Princeton Brushes

One of the great companies I recommend for those looking for good quality synthetic brushes is Princeton. Though they also make beautiful looking sable brushes (see the Siberia range), the ones I've tried have been the really good range of synthetic squirrel and sable brushes, in interesting shapes and sizes. These ones are really lovely. My absolute favourite is the 1" Mottler - I carry one of these little cuties with me every day in my little travel kit! It has a precise tip and is great for doing quick washes or wetting the paper in preparation for a wash and the short size it prefect for travel. for studio work the 1" short handle is great. I like the interesting tip to these green handles - it gives another painting tool for scraping paint.

Some of the Princeton Neptune brush range

The Neptune range is synthetic squirrel, so fairly soft hairs. I find this works best for the larger brushes.

For smaller brushes I prefer a bit more stiffness.
























Below are some more sizes of the Neptune range, including the 1/4' Dagger and the 1/4" flat. The Mottler is there for size comparison. This brush has done some travelling!

Princeton brushes from the Neptune, Select and Elite ranges.

Sable hair is firmer than squirrel, and is what I tend to use for smaller brushes. The Princeton synthetic Kolinsky sable range is the Elite. You can see two of these at the bottom of the picture above. The number 6 flat shader is great for creating windows or other regular rectangular or square shapes, as well as general painting for those who like flats. It is also terrific for creating colour mixing charts ;-) The Elite rounds are nicely pointed and easy to control. There is also a Heritage synthetic sable range.

Another interesting range is the Select. A number from this range are shown here with the blue handles. There are some special purpose brushes in this range, such as the Filbert Grainer and the very useful Scumbler - perhaps designed for acrylic but really useful fo scrubbing out in watercolour or cleaning up the odd accidental splatter. It seems to be called the 'Fix it scrubber' on the website now.

There are many brush sizes and brands to look at, and it can be difficult to choose what to buy. I'd always suggest getting fewer great brushes rather than lots of cheapies. A good brush becomes an extension of your fingers :-)






2019 update
I was sent this rather nice set of Princeton brushes, so I can show a few more of the range. It includes the size 6 mop and the ½" flat along with a size 8 round and my favourite 1" Mottler.


Happy painting!

Brushes

Brushes!

I love exploring different types of brushes and exploring what they can do. There are some great shapes and sizes and brushes can be used to create a range of effects. The problem is which to choose? What type of hair? What size? What shape?

Princeton Neptune range of faux squirrel brushes.

For watercolour I have always loved natural hair brushes, especially sable and squirrel. My favourites are round brushes, and I've used Raphael sables and squirrel quills for many years. I also enjoy some flat, dagger and sword brushes, liners and other special effect brushes.

As natural hair has been harder to get in the US, due to changes in customs regulations, more companies are creating better synthetic versions of sable and squirrel brushes. I hope to try more over time. I am quite impressed with the Neptune brushes by Princeton, seen left. I particularly like the very cute 1" 'Mottler' brush - its short handle makes it very convenient for travel and plein air sketching. These are definitely soft brushes, with good water-holding capacity.

Roymac have been creating some good synthetic brushes for a while. Escoda has launched a range of synthetic sables that have reviewed well too.  See Parka's review of the Versatil range here. Da Vinci brushes are excellent and come in a huge range of shapes, sizes and hair types. Their maestro sable and travel brushes are gorgeous - I love the size 8. You might also consider Isabey brushes.

For acrylics I prefer synthetic brushes, though I sometimes use some synthetic brushes to remove watercolour paint. And for oils I like hog bristle brushes with long handled sables for fine detail. I clean these carefully with vegetable oil and soap rather than turps.

I thought I'd share some great resources on brushes here. I plan to add to it over time. This first chart is from Dick Blick. It shows some of the many shapes available and what they might be used for.

Chart from Dick Blick - click here for the link on dickblick.com

As well as those shown above, there are the interesting sword, dagger and pyramid brushes. Here are a few varieties, though they come in many shapes and sizes.

These are, from left, Roymac 0 squirrel - I love this one though Art Basics also make a very similar one for less $; Rosemary & Co 1/4" sable blend; Rosemary & Co 1/4" Kolinsky sable; Michael Wilcox Large sword liner (synthetic) and small sword liner (synthetic); a Da Vinci Cosmotop Spin size 14 and the Neptune Dagger 1/4". Liz Steel shows more in her excellent post here.










Generally, synthetics are more 'flippy' and harder to control. The longer the hair the harder they are to control - great for random marks and vegetation. Squirrels are softer and hold a lot of water, sables are firmer though this long sable one (third from left) has a mind of its own!

This chart, also from Dickblick.com, shows how to measure a brush but also has information about different hair types.

How to measure a brush and information on the hair types. Click here to link to the chart on the website

Brush sizes are difficult to compare between brands as there is no one universal sizing system. This is the Blick sizing chart but a Blick size 4 and a size 4 in another brand may not be the same size at all.

Brush sizing from Dick Blick. click here for the link to chart on the Dick Blick website

For more on dagger and sword liners, see Liz Steel's post here.

For suggestions on a few brushes to use to get started in watercolour, see here.

For suggestions about travel brushes, see here and my website for more updated information at the bottom the page here.

For a great guide to waterbrushes, see here.

For more on waterbrushes see Parka's comparison here.

More to come....