Reliable US-based Brush Source?

[cmorse]

17 hours ago, rubegon said:

I know - it’s such a weird defect too because it seems like the brush handle was cut too short too.  I emailed them late on Friday, and haven’t heard back yet.  I’ll post an update when I do.

 

Google images says that's just how they are.
 

[rubegon]

1 hour ago, cmorse said:

 

Google images says that's just how they are.
 

Thats weird.  The image on thebrushguys site looks very different

 

[cmorse]

1 hour ago, rubegon said:

Thats weird.  The image on thebrushguys site looks very different

 

 

Those are the short handle brushes rather than the travel brushes. It looks like Thebrushguys lists both.

Edited November 8, 2021 by cmorse

[rubegon]

10 minutes ago, cmorse said:

 

Those are the short handle brushes rather than the travel brushes. It looks like Thebrushguys lists both.

 
Yeah, I ordered the wrong ones.  I think I looked at the short handles and later came back to add them and opened the wrong page.  It still seems weird to me that the size difference between the 0 and 1 travel brushes is so huge.  The travel 1, 2, and 3 all look pretty close to the same size.  Oh well

[cmorse]

36 minutes ago, rubegon said:

 
Yeah, I ordered the wrong ones.  I think I looked at the short handles and later came back to add them and opened the wrong page.  It still seems weird to me that the size difference between the 0 and 1 travel brushes is so huge.  The travel 1, 2, and 3 all look pretty close to the same size.  Oh well

 

Yeah, the sizing is definitely weird. Ordering by the size I'd never expect how big the 1 is. As long as the tip is good on it though I don't think it's a bad thing. I've found myself using size 6 brushes for base coating quite a bit. As long as the tip is good they give just as much detail as a 1, but are easier to get smoother coats with due to how they hold the paint.

[ManvsMini]

4 hours ago, cmorse said:

 

Google images says that's just how they are.
 

 

3 hours ago, rubegon said:

Thats weird.  The image on thebrushguys site looks very different

 

 

At least now from the pictures you can tell which series to order and which to avoid. The ones you want are 8504 and avoid the ones that have an extra digit on the end, 85046.

[The Joe]

Thanks for all the feedback!  Got a couple more questions:

Is "Kolinsky Red Sable" a genuine Kolinsky Sable brush?  I've heard differently.

Which site is best for getting Davinci Brand Restauro 5506 series brushes?

Oh! Does it matter if the brush is intended for watercolors rather than acrylics?  Does this matter less because miniature paints are thinner than the average acrylic artist paints?

[K2h2m3]

I buy all my DaVinci  brushes from Blick Art.

[ManvsMini]

15 hours ago, The Joe said:

Does it matter if the brush is intended for watercolors rather than acrylics?

 

Without blathering too much, it does not REALLY matter, but the two types of brushes are constructed differently. You have to bear in mind that the brushes you get at art stores are originally intended for doing what I'll call "traditional art", not necessarily miniature painting. So a brush made for acrylics is going to be a hardier brush because artist grade acrylic paint isn't thinned like our miniature acrylics, and it's generally applied thicker on a canvas/etc. They can take a bit more of a beating because they use a harsher paint.

 

The types of sable brushes people have mentioned above (Winsor & Newton, Raphael, DaVinci) you will probably find in the watercolor section of an art store. Since we use water and water-based mediums to thin miniature paints, they work really well (the brush's belly holds moisture well, which keeps your paint on the brush workable). Just treat them nice.

 

One last thing to note about acrylic brushes is to pay attention to the handle length. They are not always short-handled, so make sure you read the description carefully if ordering online. And for what it's worth, I've used an acrylic brush for drybrushing before, it lasted longer than a retired watercolor brush that was then used for the same purpose.

 

 

16 hours ago, The Joe said:

Is "Kolinsky Red Sable" a genuine Kolinsky Sable brush?  I've heard differently.

 

Not entirely sure. Might be the difference in the grade of hair from the weasel it came off of (i.e. taking hair from one species only vs. incorporating hair across several to make the brush).

[Wren]

On 11/21/2021 at 6:53 PM, The Joe said:

Oh! Does it matter if the brush is intended for watercolors rather than acrylics?  Does this matter less because miniature paints are thinner than the average acrylic artist paints?

 

Art store folks tend to think of acrylic paints as minimum toothpaste consistency or thicker, so that influences the suggestions they'll make to customers. Watercolour brushes are often best for our more fluid miniature paints. They are less likely to leave texture behind when applying paint. Stiffer brushes for acrylics can be useful for stuff like drybrushing terrain. Acrylic paints are tough on brushes, so that gives art store folks another reason to steer anyone who says 'acrylic paint' towards brushes meant for thick acrylic tube paints. Ignore them, all the sables people are talking about are typically used in watercolour painting and are what work for us. Both types of painting benefit from brushes that hold a good load of paint but have fine tips you can use to paint with precision. Watercolour synthetics often work well for us too, but I've yet to find a synthetic brush that can hold the kind of point a good sable can.