My Brush Experience

by Arlene
(Canada)

I promised to follow up on my last post and so here is my take on brushes.

Like everyone else I bought the cheapest brushes in the beginning because I wasn't sure if I'd stay with painting. All my instructors always told the class that while Kolinsky sable brushes were the Cadillac of brushes, today's synthetics were just as good if not better.

I made things much harder for myself with the cheap brushes. They had no spring and didn't stroke the way I was trying to apply the paint. So I watched for sales at my art supply store and got myself some nicer brushes but middle of the road costs as I am on a limited budget.

Things went better but then I got into some kind of "frenzy" about paper and brushes. Always buying "just one more" always thinking I'd be a better painter if I just had THAT brush or paper. LOL Then I discovered you can buy brand name brushes for great prices on eBay.

After a while I dared to search for Kolinsky sable brushes. Oh! they were expensive alright but one day someone offered a set of three for $7.99 or 4 pounds. I got them just to see if they REALLY performed differently or if it was all hype. For me, in my opinion, they performed miles ahead of the synthetics. I found I had more spring, better control of the rounds and they held way more paint then my other brushes.

I was using Robert Simmons Sapphire series (also from eBay) and they were nice but I was so impressed with the sable I started prowling eBay for more. Every once in awhile some would come up from an estate sale and I bought them for under $10.00. Before I started my collection though I wrote down what sizes and shapes I REALLY needed.

It's unnecessary to have every size, you just need the ones you always pick up for each painting.

As I collected or prowled the web I began to learn why some sables cost more than others and that there are different colors of sable considered as different quality. I know the brands and the types of mixed or hybrid brushes that are half synthetic and half sable.

I did not try them because I was so happy with the Kolinsky sables I had.

For ME, I could have saved myself a lot of heart ache in the beginning if I'd just bought a few of these babies. But, you know, unless you work with a few duds you can never recognize the good things that come along.

Come to think of it, a Lot of things in life are like that, aren't they? I'm not saying you will come to the same conclusion because we all have different approaches to painting. I just thought I'd share with you what I found works the best for me and how I got the best on a budget. Hope this helps someone.