Watercolor brushes to buy?

[keith o'connor (tinmangallery.com]

the main requirement for a water colour brush - as far as I am concerned -
is the ability of the brush to have spring (when filled with water it
returns to its original shape when you lift it from the paper) . Yes people
speak of water carrying power but I will give up a bit of water carrying
power for spring

I don't think sharp pointing is that necessary unless of you are working
with fine detail.

You have: Raphael 8404, size #9, "martre kolinsky" which you can use to do
some fairly large washes. You are into water carrying power with washes. I
assume you use the method of water pool control to create large washes. It's
tricky but with practice you can get nice results.

There are now some nice synthetic brushes on the market. I am not so sure
that I would now spend the money on brushes that I did spend - mainly
because synthetics have improved so much. Good synthetics have spring but
lower water carrying power. These are material factors you will have to
balance in relation to your style.

You may want to consider conceptualising water colour as a sediment process.
For example small particles fall through water depositing themselves on the
bottom of a pond thus building up layers. A further conceptualisation such
as grouping opaque semi-opaque and transparent passages for light halftone
and shadow can be conjuncted with the sediment process.

take care: keith

dkra <dk...@mmii.ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:dkra-14040...@user-38lc143.dialup.mindspring.com...
> x-no-archive: yes
>
> Looking over my inventory of watercolor brushes, I'm wondering what I
> should add and why.
>
> What I have on hand (this does not include various brushes for sumi, oil
> and acrylic):
>
> Flats and brights:
> Yarka flat, size #24, kolinsky sable
> [Ferrule keeps getting loose from handle.]
> Winsor & Newton Cirrus 660 One Stroke bright, size 1", kolinsky sable
> [Sheds periodically, but creates a nice sharp line.]
> I might want to get a big natural hair brush for broad washes. NOT a hake
brush.
>
> Oval mop:
> Grumbacher Meissonier 55 oval mop, size 1/2", squirrel
> [Ferrule keeps getting loose from handle. Holds a goodly amount of water.]
>
> Rounds:
> Isabey Petit Gris 6234 mop, size #2, squirrel
> [Might want a larger size for this, #4 or #6?]
> Raphael 8404, size #9, "martre kolinsky" (finest kolinsky?)
> [Very nice point to this one. Get a #12 also? Expensive!!!]
> Winsor & Newton Series 7, size #4, "finest sable"
> [Does not point well.]
> Winsor & Newton Series 7 retractable field brush, size #4 (?), sable
> [Does not point well.]
> Grumbacher 3017, size #2, undetermined (squirrel?)
> [Fine detail brush.]
>
> The latest Pearl Paint catalog seems to have some reasonable prices for
> brushes, but the Italian Art store still has (I think) some especially
> good prices for the Raphael 8404 series.
>
> -- dkra
>
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