Experiencing Joy Through Art

   Hello! I trust that your week has been going well so far. I’m glad to see you back again! A number of weeks ago I published a blog post on brushes that artists use for oil paintings. I thought today I would follow that up with a look at brushes for watercolor…

   Oil and watercolor are two very different mediums. Each has their own unque working properties and so they need different brushes. Traditionally, oil painters use brushes with long handles so they can stand back from the canvas while they work. Watercolorists use short handled brushes. That is why you sometimes see the differing handle lengths. The short ones are intended for watermedia. 

   The most basic type of watercolor brush you can use is made from synthetic white nylon which you see in the photo above. Just like oil, watercolor brushes can be made from either synthetic or natural hair. These white nylon brushes were once considered very “low-end” when they were first produced but, more recently, their quality has greatly improved. Technology had allowed synthetic fibers to be made with more precision and to mimic the properties of natural hair to a larger degree. One of my personal favorite synthetic nylon brushes is Winsor & Newton’s Cotman brand. Another great one is the Golden Fleece line made by Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff. 

   These white nylon brushes can be good workhorses to get a painting started or put in large washes. They generally do have good spring (the brush’s ability to bounce back into shape). Because the fibers in these brushes are basically smooth shafts, they don't hold as much water as natural hair bristles. However, they are much less expensive, so beginning artists usually end up with these. If you are just starting out in watercolor, these brushes can be good, but get a higher quality brand and avoid the really, really cheap ones. These nylon brushes are not always white, but are sometimes dyed to match a natural hair color. 

   Another kind of popular watercolor brush (shown above) is the squirrel hair mop. Squirrel hair is a natural fiber that holds a lot of water and points well, but has little or no spring. That means the bristles will stay in the shape you push them into. Squirrel hair mops are usually seen with bamboo or natural wood handles and the bristles are tied in place with metal wiring, unlike the traditional lacquered wood or plastic handles and metal ferrule of most brushes. These squirrel mops are really fantastic for big bold washes and energetic brush strokes. 

   Last but not least, we come to the “Rolls Royce” of watercolor brushes, and that is the Kolinsky Sable brush. Kolinsky sable is prized among watercolor artists for it perfect combination of paint loading ability, pointing and spring. The hair of a Kolinsky sable will bounce right back into shape and provide just the right amount of resistance against the artists hand to get really good control. Pointing ability is important for a watercolor brush because it allows the artist to make fine lines as well as thick strokes. Good brushes should point naturally just by wetting them and then giving them a quick flick with the wrist. Plus Kolinsky sable holds tons of water/paint. 

   If you were to look at a Kolinsky sable hair under a microscope you would see the main hair shaft is covered with tiny branches almost like a pine tree. All of these little offshoots are what holds so much water, and that structure is unique to sable hair in the brush world. That gives the brush the ability to go a long time putting down color without the artist constantly having to go back to the palette to reload the brush.

   Kolinsky sable is quite expensive, but well worth the money. Unlike oil brushes which can wear down over time when used on canvas, watercolor paper is not as hard on brushes and if well cared for, a good quality Kolinsky sable brush can last a lifetime. The reason they are so expensive is the hair must come from the tail of a male Kolinsky Sable, found only in Siberia, only during winter. The hair, which is harvested by hand, is then set into the brushes by hand as well. For a really good quality Kolinsky sable an artist can spend upwards of $200 to $250 one on brush. 

   All that being said, there are a number of artists who use hog bristle brushes (like the kind used for oil paint) to do watercolor. It certainly does work, and can give some unique abilities to the watercolorists that “watercolor” brushes can’t. If you have had any experiences with brushes that you love please leave a comment and let me know! I'd love to hear what your favorites are…