Personally, I use the Winsor & Newton Series 7 brushes, but there are other quality Kolinsky sable brushes.

If cared for, good brushes will last a long time, so a well cared for $10 or $15 brush that lasts four times as long as a "cheap" $5-6 brush is a good investment in my book.

I clean my brushes (after washing out the paint in the appropriate thinner) using Winsor & Newton brush cleaner-restorer which will remove any dried or set paint deep in the bristles and ferrule. I then condition the bristles using "The Master's Brush Cleaner and Preserver" leaving this material in the bristles and drawing them to a fine point. Before the next use, I "swish" this out in the thinners. This also loads the ferrule with thinners and helps to prevent capillary action from sucking a lot of fresh paint into the ferrule, making the brush easier to clean when done.

Good hunting!

Mike, I went to the Dick Blick site and checked out their stuff. They say that the standard recommendation is acrylic paints should not be used with natural Sabel brushes because of the chemical reactions in the acrylic paint/thinner and the brush hair.

They say that synthetic brushes are best for acrylics, and hair (Sabel) etc. is best for oils...??? ... How does this work?

Greg

Hi Greg,

If you want a couple of really good quality brushes in your collection - for those special jobs that require a fine point - look up DaVinci Maestro range, size 0 and 1 is all you need. The points are the finest I have ever seen and I have used a lot of 'quality' brushes in my time. Try one, you won't be disappointed.

All the best,

Paul

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Mike, I went to the Dick Blick site and checked out their stuff. They say that the standard recommendation is acrylic paints should not be used with natural Sabel brushes because of the chemical reactions in the acrylic paint/thinner and the brush hair.

They say that synthetic brushes are best for acrylics, and hair (Sabel) etc. is best for oils...??? ... How does this work?

Greg

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All I can do is to tell you what works for me (and has worked for me for years).

I don't use rounds for my acrylics, I use sable liners (as explained above). I use sable rounds for oils. However, when I need to use a round for some acrylic purpose, I don't hesitate to use a sable one.

In fact, I don't think I have any synthetic bristle brushes that I use for anything but "junk" painting like bases, heavy weathering, dry pigments, etc - that is jobs that will ruin a good brush. But I also have all sorts of brushes for those kinds of painting jobs - hogs hair brushes, stencil brushes, squirrel hair brushes, disposable acid brushes, tooth brushes, etc.

I use whatever brush will give me the best results for the job at hand.

For painting with acrylics (Vallejo, Citadel, Andreas, etc) I use 10/0 red sable liner brushes. My favorites right now are W&N Series 7. I have used other brands in the past, but still quality sables. For larger areas, a larger size liner brush is better, but for 99% of what I do, the 10/0 is just right.

You have to keep in mind that most art supply dealers are offering advice to people painting on canvas or other large projects. For all I know, what is said on the Blick website about sable and acrylics might be true for painting with tube artist acrylics on canvas. However, Blick also says that you should never use a brush that's been used for oils with acrylics, and I do that all the time (after cleaning and allowing them to dry completely, of course).

I'm happy with my results, and that's the only measure of "what works" that matters to me.

Again, all I can offer is what works for me.

Hi Greg,

I know that the DaVinci are at, or near, the top end of the price scale, but they are that good. However if you want to start with small increments in quality check out a brand called Escoda, I use their 1212 range for general work. They are lower priced (usually) than the DaVinci, but very close in quality. You would need their 00, 0 and 1 for a good all round selection of fine brushes, ideal for the fiddly bits like tools and equipment. People have mentioned Windsor and Newton series 7, I used to use them exclusively, but found that some of the quality control wasn't up to snuff as I had some brushes that divided into 3 points! They are a good brush and on a par with the DaVinci in price, but to get, as you say, more bang for your buck the Davinci have the edge. I also use Raphael 8404 series and these are a nice brush too, also probably as expensive as the DaVinci, but really nice brushes. All these are Kolinski sable, which is the best. For some general work and dry-brushing I use Prolene based brushes as they are good for covering areas and excellent for dry brushing, they are also cheaper than sable. Most manufacturers do a synthetic range using prolene or nylon and you can get very cheap sets from remnant book shops that sell artists materials as well, all pretty good for rough work.

Hope this helps, if you need any more info I am only too happy to be of assistance.

All the best,

Paul