharonCullenArt maybe you found it funny for the wrong reason. You said that there were plenty of squirrels in your backyard, and that you didn't understand why the natural brushe's prices were going up, that's why I said that, not any squirrel's hair can be used to make brushes. I also messed up and said "this" instead of "these". Sorry but English is not my native language so that might explain why you didn't understand... or it might be that I'm just not funny xD

[@SharonCullenArt]

@@Chris_M_Romero I’m sorry you misunderstood me. I wrote underneath that the Kazan squirrels are used for these brushes. I know a special squirrel is used. The reference I made was a joke but squirrels multiply quickly and the Kazan squirrel is no different. I don’t know if they are farm raised or wild but with the amount of squirrel brushes out there they must be farm raised. Which means they multiply quickly. That’s why I made the joke. I’m sorry you misunderstood it.

[@mariatony40]

Silver black velvet brushes ( and many others) are a lot cheaper from the Brush Guys at brushguys.com if you live in USA. Unfortunately for me, the price of shipping to EU is too high, but they really have good prices. Especially if you are affiliated to certain artists you get extra discount.

[@SharonCullenArt]

Actually I have priced them against Amazon prices which also lead to places like Dick Blick and a 1” flat is $30.13 on Brush Guys and is only $25 on Amazon. A basic #8 round was within 10 cents. The Brush Guys aren’t cheaper. I didn’t check every single brush but it isn’t what I am finding.

[@ciannacoleman5125]

I think it probably depends on when you see the pricing, because Amazon prices fluctuate so frequently one day it may be an amazing price for supplies and another day one of the art supply websites or your local store will be better. Personally I would prefer to buy at my local store and save up the extra funds for most of my supplies since I want them to stay in business , however I always keep a lookout for the best prices on amazon and the other supply websites too

[@SharonCullenArt]

@@ciannacoleman5125 Amazon uses third party sellers like dock blick, cheap joes, Jerry’s and more.

[@gildejesus3714]

i really preffer oriental brushes for my works. i don't know why. just think the sable brushes are useful for works like botanical. in fact, i just think these brushes hold to much ink that will not be used.

[@gildejesus3714]

They must be charged with half water in the beggining and the pigment at the tip.

[@TheDodoshwedo]

They kill the squirrel to make the brush don't they?

[@nursen2106]

interesting video. a little sad, that towards the end, the camera was too close to see, what you are showing . I only wished, I would have paid more attention to brush recommendations, when I had started out. because that general and sometime in painting tutorials tha casual note 'just get one of the synthetics for the start, they are cheap' wasn't helpful. because there are so many kind of synthetic brushes. that was frustrating - working only with the one stiff kind of cheap synthetik. then I got me one of the petit gris, and a whole new world opened up for me. but, as I didn't get several informations at first, I now have in total 22 brushes! :-o much to many. but more than half of them, I really use, I must say. (they are very different - hake brushes included) (cat's tounge with brushes should really look like a cat's tounge. rounder shape. you know, what I mean? the top shouldn't have any tip. smooth kind of half circle. the pointy ones are specialty brushes, where I don't know the english word for it. Maybe all fall under oval in a way, but the pointy ones are a variation. maybe oval with pointy tip? I had seen on escoda's page, that they put both kinds under the lable cat's toung. and that happens here and there. so it is hard to tell them apart, as people seem to use one word to describe two kinds of brushes. I only know from oil painting, that cat's toung brushes are often very important to know and to use, and they never call the oval one with pointy end that. I think, that is better to differentiate those.)

[@SharonCullenArt]

The rounded brushes you refer to, exist already and are called filbert.

[@nursen2106]

​@@SharonCullenArt thanks for the hint. don't know the english traditional terms. but in German speaking countries the cat tounge is that, which really looks like when a cat sticks out her tounge. a smoothe round tip but flat . nothing pointy. this is how they are called at art scools and usually in catalogues. but on some online shops one can find also here mixed terms. it is confusing to beginners in both languages anyway :-) but I will pay attention and look our for filbert" :-D

[@mariawalker8403]

lol @ the National Geographic scenario. Lolll

[@willows26]

I guess that was worth repeating...…...

[@gailbishop8078]

HI Sharon, been watching your videos, and love them, learning so much. its so heartbreaking everything is so expensive, ( my family is poor,) and i love to do any kind of art! i only have a pocket pack of cotman paints and some really cheep plastic handled super stiff brushes to use. i looked on line at rosemary and company and one brush is too much money for me to afford. :( . i was wondering if when you have used the life out of yours , if instead of throwing away you would consider donating them to me. even though they would not be good for you they would probably be way better than i can get with my horrible brushes. anyways, if you dont want to i understand but just thought i would inquire. thanks for your consideration.!! also thanks for all your informative videos!!

[@ciannacoleman5125]

Personally I am only just looking into getting high quality brushes after 15 years of WC painting. I use Simply Simon synthetic brushes (they may “technically” be for acrylic) they are less than $5 at Michael’s

[@denniscaeton9577]

do the brush manufactures kill the squirrel to get the hair? Killing creatures , if that is done, seems to me a violation of all that Art is about.

[@SharonCullenArt]

I believe so. Thank you. I value your opinion. It is good that we now are getting better synthetic options out there, but they have not yet managed to match real hair.

[@nursen2106]

someone sad, these chinese brushes, esp. the bigger ones. you need to wash thoroughly and then with your fingers, press the hairs so the air in it get's removed. he uses them for skys and all sorts of things, that are better not detailed. for me - hard to use. but I am learning anyway

[@johnd942]

This is all about your FINGER NAILS; SHOW THE BRUSHES!!!....stop rolling the handles around!

[@SharonCullenArt]

Sorry you feel that way. I don’t really get your complaint. I should t wear nail Polish now? These comments are so silly and angry. God bless you.

[@JacquelineJax]

Princeton has a way better quality brush... Black velvet is not worth the money at all. They are the worst quality brushes. Princeton Elite is by far a better brush set.

[@SharonCullenArt]

I have Princeton elite and within a few months the tip is curling. Squirrel brushes are excellent. My first one I ever owned finally needs replacing after 8 years of use. I would never get that out of a cheap Princeton brush. I loved my elite when I first bought it but they don’t last. None of my Princeton brushes ever lasted. But I am not sure why you have come to this conclusion n Squirrel brushes. I love both sable and squirrel. Yes they have a learning curve and are more difficult to use which is why I recommend synthetics for beginners. But taklon doesn’t curl at the tip. I have been painting many years and not one has ever curled.

[@JacquelineJax]

Sharon Cullen Art so here’s what’s happening. I may have to do a brush review so you can see how the quality didn’t compare to the Other more well established brands. Since 2 of the 3 are already looking like they need to be trimmed after 1 use I don’t think 🤔 I got defective brushes. The little one is fine but the 2 larger brushes in the set aren’t holding up at all. Bizarre. I’m very disappointed after seeing so many reviews on them. Plus the handles are hollow and not weighted. Seriously they either sent me copies or perhaps you are very forgiving of these details.. it’s a personal choice for sure, I’m just still mystified by the quality vs the reviews I’ve seen. I have some a Princeton brushes for over 25 years and they are amazing. I also bought a Paul Ruben quill that’s squirrel. Very happy with that and my Divinci is also amazing every time. But again these seem like either not authentic cheap versions passed as the real thing or defective. But does your handle feel hollow or is it solid wood?

[@SharonCullenArt]

@@JacquelineJax welll the reason Princeton is less expensive is because they use cheaper materials. Silver brushes are top of the line. Squirrel will not curl like synthetics. Now I had one squirrel brush that curled and it is the risslon they mix for spring back. If you like Princeton and it works for you then great. Use them. But seeing that this is a 2 year old comment that just popped up on my studio, I since have moved to kolinsky sable for watercolor. I do use some synthetics but I like the amount of water a natural brush holds and there is no Princeton brush that can stand up to it. I even recently tried some princetons again. Yuck. Still don’t like the,. This is felt by a lot of artists. There’s no reason to beat a dead horse. You can just work with what you like. These are my opinions after great use.

[@mariawalker8403]

lol @ the National Geographic scenario. Lolll

[@mariawalker8403]

lol @ the National Geographic scenario. Lolll

[@mariawalker8403]

Omgosh I swear I only posted once! Didn’t mean to make a spectacle lol!

[@mariawalker8403]

lol @ the National Geographic scenario. Lolll

[@SharonCullenArt]

I don’t know what that means because that is such an old video but I don’t use many of those brushes anymore. I guess I will have to do a quick update video