The brush is the most prized instrument of the watercolour artist, and the skill in making a brush is still an old trade. The brushes are very attractive, and I would say that there is such a thing as Brush Envy, where a good brush of an artist is envied by others.
So, what makes a good watercolour brush? There a various sections of the brush that are all important, but they have to work harmoniously. It is not good having the best sable brush, but the ferrule rusts and the hair fall out easily.
Essentially, the European brush is divided into the handle, ferrule and the hair. The brushes from Asia do not have a ferrule; the hair has been placed directly into the handle.
The handle is normally made of wood, but now there are a number of other synthetic materials on the market. The handle is varnished and or painted to make it resilient to water. The last thing you need is the brush handle warping.
Good ferrules are seamless and will not rust. Seeing that your medium is water, it is important that the ferrule does not rust. The shape of the ferrule will play a major role in the shape or form of the brush. A round ferrule will result on a round brush, while a flat ferrule will result in what is known as a fat or chisel brush.
The hair is the most interesting section of the brush. Good hair will hold a lot of water and release the it at the rate that the artist demands. Watercolour is largely a medium that you can not control easily, so any advantage that the artist manages to get in terms of control is important. The best watercolour brush will have natural hair. The most expensive is kolinsky hair, which is made from the tail of mammal, belonging to the group called Musteldae, (A type of weasel). Found in northern Asia and is still considered to be the best brush hairs.
Red Sable also has hairs from the Musteldae family, but not as good as pure kolinsky. The advantage of kolinsky and red sable hairs is that they are flexible and spring back into shape after been used. The hairs also form a good point that is essential in the painting of detailed images. Other hairs like ox are far too stiff and are unnecessarily strong for water.
The best brushes are still made by hand. If you have a close look at a natural animal hair you will see that it has a curve, and it is this curve that is used to it natural advantage. The hairs are combined in such a fashion to forma cone and the centre a little hollow. Also, if you look at a hair though a microscope, you will notice little barbs and the side of the main “branch”. Water molecules get wedged between the barbs and the main “branch”, and this is the major distinction between natural and synthetic hairs. Hence, the ability of the natural hair to “hold” the colour until the artist dispenses it onto the paper.
Naturally there is a price tag to this rare hair as well as handmade items. In an effort to reduce the costs synthetic materials have been used, but the main disadvantage (as mentioned before), is that they do not hold enough water. So a compromise was stuck, when a mixture of natural and synthetic was produced. In many instances this combination works very well, and it also proves to be an excellent brush for acrylic paints as well.
There are a number of shapes available and the choice depends on the artist preference and needs.
- Fan, this type of brush is very good to use with the dry brush technique
- Mop, this brush is very good for holding large quantities of water, therefore ideal for washes.
- Round brush is the most versatile.
- Hake, an Asian brush that does not have a ferrule.
- Flats, chisels or one-stroke, as the name suggests it is a flat brush
- Rigger, a round brush that is very long haired. Good for painting lines
- Touch-up, a small haired brush.
Brushes are numbered according to their size, the lower the number the smaller the brush. Sizes range from 0000 to 24 normally. The size eventually is limited to the length of the natural hair, that is why most brush manufacturers do not have a size larger than 24. For the artist to overcome this problem, the solution would be to then move onto the Asian brushes, the hake for example. The novice often makes the mistake of purchasing a brush that is too small. A large good quality brush is able to paint smaller area as effectively as larger areas, but the reverse is not true.
There is an abundance of manufacturers, but those that I’m familiar with are Windsor & Newton and Daler Rowney. Each artist has his or her preference in choosing their brushes, so it follows that you will also have to experiment with the different types of brushes available. Unfortunately, this is an expensive process but very enjoyable.
Robin Read - I'm passionate about art, from the creating of it, to the materials used by the artist. My passion does not end there, it contunes with ...
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