Brush Recommendation!

As usual, I like to test drive new tools...here, my new set of Utrecht Deluxe Watercolor Brushes...

It was an incredible buy, a set of four brushes on sale for $14.99 at our local Utrecht store...

I had never even OWNED a #14 brush before...wow...this one carries a ton of water, goes forever, holds a lovely point...what a deal!  I just ran out of room on the page or I could have done much more with these...obviously, they're very versatile.

Had to see how far it would go on a single loading...this is a 9 x 12" Strathmore Visual Journal.  Wow...

I liked the brushes so much that I went back and got my brother-in-law a set!

It's all relative...brush sizes, that is!

People often ask me about what size brushes to get for a class...and I have to admit it's wildly relative, if you're talking round brushes!  I just suggest getting the biggest you can comfortably work with, for the large size...you can move a lot more paint without having to reload, and it will help avoid niggly work and hard edges where you don't want them.

Manmade brushes are very much improved...I haven't had a sable in YEARS.  The best of them hold lots of water and a good point...and no worries about breaking the bank or losing your brush!

This shows the largest waterbrush, on the right...and as you can see, it's not very large.  That's a #6 next to it.

But look...here are a couple of #6 brushes!  One's Loew-Cornell stain brush an the one below is a Princeton.  Hmmmm...

And here are two #8 brushes...with a #6, all of the SAME BRAND...

 I really like Loew-Cornell brushes, by the way...their Ultra type is wonderful!

And here's a Grumbacher #12 with a Loew-Cornell #8.  Doesn't appear to be a lot of logic here, does there...

Happily, most flat brushes are sold by width.  You can get a 1/2", a 3/4", a 1" or larger and you know pretty much what size it's going to be...it may be longer or shorter, it may have a better edge, but at least you know it's probably going to be a 3/4" if it says so!

Waterbrushes and Watercolor Brushes

I FINALLY got the video done, reshot, tweaked, edited and uploaded!

People often ask me about waterbrushes, and I think I've tried them all by now...hope this helps.

I also cover the difference between waterbrushes and "real" watercolor brushes, and when and why to chose one over the other. Unless you use a pointillist technique, a waterbrush isn't going to satisfy you for nice juicy washes of any size. I use mine when I'm traveling, working in my journal, pressed for space, needing to letter something...but never when I'm working 9 x 12 or larger!