Part 5: Brushes | Do Not Be Afraid of Watercolor Series
Welcome to the Do Not Be Afraid of Watercolor Series. In this video we learn about the brushes you need to be successful on your watercolor journey.
Watch the video for details and then find your shopping list in the description below. Let’s get started!
BRUSH RECOMMENDATIONS
Wash brushes; Princeton 1 1/2 inch, Black velvet 2”
Quills; Harmony squirrel #16, Princeton #8
Flats; Blick #12 sable kolinski, Princeton 1/4&1/2”
Round; Rosemary and co Kolinski #12, Leow-Cornell #10, Mimik#6
Script; Princeton #1
Oval wash; Princeton 3/4
Full Video Transcription:
Good morning, and welcome. My name is Paul Valdez and thank you for joining me today, for the do not be afraid of watercolor series.
A series for the professional beginner so that you don't make the mistakes that I made and have to go through the trial and error that I did. I'm hoping this will help you become a professional beginner.
Today we will cover brushes. Please like, and share this video with your fellow artists or beginners and subscribe, if you have not done so already. Brushes. Here's a group of brushes that I'm going to show you today.
This is another long and involved subject that tends to be rather subjective each and every individual. There are tons of major brands that create brushes, both synthetic and natural so many I won't even go into the brand's other than what I use. And we'll talk about these brushes in a second. Let me say though, that it is best for the professional beginner to buy a few high quality brushes rather than a lot of mid to low quality brushes.
As a rule, Kolinsky Sable hair brushes rank amongst the best quality brushes. Let me show you one. Isn’t that a gorgeous brush? Very light, very well balanced. Nice belly. nice tip, beautiful brush. But they can be expensive. This is definitely the most expensive brush I have. And when that beautiful tip right there, right there, wears out gets a little frustrating because you know, it's time to buy a new one.
I do have to say that synthetic brushes have come a long way in the last few years and I will admit that they do make up the bulk of my brush supply.
Okay. Now, let me show you a few of my brushes. My work horses, if you will, I've gone through hundreds of brushes in many different brands, and this is more or less what I use. So, starting with the wash brands. These are two of the maybe three or four wash brands that I have. This is silver, black velvet, a 2-inch. And this is a Princeton one and a half inch. You will notice that this is a lot longer, so it's very flexible.
This is shorter and it's a little more rigid. When I wet this one you'll notice that it comes to a nice edge right there. You see that edge? Beautiful chiseled edge. When I wet this big one, doesn't quite come to that edge, but it has a nice belly. So it holds a lot of water. I've had this for a long time as you can see and it does a really good job.
Really like both of those brushes. These are cool brushes. This is a Harmony squirrel quill, this is number 16. Take a look at this belly, wooo Mama Mia. And then, look at the tip. It's amazing. That all that can come to such a fine tip. And when you have that, you can make a really nice line, or you can make really nice wash whatever you want. But this is a beautiful brush holds a ton of water, a lot of paint. Good brush.
That is a natural, of course, a square. And this is another quill which is not, this is a synthetic. This is from Neptune. I’ve had this for a while, probably a couple of years and you notice that it's not holding that fine tip like but it still has a nice belly and does what I need, but Neptune makes that brush there.
We're going to my square brushes. I have three and these two are Princeton Neptune, their synthetic. And this is from Dick Blick, which is an art supply company, and this is their Master Sable Kolinsky flat. This is a number 12, and you'll notice how that has a nice belly and comes to a very fine point, as well. Very nice brush.
The creme de La Creme. This is the Rosemary and Company which is a British company. They make brushes and ship them worldwide. This is the Kolinsky Sable number 12, as I mentioned. This is my most expensive brush that I have right now. And I'd say this is probably about six months old, which is really good, considering this beautiful point.
I believe, that these points will last a lot longer. If you use to watercolors and keep them moist like I do. Rather than pan and you get your brush in there and you have to do this to get some paint and that tends to wear down the tip of your brush. So I think these last just a little longer because of my method of using brushes.
These are three round brushes as was this. This is also a round brush. This is a number 10. This is the number 6, and this is a number 10 as well. This is a company called Loew Cornell and it's a pretty decent brush for its price. That it wasn't that expensive at all. And it has a really nice tip.
Good quality brush, this one here is from Holbein. This was given to me as a sample and I have to say, it's you notice the difference in the belly. Look at this big belly, and look at that little skinny belly. And the tip is not all that great between if you compare it to the Kolinsky. So it was a sample. I don't know if I would buy it again.
This is a mimic and this is their number 6. And it's just, that's all it is. I can't say much. About that brush. This here is a liner brush or a script brush, and I just put some paint on there and just made those nice long, fine lines, really a nice brush, and it's nice and long.
So it holds a lot of water and paint enough to let you do your signature, or depending on how long your name is, at least your first name. This is the number one, and this is also from Princeton. This is my work horse. This is for Princeton art company. This is an oval wash three-quarter inch.
Some people call this a cat tongue, but you'll notice, when I turn it sideways, look at the nice belly here, which holds a lot of paint and water and then look how it comes to a nice chiseled point there. And that's great. Put a little paint on there if you want to go flat. Or if you want to go just sideways. Whatever you want to do.
This brush is my workhorse. I've had this for two years and I have to admit that, I use it probably more than any other brush, especially at the beginning of the painting and it's a really nice brush. Here are my plein air paint brushes that I have purchased. That come in this little case. This is a number four, number 6, number eight, number 12.
I’ll pull out the four and show you. Comes in a nice metal casing, says, mimic Kolinsky number four. Open it up like that, put it together like that. It's a nice light, well-balanced brush, and it does nice job. You can do some nice little stuff with it. Whatever you need to do And I use these quite often and they are really nice and I think you have to be careful. I usually do they do give a little push like that, with my fingers to put them back in.
I'll show you the number twelve. And that's a nice brush too. See the belly on that comes to a pretty decent point. I use these outdoors a lot which means they get, abused, and used quite a bit and pretty decent brush. And pretty decent point.
So this is the number 12 as I mentioned. I don't know where the number 10 went. So I can caress the front part the belly so I don't crimp those hairs in here as I put them in, put them back in the case and just a little magnet that holds that together and that's a nice little deal to make a nice gift for an artist. If you're interested in doing so, that's a great idea.
So anyway, the way I carry my other brushes when I go places is using this little bamboo and I take my brushes, fit them in here. You do the same across and they just roll it up, kind of like sushi, and then you tie them up there and you're good to go. Saves the hair from getting all messed up.
So that's it with watercolor brushes, and no, that's a very broad subject, indeed. I do hope this will give you a head start in what could be a long trial and error period for you. Thank you so much for joining me. I appreciate it. And y'all have a good day.
