My friend Lucy, founding member of AGNES, arranged the visit.  AGNES encourages ecologically sustainable practise within the arts community.  Lucy is currently reaching out to colleges, and reckons that visits to a paint factory like Cranfield would be a great way for students to get to understand materials, and to learn to respect and conserve them.

Empty tubes for oil paint, awaiting filling

Introductions

Cranfield colour is in Cwmbran in Wales, and after introductions and a cup of tea we were given an excellent lecture by the managing director of Cranfield, Michael Craine.  This oil paint and printing inks manufacturer has been in the same family for three generations, and I have rarely seen a more friendly company.  Everyone we met seemed pleased to see Michael, and to love their jobs.  The atmosphere was great.

Cranfield’s range of oil colours

Cranfield no longer makes acrylics because of the paint’s need for fungicides and pesticides, and because they are, in effect, single use plastics.  We also heard how logos (for example, one showing the company was environmentally responsible or carbon neutral) can be misused, mostly on imported art materials.

Then Michael introduced us to the three “M”s are Mixing, Milling, and Matching.

The Three “M”s: Mixing: The pigments: Carbon blacks

Mixing occurs between the pigment and a vehicle, in this case linseed oil.  The vehicle wets the pigment, changing it from a powder to a paint.

Pigments come from three sources.  The first are Carbon blacks.  These have always been, and are still, made from soot.  Burning different things creates smoke and the soot is deposited then collected from chimneys that run sideways to the furnace.  Soot is fluffy and absorbent, so readily mixes with the vehicle to make paint.  Carbon black from a furnace is used to make the lovely rich black etching ink, Black 1810.  The slightly paler “Bone black” is made from burnt bone.

Mid Black etching ink tins awaiting their labels

The Three “M”s: Mixing: The pigments: Earth pigments

The second source of pigments are Earth pigments, collected from soils.  These include ochres, umbers, and siennas; and occur naturally in the earth.  However, there is variability in seams of earth and other trace elements occur with the pigment.  They are also gritty, which wears down the milling machines.  One trace element is iron which speeds up drying.  Interestingly, the only watercolours I’ve ever had which have cracked have been Yellow ochres, probably as a result of this fast drying.

The Three “M”s: Mixing: The pigments: Organic and Synthetics

The final source of pigments is organic and synthetic pigments.  Synthetics replace pigments which may be very expensive, or difficult to obtain for political reasons.  For example, most of the lapis lazuli that can be made into Ultramarine is found in Afghanistan.  They are also cheaper and more stable than some organic pigments, and are often less prone to fading.  Interestingly, these synthetics are made by the same companies who make pharmaceuticals, and with the same levels of care.  Cranfield source their synthetics from the EU.

A note here on Cadmiums.  Some yellow paints are made with Cadmium sulfide, an inert substance which can cause no damage to human health.  None are made with the metal Cadmium which is carcinogenic and highly toxic.  This means I don’t need to worry about licking my paint brush after all!

Cranfield’s range of printmaking inks

Mixing: The Vehicle

Cranfield mix their inks and paints with linseed, (also known as flax) Linum usitatissimum.  This wonder plant (and wonder mixing vehicle) is not only a beautiful blue, and very good for health if eaten; it can also be woven into linen, and provides the perfect oil to mix with pigment.  The roughage and mucilage is removed, and after being boiled without oxygen the oil is ready for use.  It is imported in big oil drums to Cranfield, stacked high in the warehouse.

Chocolate absorbs odour and can be used to test linseed oil.  If the chocolate smells ok, the linseed is ok.  If it smells rancid and sour, then the linseed is probably off which will affect the paint mixture.  These testing jars are on the desk of Paul Lee, the technical director.

The Three “M”s: Milling

Once you’ve mixed your colours, you mill them.  This involves grinding them into tiny, evenly distributed particles.  Clumping leads to uneven colour, and further clumping, and also means the paint struggles to dry.

The mix is forced through microscopically thin gaps between three rollers, moving at different speeds.  In truth, the product is pulled apart to evenly distribute the pigment in the matrix mix, rather than being squashed.  The pressure is 1000 psi / 70 cm squared.

Pink printing ink being milled through the three milling wheels

Paint can be manufactured using a cheaper process known as “bead milling”,  crushed by loads of ball bearings.  It produces a less consistent mix with lots of flocculation (lumps). and is not a technique used by Cranfield.

The Three “M”s: Matching

This was fascinating to learn about.  How do you produce a paint which is consistently the same colour?

Michael taught us about Metamrism, “a scientific phenomenon the describes when two colours appear to match under one light source, but not another” (Wikipedia).  So something that looks olive in one light may look brown,  bright green, or pinkish in another.  The standard light in which colours are assessed is something called “North sky” (also known as D65), similar to a diffuse light given when the sun is behind a cloud.  However, modern bulbs can be tungsten, far closer on the colour spectrum to infrared, and LEDs which give out pulses all over the light scale.  Modern lighting is a bit of a nightmare for paint manufacturers.

The photo above shows jars of pigment under North sky light (on the left) and a more purple light on the right,  an extraordinary change in appearance.

The paint is also matched to be sure there is consistency of strength of colour, opacity, and in rheology.

The Three “M”s: Matching: Rheology

Rheology is the science of viscosity (something’s reluctance to flow) and tack (ability to adhere).  These are different.  Honey has low viscosity, it’s very runny; and high tack, it’s very sticky.  Butter from the fridge has high viscosity and won’t flow easily; and very low tack.  These inverse relationships are common and are important for paint manufacture.

White oil paint coming off the mill, showing how high its viscosity is

One way to decrease viscosity and make your inks flow easier is to add energy, either by stirring or by heating them.  This property is referred to as being thixotropic.  Another variable to juggle when matching paints and inks.

Other things to match include printability, drying time, resistance to rubbing, light fastness, odour, and fineness of grind.

Tour of the factory

After our lecture we got to look around the factory, seeing pink etching ink being milled, and how a vat of white oil paint has a thick enough consistency to allow a palette knife to stand bolt upright when dropped into it.

We also saw tubes being filled by hand, each with its open base ready to take the correct amount of paint or ink, then the tube being crimped closed..

Base of a tube of oil paint being crimped by a machine

There was a fascination to seeing boxes of empty tins of paint and tubes ready for filling.  And hearing how darker pigments are stored in different areas, and that each colour can be produced for 4 – 6 week stretches before moving to another hue.  One of their 8 sets of milling wheels is only ever used for white oil paint, and we got to scrape and test the consistency of it with a knife.

Large vat of white oil paint

Labelling the paints

I loved the labelling of the paint tubes.  Each one has a hand painted strip of colour on it.  You can see the brush strokes on these colour swatches.  These are produced on large sheets of paper pinned to an old door, then cut into the right size for the tubes.

Paints used to produce the colour swatches on each tube

To avoid confusion, each tube, tin, or can is labelled immediately after filling with a pricing gun.  The team interpret these numeric codes and attach the right labels and colours.

Some of the paint strips on a door, they get cut up and put onto individual tubes

Each tube is then put into a little cardboard box with information on the range as a whole.  Other than the paint tube lids, there’s not a speck of plastic packaging in sight, suggesting that Cranfield really do take environmental concerns seriously.

Part of an enormous order of purple oil paint being packaged up for Dick Blick art suppliers in America

Testing the paints: Different tools

One room has lots of tools to check the consistency of each batch of paint.  Many are very old fashioned, like the Hengmen gauge.  Each batch of paint has a dollop tested on this simple tool.  You simply pull the squeegy downward on the metal sheet then see if there are any bumps or scratches in unexpected places.  If so, the paint may not be milled fine enough.

Hengman gauge in use

They also use a Clear Weighted Plate (see the film below) which compares two paint splotches left by a rolling wheel on a metal bed. It helps show how liquid the paint is.

Clear weighted Plate in use

There are also lots of differently lit cabinets to double check for constant colour matching in different lights,  metamrism,, and colour guides to check against.

Finishing up the tour

We left with a generous parting gift, and a real sense of a firm that produces incredibly high quality product in a traditional way, and in a wonderful work space.  Michael was so very good at telling us about the physics and challenges of paint creation at Cranfield colour.  Lucy and I left feeling very inspired. It is no surprise that Cranfield supply some of the best known artists’ shops across the globe; from Cass Art to Jacksons and Cowling & Wilcox, to Dick Blick in America, Rittagraph in Spain, and Jackson’s here in the UK.

Cranfield’s Managing director Michael Craine plus a member of the paint mixing crew

And, although I don’t use etching inks, printing inks, or oils; next time I take out my watercolour paints I’ll have a better understanding and respect for the work, research, and love that has gone into their creation.

Below is a short film from Cranfield’s Youtube channel showing some of the processes described in this blog (including use of the Clear Weighted Plate).  They also produce a podcast which is well worth a listen.

The post A Visit to Cranfield Paint Factory appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

In exchange for my free paint box, I’ve been asked to make an honest Youtube film review and accompanying blog.  I like freebies, and I like trying new things, so I happily agreed.  I impressed on them that I am extremely honest in my reviews, and they were willing to take that risk.  (If you want to try the paints yourself, with a very limited time 10% discount code, please scroll to the bottom of the blog).

The box of paints arrived a couple of weeks later, along with some rather posh cold press paper, an added bonus.  However, I use hot press paper, so won’t be trialling the paper here.

First impressions: Unwrapping the paintbox

Once I get the box out of the envelope and unwrap it, my first response is excitement at the beautiful packaging, all pinks and golds.  Not only does the paint box come in its own cardboard box, but there is a branded sort of wiping cloth in with!  (I am certain someone out there will be able to tell me what this is meant for, but I’m going to use it as a classy way of cleaning my glasses).

In the box is a test card to do your colour swatches on (the names written in Chinese not English, but Paul Reubens are a Chinese company so this makes perfect sense) and information about the paints (also in Chinese).

The Paints

Each of the pans is wrapped in a simple layer of printed plastic showing not only the colour but also the transparency and light fastness, along with the code for that specific hue.

These covers came off easily, and I was gratefully not to have to pick at bits of plastic and paper which is what I’m used to with the two-layer wrapping of Winsor and Newton and (if I remember rightly) Daler Rowney pans.  For environmental reasons I’d prefer this one-layer packaging to be paper not plastic, but it’s still an improvement on other brands.

Each pan is full and the paint texture looks smooth and consistent.

The Paints: Names of colours

The names of the colours are mostly not the same as the ones I’m used to, although some hues are names identically.

I use Winsor and Newton watercolour paint, and found that the Rubens French Blue is a match for French Ultramarine.  Earth Yellow is the same as Yellow Ochre.  Berlin Blue is probably Prussian Blue.  Some colours are familiar, but remind me of the names of my lightfast Hydrous inks from Dr. Martins.  These include Quinacrodine Maroon and Chromium Yellow.

Some colours are totally new, like May Green (a bright, acid shade) and Olive Green Dark.

Some have identical names, Ivory Black and both Cadmium and Lemon Yellows.

The differences in names is irrelevant once a colour swatch is completed.

Colour Swatch

I draw up a colour swatch chart, and can’t help feeling rather like a child in a sweet shop.  There’s something about new untouched paints that’s thrilling.

I stick the label (with its extensive info in English and Chinese) next to a swatch and write out the name, then trial each colour.

I use the Reubens Cold press watercolour paper for this task, and it works well, holding the paint and keeping a crisp edge.

Using the paints: Completing the Colour swatch

I am surprised by how bright these colours are.  They glow, especially the yellows.  They fade out on a gradient to pure water (no pigment) smoothly.  None of the pigments is grainy.  All those which claim to be transparent are indeed transparent.

When I try mixing, they work well and blend together without separating.  So far so good.

The only thing I do notice is that some of the colours look slightly chalkier than my Winsor and Newton paints, especially the oranges and yellows.

Using the paints on my work: A second colour swatch

Feeling really quite positive about this box of paints, I do a second small colour swatch to live inside the box and I totally reorganise the layout of the paint box so it echoes what I’m used to.  This swatch shows a little more of the difference in handling between Reubens watercolours and Winsor & Newton colours, but the colours are still strong and pure.  I put yellows at the top left, blues top right, greens and browns below the blues.  It’s a personal thing, the placement of colours in your paint box, but once you’ve lived with a certain layout it’s pretty hard to adapt to a new one!

I’m currently working on another set of botanical illustrations for the Field Studies Council,  This time it’s botanical illustrations of the plants of Cranbourne Chase in southern England.

Using Reubens watercolours to paint an Early Gentian

I decide to start with one of the prettiest plants on the list, the Early gentian Gentianella amarella subsp. anglica.  This is a washed out mauve colour, and pretty unobtrusive.  However, the nuances in the colouration of the leaves, green flushed red, should test the Reubens watercolours and their ability to capture colours, to layer effectively, and to mix smoothly.

I have made a Youtube video of this as I painted and narrated the process in real time.

The upshot is that the Reubens watercolours seem to work just as well as my regular Winsor & Newton paints!  This is not the result I’m expecting, and I’m genuinely surprised.

Early gentian Gentianella amarella subsp. anglica painted with YouLan watercolours

Using Reubens watercolours to paint a Field Fleawort

I want  to see how the colours perform on a plant with very different colouring, the furry Field fleawort Tephroseris integrifolia with its bright yellow flowers and blueish leaves.

The paints work so well that I do not think I would know the difference from my usual paint box.  I find myself pining for a colour like Cereulean Blue, but other than this omission they mix and behave wonderfully.  Hairs on the pilose leaves are added with white gouache, and I’m pleased with the finished result.

Field fleawort Tephroseris intergrifolia painted with YouLan watercolours

Completing the task using Paul Rubens Youlan series paints

I’m committed to illustrating all eight of the Cranbourne chase species using this paint box.  I hope this will bring up any glitches that should be flagged up to anyone looking at my review.

Many of the plants on this species list are rather obscure little things, and not very glamorous.  However, they command the same respect at the prettier ones like the Prickly poppy.

Prickly poppy Papaver argemone painted with YouLan watercolours

At the end of illustrating eight botanical illustrations, I remain impressed by the Paul Rubens watercolour set.  There is a certain chalkiness to the paints, and at times I would prefer to be using my Winsor & Newtons.  I think this is to do with what I’m used to as well as the fact that we’re comparing the (very expensive) gold-standard of watercolour paints (Winsor & Newton) with a more modestly priced alternative.  There is bound to be a difference in quality, I’m just surprised it isn’t more obvious to me.  Perhaps if I used wet washes more over larger areas I’d feel more of a difference?  The way I paint inevitably will inform how well this set works for me. I do not know how fade resistant the paints are, and although they are good to use I may notice glitches over time.  This is true of all watercolours.

Shepherd’s needle Venus’s comb Scandix pecten-veneris painted with YouLan watercolours

Conclusion

In conclusion I have to say I am very pleased with the Paul Rubens YouLan  Artist series watercolour set which can be bought from Amazon UK,  Amazon US, Amazon CA, Amazon France, or Aliexpress for those in Australia.

The paints are vivid and bright.  They behave well when mixed and capture nuanced colour as well as my regular brand.  The packaging is gorgeous.  Even though the yellows look a bit chalky this doesn’t translate to my illustrations which remain clean and unmuddied.  This could be because of the way I paint, using watercolour more solidly than many botanical illustrators.  It could just be cause the paints are good quality.

Remember, this really is an unbiased review, and I’m looking for things to fault.  I don’t have the same knowledge of the chemistry and behaviour or paints as some of my botanical illustration colleagues.  However, I know what works for me and for the style of illustration I use.  And these paints fit the bill!

Where to order the Paul Rubens Watercolour set & 10% off

If you are tempted to try a set for yourself, get them from Amazon UK,  Amazon US, Amazon CA, Amazon France, or Aliexpress (Australia).  They cost a bit less than some of the other brands, and are good value.  The company have also generously created a (time-limited) 10% off discount code that can be used at the checkout.  It runs from April 12th 2024 until April 18th 2024.  I think this is exclusively for people who watch my review film or read this blog. Paul Rubens say to apply it at check out using the Amazon links supplied: 45SW79RU

Thanks so much for reading this review and I’m fascinated to hear any other experiences of these paints.  I’m a pessimist by nature, so there’s a part of me that’s wondering, “are these too good to be true”?  For now though, I’m impressed and pleased with my lovely new box of watercolours from Paul Reubens.  I will use it as a back-up to my Winsor & Newton box, confident that the paints are good.

Here is the accompanying film:

The post Paul Reubens Artist level Youlan series Watercolour box: Review appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

My paint box in use

I also made a guide to the colours I use which was a first.  I have been painting for 30 years and it is only now I have felt inclined to produce a (surprisingly useful) colour chart of the contents of my paint box.  Old dog new tricks, anyone?

My paintbox alongside my guide

Below is the guide so you can see what store bought colours produce what hues (screen colours permitting).

Colour guide

Some colours are transparent and some are more opaque.  The way I do watercolour, laying down mid-tones first, means that having some more solid pigment in the mix is quite important.  Experiment with your paints to see which colours are transparent, or less transparent.

Pan or Tube?

I use watercolour pans and as they get used up I top them up with paint from tubes.  The manufacturers advise against this, but it has never proved problematic and probably is a cheaper option than wasting tube paint on a palette or buying endless pans.  Do try to make sure you top up not only with the exact same colour, but also with the same brand of paint.  Different makers colours can be very different from one another.

Some of my tubes of watercolour paint

I also keep empty pans and half pans so I can decant a tube into them if I buy a new colour.  There are some paints that don’t fit in my paint box and I keep them in a plastic teacup on my desk.

Some of my pans and an empty full pan

What brand?

There are many excellent brands of watercolour paint and you should feel free to use some colours from one manufacturer and others from another.  I use a lot of Winsor and Newton, along with Daler Rowney and a couple of Daniel Smith colours.  Other excellent brands include (but are not limited to): Schmincke, Old Holland, Sennelier, Holbein, Mijello, and a little cheaper Royal Talens Rembrandt, and St. Petersburg White nights.

Primary colours

Each colour or hue comes in many different varieties.  With primaries, I think it is important to focus on having a warm primary and a cool primary colour although lots of other primary colours have crept into my paint box over the years.  Primary colours are red, blue, and yellow.  These are used to mix secondary colours (oranges, greens, and purples) which, in turn, are used to mix tertiary colours like green-blues, yellow-oranges, and blue-violets.

Colour wheel based on three primaries: Permanent Carmine, Cadmium Yellow and Cobalt Blue

Primary colours: Reds

A warm red will have an oranger tint than a cool red, which is more purple.  My favourite reds are Permanent Carmine Red and Cadmium Red.  Permanent Carmine is a cool, purplish red and the Cadmium red is very orange.  The Carmine replaces Alizarin Crimson which I recently found out is quite a fugitive colour, liable to fade over time.

Rose with warm reds

Above is a rose painted with cool reds like Permanent Carmine and Alizarin crimson.  Below is a Crimson waxcap painted with warm orange-reds like Cadmium red.

Crimson waxcap Hygrocybe punicea

Primary Colours: Blues

I have just counted and have five blues in my paint box.  the ones I use most are French Ultramarine, which is a warm blue tinged with purple, and Cobalt blue, which is almost neutral.  This means it is neither a warm nor a cold blue.  A third blue I use a lot is the cool blue Cerulean Blue which has a blue-green tint to it.  I also use another cool blue a great deal because it is such a pure and strong colour.  Intense Blue.

The Forget-me-not below is painted with the cool Intense Blue (diluted with water).

Forget-me-not Myosotis arvenis

The Gentian, however, is painted with warm Ultramarine and Cobalt Blues and looks more purple.

Gentian Gentiana acaulis

Other blues I have and use from time to time are Prussian blue, which is dark and greenish and Winsor blue which is a bright turquoise.  The Cornflower below is mixed from French Ultramarine and Opera Rose (more on which later).

Cornflower Centaurea cyanus with paintbox and equipment

Primary colours: Yellows

My favourite cool yellow is Cadmium Lemon which is crisp and clean and slightly green.  My warm yellow is Cadmium Yellow Deep.  I also use Cadmium Yellow Pale, another cool yellow, and the very orange Cadmium Orange.

This Yellowhammer was painted with Cadmium Yellow Pale and browns.  The Mahonia flower was all Cadmium Lemon.

Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella

Mahonia flower close up

The Hawkweed below relies on Cadmium Yellow Deep mixed with Cadmium Yellow Pale and is a warmer shade.

Hawkweed sketch Hieracium species

There are a few peculiar yellows that I like.  Gamboge is rather green and feels golden.  It is particularly useful when mixing greens.  The same is true of Yellow Ochre, a brown yellow.

The Portland spurge shown below shows the watercolour paint box where the yellows are mixed.  Top left is Cadmium Lemon, below it is Cadmium Yellow Pale and on the right side is Gamboge.  The green mix below is Gamboge plus Intense Blue.  I think!

Portland spurge Euphorbia portlandica with paint box

The last yellow I love is Naples Yellow.  This is a cloudy pale colour and I use it a lot when mixing waxy leaf greens or if I am tackling primroses.

Primrose Primula vulgaris

Mixing Colours

Now we head into choppy waters where people have strong opinions.  I like to experiment with mixing colours, and may put four or five different paint colours into one mix.  For some people this is horrific.  No more than three!  Others claim you can mix every colour under the sun from three well-chosen primaries and indeed you can get an enormous amount of variety from a limited number of colours.

The colour swatch below shows a whole range of hues mixed from three colours: Ultramarine Blue, Permanent Carmine and Cadmium Yellow Pale.  The difference comes by varying the ratios of each component.

Colour swatch showing wide variety of colours mixed from three original paint colours

However, I think people should be allowed to play and experiment.  Sometimes getting a new colour of paint is like being a child in a sweet shop, and you just want to add another one to the box.  And why deny yourself?

A whole lot of colours went into mixing these Holly greens Ilex aquifolium

All I would say is keep written notes of your mixes so you can re-mix a colour in the future.

Secondary Colours in the Paintbox

I have some secondary colours in my paint box too.  I tend to add other colours to these, but they can be useful bases for mixing.  The greens I use are Sap Green and Winsor Green (Yellow Hue).  I sometimes use Oxide of Chromium and for a very bright colour I turn to Daniel Smith’s Spring Green.  The leaf below is mixed from Winsor Green (Yellow Hue) with Cerulean Blue and some Cadmium Yellow Pale.

Mixing greens for a Dog rose

My favourite browns are Vandyke Brown and for a deeper shade, Sepia.

Winsor Violet is my go-to pre-mixed purple.  I also love Permanent magenta, especially for richly red-purple flowers.  Permanent Mauve and Cobalt Violet are also in the box but tend to go un-used as they are weaker hues.

Common knapweed Centaura nigra painted with some pre-mixed purples

Pansy Viola x wittrockiana with colour mixes showing reds mixed with Winsor Violet.

I have Cadmium Orange and Light Red in the box too, but rarely use them.

A vital pink

A lot of wildflowers are pink.  Herb robert, field rose, sweet pea, Red campion, Heathers…the list goes on and on.

I am unable to mix these pinks from primaries, nor even by diluting reds.  I can get close, but it just is not right.  So I use a secret ingredient.

Opera Rose.  Most manufacturers have a version of this colour.  Currently I’m favouring the Winsor and Newton one.  it is a clear bright pink.  When diluted with water it becomes the palest most delicate tint.  Mixed with purples it adds a kick.  Add it to blue to finally capture those warm purples of wild flowers like Meadow cranesbill, Harebell, Cornflower, and Bluebell.  It is invaluable to me.  I know it is a colour that fades (or even goes black, according to some reports!) over time.  But I love it and rely on it heavily.

The Sweet peas below sit alongside diluted pure Opera Rose.  Need I say any more?

Opera pink and Sweet peas.

White?

The final colour in my paint box (that’s 30 colours we just covered) is Chinese White.  Now I hate using white in watercolour.  It makes the colours heavy, thick, chalky.  The white of the paper no longer glows through the paint.  However, there are a few colours I simply can not capture without it.  Dog rose pink.  Primrose yellow.  So I use it.  Resentfully and sparingly.

Dog rose Rosa canina

Conclusion

So that concludes my rather chaotic blog.  Use what colours you want.  Enjoy the,  Keep notes.  Experiment with mixing.  But for a list of my essentials, see below.  For a lot more on my paints check out my blog, and my other series of blogs on equipment for botanical illustration.

Blues

Ultramarine Blue

Cobalt Blue

Cerulean Blue

Intense Blue

Reds

Permanent Carmine Red

Cadmium Red

Yellows

Cadmium Yellow

Cadmium Yellow Deep

Cadmium Yellow Pale

Others

Opera Rose

Winsor Violet

Vandyke Brown

Chinese White

Winsor Green (Yellow Hue)

Fox and cubs with paint box and equipment

The post Watercolour paints: Inside my paint box appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

Today I’m reviewing the Escoda Prado Tame synthetic,Escoda Perla White Toray synthetic, Princeton Velvet touch range £4.67, and a number 0 from the Raphaël Set of 3 Sable Brushes Synthetic Travel #01 £10.05

Brushes I’m testing today

Sable vs Synthetics – what are the concerns?

You may not be surprised to hear that this topic has occupied me, and every time I do another series of tests I return to the same question.  Which is ethically worse, Sable or Synthetic?  Sable brushes are cruel to animals.  Synthetics are one-use plastics.  I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t.

Synthetics cost a lot less than my Series 7 brushes, a new No. 1 Series 7 brush an cost more than £25.  Most of the synthetics I’m trialling cost under £10.

European Weasel Mustela nivalis (relative of M. sibirica)

The drawbacks of sable and squirrel brushes is that the Siberian weasel Mustela sibirica is hunted and killed for its’ paint-brush perfect tail hair.  As a vegetarian, this feels really uncomfortable, somewhat akin to wearing fur (see PETA’s Why Buying an animal hair paintbrush is like wearing fur article.)  In fact, there’s some suggestion Kolinisky sable brushes have been banned in the US since 2014 (Kolinsky Sable Brushes banned in the US Gurney Journey 2014), although I hadn’t heard of this before.  Some believe the hair is a by-product (having been in touch with Winsor & Newton I can confirm this isn’t true, they’re hunted specifically for my brushes), others say reducing the Siberian weasel population is not bad thing as they prey on chickens, and the most surprising comment was this, on a  MetaFilter discussion board): “And these weasels need killing, as they are infamous among the Chinese for stealing souls”.  For more on this topic, there’s a heated discussion on he Dakka Dakka forum.

Synthetics wear down quickly, splay, and their tips hook.  This is due to the material they’re made from and is inevitable.  They are non-recyclable single-use plastics.  They will go to landfill where they’ll stay for centuries.

Tip of a Jackson’s Kite brush showing degredation that occurred within 15 minutes

Neither option is perfect, and there’s a part of me that’s thinking “Curses, let’s just stick with what I know as whatever I do I’m damaging the natural world.  Maybe I need to learn how to paint with a small twig from a fallen branch.  Sigh.”

But the best suggestion is to look after your equipment carefully and thus use less of it, no matter whether synthetic or sable.  I’m training myself to mix with a separate brush and am showing my brushes more love and care than before.

However, for now it’s time to continue the quest.

Synthetic Brushes Tested so far…

I’ve worked my way through about 15 synthetic brushes, without stumbling on the Holy Grail of replacements.  Of the ones I’ve tried (see below), my favourites to date are the Princeton Neptune round (a synthetic squirrel) and Rosemary & Company Red Dot Spotter, a synthetic sable.  For fine detail, I was impressed by the Billie Showell Fineliner

All the brushes tested so far with todays contenders in the top right and my Winsor and Newton series 7 on show too

Film 1 (and blog) shows me trying out Winsor & Newton synthetic sable, Rosemary and Co. Spotter Red Dot, Princeton Aqua elite, and my one freebie – the ZenART fineline minature paintbrushes

In film and blog 2, Princeton Neptune script. Kite S561 by Jackson’s, Rosemary and Company Pointed Red Dot, Da Vinci Casaneo 5598 Round are under the spotlight.

Blog and film 3 saw me review Princeton Neptune round, Jackson’s Icon synthetic Quill S777 10/0, Escoda Versatil round, and Da Vinci Colineo.

In the fourth film I reviewed the Bille Showell’s fine liner, ProArte Masterstroke Series 60 Round, Rosemary & Company Designer Red Dot, and the Winsor & Newton Cotman 111 round

Billie Showell fineliner

Synthetic Brush reviews: Unsponsored and honest

I’ve paid for all the brushes I’ve tested which keeps things objective if pricey (bar one –  ZenART fineline minature paintbrushes). I buy most from Jackson’s here in the UK because they carry a wide variety (they’re not sponsoring me either, although if they wanted to…?).  They also have a great ecological policy when it comes to sending things through the post, minimal and using entirely recyclable packaging.  Other art suppliers here in the UK I’d recommend include; Cass Art, Cowling and Wilcox, Ken Bromley, and London Graphic Centre spring to mind.

Of the brushes tested, only some of the Rosemary & Co range need to be purchased direct from their website, either online or by phone.

Any replacement I finally settle on will have to perform as well as my Series 7, and will have to overcome my long held affection for a brush which works so well for me.

All of these opinions and reviews are mine, and I know that brush choice can be very personal.  Just because I rate or write off a brush is no guarantee that you’ll feel the same.  I don’t want to preach or change the way people feel about brands they love, but hope some of this research may help others on a similar quest.

All the brushes tested up til today

Escoda Prado Tame synthetic

Escoda Prado Tame synthetic: The new brush

This is a number 1 brush, my preferred size. On first sight this is a good looking brush, with a sharp tip.  The handle is the right length, and a high gloss brown. It hasn’t got a really long nib like some of the script brushes I’ve trialled.

Escoda Prado Tame synthetic: Mixing paint

I’ve tried NOT to be too vigorous mixing paint with this set of brushes as lots of people have said the reason why my brushes die so fast it because I beat them up in the mixing process.

However, in terms of loading the brush and adding water, it’s good.  A decent sized well carries plenty of paint, and the tip doesnt sply or lose clarity when wetted.

Escoda Prado Tame synthetic: How sharp is that point?

A good question, and the gratifying answer is, really, very.  It has a really sharp tip which doesnt degrade over the time I paint with it.  I’m hyper-sensitive to the slightest hook of a synthetic brush by now, and the Escoda Prado avoided hooking.

Painting with it was actually fine.  Very similar to my current favourite, the Princeton Neptune round.  The fibres feel a little softer, and although at this point in time it feels like I’m nit-picking, I would have liked them to have a bit more bite, spring, resistance.  But then perhaps this is another of the “what you’re used to” issues; if I expect sable behaviour from a synthetic I’ll be forever disappointed.

Wet top washes were drama-free, and didn’t swallow up all the white of the page.

Escoda Prado Tame synthetic: The Blob Test.

Unsurprisingly, the Prado passed with flying colours.  The softness of the tip makes it slightly less good at mixing in water during a wash, but that’s looking for things to complain about.  Writing its own name was hassle free.

Escoda Prado Tame synthetic: Conclusion

I can’t really fault this brush, except that it’s slightly too soft for my taste.  It paints as well as the Neptune, and retains its tip throughout.

This brush currently retails from Jackson’s UK for £6.38

Escoda Perla White Toray synthetic

Perla White Toray synthetic: The new brush

This brush is a number 1 size. On removing the plastic cover, it shows a sharp tip.

The bristles are pure white which is slightly weird, but within seconds of use they’re stained a comfortable green colour.  Phew.  It looked slightly too surgical to start with.  It’s shiny, normal length handle is grey.

Perla White Toray synthetic: Mixing paint

Mixing is easy, again, with the additional care I’m taking.  But the brush doesn’t splay or lose form as soon as it’s put into wet paint.  the tip holds firm.

Perla White Toray synthetic: How sharp is that point?

The point is really good.  In fact, painting with this brush feels almost identical to painting with the Escoda Prado.  Just in a different colour scheme (I can imagine the manufacurers in Barcelona throwing their hands in the air and shouting, “¡No! ¡Ellos no son los mismos!”).

It has that same background soft touch which I don’t love, but which doesn’t compromise the performance of the brush in any way.  I think perhaps it has a slightly smaller well than the Prado, so needs topping up from the palette more often.

As with the Prado, the top washes went on easily and there was no blobbing or unexpected swallowing up of my white page areas.

By the time I’m done there’s a very slight hook at the tip, but this hasn’t compromised the sharpness of line or accuracy of stroke.

Perla White Toray synthetic: The Blob Test

As with the Prado, the Perla excelled on the blob test, and on being used to write its’ own name.  It also has the added benefit of the white bristles picking up whatever pigment is being used, which is a very pretty effect.

Perla White Toray synthetic: Conclusion

This gets a similarly good review to the Escoda Prado.  it worked well and held its tip.  It managed detail and washes, and was easy to mix with.  It took the right amount of paint from the palette, and at its low price, would have to be a real contender for illustrators on a budget.

At Jackson’s, this brush currently sells for £4.67

Princeton Velvet touch range

Princeton Velvet touch Round (number 2 as there were no no.1 size available): The new brush

I was really excited about this brush.  Having got on so well with the Princeton Neptune, I’m wondering if this could be the next Big Thing.

Taking it out of its’ packaging, the nib looked lovely and crisp.  The brush has the look and feel of the Princeton Neptune, although there’s a coating on the brush handle which is very velvety soft.  I wonder how differently it’ll behave.

Princeton Velvet touch Round: Mixing paint

When I use the brush to mix paint, it doesn’t lose any of the nib precision.  The well is big enough to hold plenty of colour, but not so large it flings it unexpectedly onto the page.

Princeton Velvet touch Round: How sharp is that point?

The point is undeniably sharp.  Painting with it feels a great deal like the Princeton Neptune, I’m not sure if I’d be able to tell them apart.  I think there may be a little more spring in the fibres of this brush than in the Escoda series, which recommends it to me.

It does crisp lines and outlines, and delivers a steady flow of colour to an accurate tip.

Top washes are equally easy, no unexpected blurring or sudden need to be hyper aware that it’s all about to go wrong.  When I had to tweak an edge from another brush (see below), this is the one I picked up.

At the end of my test, the tip was still un-hooked and crisp.  This means that it, along with the Escoda Prado, are the best of the bunch.

Princeton Velvet touch Round: The Blob Test

Delivery of a nice big blob of colour was easy.  Mixing in water was a little swifter than with the Escoda brushes, but we’re talking seconds.  The tip held for a sharp single line, and it wrote its own name out beautifully.

Princeton Velvet touch Round: Conclusion

By the end of the test, I found myself really very pleased with this brush.  I’m wondering how to tell the Velvettouch from the Neptune, which will I prefer?  So yes, this is another really promising contender.

Currently, this brush sells for £4.67 from Jackson’s.

Raphaël Set of 3 Sable Brushes Synthetic Travel #0

Raphaël Synthetic Travel brush: The new brush is part of a set

The new brush looks short, which makes sense as it’s part of a travel set.  I couldn’t find a way to buy these brushes individually.  Although I’d planned to test the number 1 size, this one looked enormous, rather like the Jackson’s Icon synthetic Quill S777 10/0 which I miserably wrangled with in another test.  So I chose to test the size 0.

The nib, still within its cover, did not look that sharp, and there was the suggestion of some loose hairs.

Raphaël Synthetic Travel brush: Mixing paint

Mixing goes fine, again, not mixing but just picking up the paint from the palette.  The brush tip looks ever more worryingly blunt, but the well size is good.

Raphaël Synthetic Travel brush: How sharp is that point?

The Raphaël is disappointing, especially in comparison to the other three, all of which are properly good contenders.  The tip is blunt and slightly misaligned.  The paint goes on blobbily and I can’t get crisp edges to the leaf.

It holds plenty of colour but everything feels a bit desperate and blunt,  I don’t enjoy painting with this brush.

Raphaël Synthetic Travel brush: The Blob Test

The blob test showed the rather stark difference between this little brush and the other three tested today.  the nib was scratchy and couldnt hold a point, yes it carried enough paint and water to the blob, but the attempt at a straight line was not a success.  Writing out its’ own name was equally challenging.

Raphaël Synthetic Travel brush: Conclusion

This brush did not impress, I’m afraid.  It was too short in the handle and the tip was blunt and a little scratchy.  The point was sort of ok, but the well was too big for it, and kept overflowing unexpectedly onto the page.  When it came to working on the Sweet pea flower I didn’t even bother trying this brush as I already knew it wasn’t up to the precise nature of the job in hand.

This brush is currently selling at £10.05 for a set of three (size 1 round, size 0 round and a Flat size 0) from the Craftelier.

Conclusion

So four brushes were tested.  The Escoda Prado Tame synthetic was really good.  It held its’ tip and carried paint well.  For my taste the bristles were a little soft, but that really is splitting hairs (what an appropriate turn of phrase!)  Certainly, this brush is a contender as a synthetic replacement.  The Escoda Perla White Toray synthetic was similarly excellent, and even the slight hooking of the tip didn’t seem to compromise the brush’s accuracy.  Again, there’s that slight softness.  but personally I enjoyed working with it, and think I’d be unable to tell the difference between the two Escodas tested.  Both are contenders.  The Princeton Velvet touch range was my favourite, and left me very excited.  Accuracy, a slight stiffness, and a soft touch to the handle.  I really like it and think it just might have knocked its’ brother, the Princeton Neptune, off the number 1 spot.  I will certainly be buying more of these.  The last one, the Raphaël synthetic sable (no. 1) was disappointing.  In amongst this field, it didn’t stand a chance.  No tip, and a lack of accuracy that I can’t live with.

For me, both Escodas and the Velvetouch are worth using again.  I’ll use them for a while and see which becomes my favourite, and add the Princeton Neptune to the mix.  Could these be a replacement for my normal Series 7?  It’s looking very promising, but only time will tell.

Take-home messages from all my Synthetic Brushes tests

So here we are, having tested 20 synthetic brushes.  This is the end of the line for me, and I’m glad to say there are some really helpful take home messages.  Look out for hooked tips (for tips on fixing these see below).  Don’t be fooled into thinking that because it’s cheap it will be rubbish.  Many of these had similar performances despite prices varying from £2 to £12.  Be aware of your biases and existing preferences which may be really tough to overcome.  A synthetic will never feel like sable, and we shouldn’t expect it to. Remember these choices are really personal and my favourite brushes may not be other people’s favourites.

Synthetic Brush tests: The Winners!

At the end of several years and 20 brushes tested, and over £100 spent, there are three clear winners:

1.       Joint first place goes to Princeton Neptune round and the Princeton Velvet touch range which I’ve been painting with and enjoying.  Not quite as good as my Series 7, but only a whisker away.  I’m yet to decide which I like more.

2.      Joint second goes to the Escoda family – Escoda Prado and Escoda Perla.  Both are admirable and kept their tips, and painted consistently accurately and well.  My only slight problem was that they felt a touch soft for my taste, but that truly is down to personal preference.  Really decent synthetic brushes, and no, I can’t tell them apart on performance.

3.       Thirs place goes to Rosemary and Co. Spotter Red Dot, although the blunt tips of some of their other brushes makes me wonder if I’ll be using it long-term

4.       Honourable mention is for Billie Showell Fineliner.  If I were a better person and used to using riggers, this would doubtless be even more successful.  Great for extremely confident and exceptionally thin lines, and designed for detailing not body colour.

So all that remains is for me to give you a massive thank-you for sticking with me through this process!  I can only hope some of it has been of use to other artists and illustrators, faced with a similar dilemmas.  Thanks so much for reading, watching, and suggesting alternatives.  I couldn’t have done it without your input.

Brush Suggestions I won’t be trialling

Below is a list of suggested brushes that I won’t be testing for various reasons:

The first lot I’m not testing as they are sable, sable mix, or squirrel: Rosemary & Co Series 402 pointed (Sable plus synthetics mix), DaVinci Maestro series 35 (Sable), Escoda Chronos (Synthetic plus sable mix), and Neef Needlepoint ( Squirrel)

The Princeton Elite has too long of a tip for me, and I’ve learned that I don’t like long-tipped brushes!

And the following brushes are either not available to order in the UK, or are available from Europe but with really high import prices.  Apologies, I don’t have links to them as I can’t readily source them here:

Princeton Heritage Round, ProArte Prolene plus, Perla brushes Princeton, and Princeton Heritage 4050 (which may be the same as the Princeton Heritage round range).

And now (thank heavens) I am DONE!

Here is the film showing the last set of synthetics being tested:

!!YOUTUBE LINK!!

Synthetic brushes: A hint to help fix hooked tips

Worth repeating from my other blogs, this tip has come in from Rebecca. She kindly left this suggestion on fixing bent tips of synthetics in the comments section. (It echoes the advice on sorting out hooked tips from the Rosemary & Co website). “Hooks that develop on synthetic bristles can often be remedied by dipping the bristles about half way into a cup of water taken off the boil. Take care not to get the ferrule or upper bristles wet with water this hot or it may affect the glue. The timing varies from 10-30 seconds based on the brand and size. Gently reshape the tip on your thumbnail after heating. While I don’t expect that is an annoyance one would want to deal with during a long painting session, it will at least restore the brush to a usable condition for lighter tasks.”

The post Comparing Synthetic Watercolour Brushes – Part 5 (the final episode!) appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

Today I’m reviewing Bille Showell’s fine liner, ProArte Masterstroke Series 60 Round, Rosemary & Company Designer Red Dot, and the Winsor & Newton Cotman 111 round

Four brushes to be tested today

I’m testing the brushes on a botanical illustration of a Lesser Hawkbit, being completed for Braunton Burrows and FSC Publications, so it’s vital I don’t ruin the illustration as I test these four contenders! The linked Youtube film is here.

Synthetic Brushes Tested so far…

I’ve worked my way through about 15 synthetic brushes, without stumbling on the Holy Grail of replacements.  Of the ones I’ve tried (see below), my favourites to date are the Princeton Neptune round (a synthetic squirrel) and Rosemary & Company Red Dot Spotter, a synthetic sable.

Princeton Neptune Round

Film 1 (and blog) shows me trying out  Winsor & Newton synthetic sable, Rosemary and Co. Spotter Red Dot, Princeton Aqua elite, and my one freebie – the ZenART fineline minature paintbrushes

In film and blog 2, Princeton Neptune script. Kite S561 by Jackson’s, Rosemary and Company Pointed Red Dot, Da Vinci Casaneo 5598 Round are under the spotlight.

Brushes tested in the second blog and film

Blog and film 3 saw me review Princeton Neptune round, Jackson’s Icon synthetic Quill S777 10/0, Escoda Versatil round, and Da Vinci Colineo.

Brushes tested in the third blog and film

Synthetic Brush reviews: Unsponsored and honest

I’ve paid for and sourced all my brushes myself (bar one –  ZenART fineline minature paintbrushes).  I buy most from Jackson’s because they carry a wide range (again, there’s no paid promotion here).  They also seem to make a point of packing their supplies in a sensible, minimal way, in entirely recyclable packaging.  Other art suppliers here in the UK are also good; Cass Art, Cowling and Wilcox, Ken Bromley, and London Graphic Centre spring to mind.

Working on a Red Admiral Buterfly with my Series 7 sable brush

Of the brushes tested, only the Rosemary & Co range need to be purchased direct from their website, either online or by phone.

Not being sponsored or given materials to try has made this a rather expensive quest, but has guaranteed that my opinions are objective.

Any replacement is not only going to have to perform as consistently well as my Series 7, but also needs to overcome my inevitable familiarity and affection for a tool which works so well for me.

Hawthorn berries with Series 7 brush

Please do remember that all of these opinions are mine, and brush choice can be intensely personal.  Just because I love or loathe a brush is no guarantee that you’ll feel the same.  I wouldn’t want to end up preaching or changing the way people feel about brands they love, but just hope some of my research may help others on a similar quest.

Why look for a synthetic waterolour brush?

The main reason for my quest is ethical.  I’m into nature and am a committed vegetarian.  Sable and squirrel brushes are made from bristles of the squirrel and the sable, a weasel-like animal.  I don’t like to be a part of this trade.  Price is also relevant, a new Series 7 brush in my favourite number 1 size can cost more than £25.  Most of the synthetics I’m trialling cost under £10.

Bille Showell’s fine liner: The new brush

On first sight this is an elegant brush, very slim handle and a tasty looking tip.  The point is long and thin, and free from stray hairs or a hooked tip.

Billie Showell’s Fine liner: Mixing paint

The problem with this brush is that it is so fine that it’s unable to hold much paint.  So when I do my mixing, it takes ages to get enough of a colour to mix up a decent batch of paint.  There’s an obvious solution to this, of course.  Use a different brush for mixing than the one you use for painting.  But I’m a lazy sort of illustrator, and decided a while ago that I didn’t have time to be switching between mixing and painting brushes all the time.

Mixing with it, once I had enough paint on the palette, worked out fine.  The longer nib made mixing swift.  And it did not shed hairs or alter shape as a result of the mixing process.

I’m not used to working with long nibbed brushes and riggers though, and that made it hard for me to warm to the brush.  The fault is mine, and not down to a problem with the fineliner.

Billie Showell’s Fine liner: How sharp is that point?

The point is simply perfect.  It is extremely fine, and utterly reliable.  I had no concerns at all about the width of the line varying without me wanting it to, and felt very safe using it.  I kept thinking how perfect it would be for incredibly thin individual lines, things like insect hairs or mammal whiskers.

Every now and then, though, when one thin line crossed over another, the brush would catch and blob a bit.  This was pronounced as I tried to paint the delicate pappas of the Hawkbit seedhead.

Despite using it for quite some time, the point did not alter or deteriorate.  It’d be perfect for painting in hairs on the stem of a plant.  Anything requiring more of a bulk of colour?  It would do the trick, but would take an age to get enough pigment onto the page.

Billie Showell’s Fine liner: The Blob Test

In the blob test, this brush did brilliantly.  One confident thin or thicker line?  It passed with flying colours.  Writing the name of the brush with the brush?  Easy peasy.

However, when it came to making a tint of the colour, this brush simply didn’t have enough bulk.  It couldn’t carry enough water to add to the paint, and the blob started to dry out before I could dilute it properly.

Blob Test: Billie Showell fineliner on the left

Billie Showell’s Fine liner: Conclusion

This is an excellent brush when it comes to providing super-elegant thin lines. The brush held its’ shape and was easy to use, and gave reliable performance.  The drawback is that because of the thinness of the nib, it’s time consuming and hard to get much colour onto the page.  This would preclude it from being useful as an all-around brush.  It can do the detail, but not the body colour.  A caveat here, this is almost exactly what it says in its write-up on Jackson’s website.  According to the blurb it is, “excellent for fine and precise details and for producing long, thin and accurate lines”.  Which, if nothing else, proves that the reviews on websites are sometimes totally honest!

This brush currently retails from Jackson’s UK for £4.60

ProArte Masterstroke Series 60 Round size 2: The new brush

This brush is a number 2 size as there were no number 1 size in stock.  As well as being called Masterstroke Series 60 round, it also seems to call itself “Craft & Decorative 50609314”

On removing the plastic cover, it shows a broad well which should hold plenty of paint, and a sharp point.

ProArte Masterstroke Series 60 Round: Mixing paint

Mixing is good and easy.  The brush carries plenty of colour to the palette, and doesn’t lose its’ fine point after mixing colours together.  Often you can predict a brush’s behaviour by what the nib looks like when you’re mixing up, and in this case things auger well.

ProArte Masterstroke Series 60 Round: How sharp is that point?

The point IS sharp.  However, there’s too much in terms of bristles and paint going on behind the sharp tip.  Even when concentrating really hard, splurges of paint would fall from higher up the brush and distort the line the fine nib was drawing.  I really struggled to keep my lines fine and accurate, and felt very worried that at any moment a big blob of paint would fall onto my illustration.  This was especially true after each visit to re-charge the brush from the palette.

When it came to wet top washes, I didn’t feel certain that I could stay within the lines.  Again, it’s that lack of predictability.

Later on, I also noticed that the bristles were really stiff and I could actually hear them scratching on the page as I painted.

It’s not an appalling brush by any means, it just hasn’t got the tip reliability I’m looking for.

ProArte Masterstroke Series 60 Round: The Blob Test

Getting the paint onto the page, and making the initial blob was easy.  Using the very tip of the brush, with no directional change, gave a good fine line.  However, I didn’t feel able to rely on it remaining a consistent thin line.

Whilst making a tint of the main paint I noticed the scratchiness of the bristles again.

I was able to write the brush name alright, but it wasn’t comfortable.

ProArte Masterstroke Series 60 Round: Conclusion

Despite the competitive price and good point on this brush, the heavy well resting right behind the tip made it feel a bit scary, as if it could drop a big blob of paint at any time.  The tip held, neither hooking nor splaying, which is a definite plus.  But I can’t pretend to have enjoyed painting with it.

If I were working a little larger, with a lightly less intense need for detail, this brush might be a good choice.  The nib point certainly impressed.  The insecure feeling it gave me did not.

At Jackson’s, this brush currently sells for £2.10

Rosemary & Company Designer Red Dot no 1: The new brush

I was really excited about this brush.  Having got on so well with the Red Dot Spotters (although less well with the Red Dot Pointed) by Rosemary and Co, I expected great things.  I really did think that this could be THE ONE.

Taking it out of its’ packaging, the nib looked sharp enough.  The brush has the look and feel of my Series 7, which already works in its’ favour.

Rosemary & Company Designer Red dot: Mixing paint

When I use the brush to mix paint, it collects plenty of pigment from the pans and has a good enough well to carry plenty of paint.  However, looking at the brush as I finish mixing it already seems to have blunted, and the tip looks a little bent.

Rosemary & Company Designer Red dot: How sharp is that point?

Despite my misgivings, initially the brush does ok.  It creates fine lines, reliably.  Not brilliant, but workable.  It doesn’t feel like it’s about to leave blobs or to let me down.  In that way, it’s a safe brush.

But within 5 minutes, the shape of the brush has changed.  It’s become flattened, almost compressed.  This means the tip is wide and flat, and you end up having to paint on a “corner” of the nib to get a clean thin line.  It continues to degrade and becomes hooked in the short time spent trialling it on film.

This is not only disappointing, but also confusing.  Many extremely good botanical illustrators, far better then me, adore these brushes and swear by them.  Maybe it’s because I mix and paint with the same brush?  Maybe I’ve just landed some dud brushes?

Rosemary & Company Designer Red dot: The Blob Test

Delivery of a nice big blob of colour was fine, as was mixing tints of the colour by diluting it with water.  But when it came to trying to produce a reliable thin line?  Or the result when I tried writing with it? The hooked tip made this impossible.  The line was too thick, and broken.  The nib was blunted, scratchy, hooked, and simply couldn’t deliver.

Rosemary & Company Designer Red dot: Conclusion

By the end of the test, I found myself saying, “I feel like I’m painting with a brick” which explains why this brush ended up being my least favourite of this batch.

The tip flattened, then hooked and deteriorated really fast.  The brush carried plenty of paint, has a decent sized well, and didn’t blob.  But that tip ruined it for me, I’m afraid.

Currently, this brush sells for £3.35 direct from Rosemary & Co.

Winsor & Newton Cotman 111 round size 1: The new brush

The new brush looks very tempting.  The shiny blue handle appeals to someone like me (really into sparkly things) and the nib looks sharp and unhooked.

Winsor & Newton Cotman 111 round: Mixing paint

Mixing goes well.  There’s enough of a well to take plenty of colour from the palette.  No bristles are shed as I mix, and the nib doesn’t deteriorate too much.  By the time the mix is complete, it does look a little blunter, though.

Winsor & Newton Cotman 111 round: How sharp is that point?

The Cotman seems to hold its’ point relatively well.  It certainly doesn’t deteriorate as fast as the Red Dot designer or the ProArte Masterstroke S60.

However, the brush as a whole feels a bit floppy. It’s as if the bristles can’t stand up to any pressure, bending and flattening with the slightest touch.  This is the first brush I’ve tested that has this flaw.  Some others had bristles which were too stiff, these aren’t stiff enough.  I’m beginning to feel like Goldilocks!

This softness meant it was harder to control the paint, and use the tip.  Unexpected flexibility led to unreliability.

Winsor & Newton Cotman 111 round: The Blob Test

The blob test showed the flaws as well as strengths of the brush.  It gave a nice blob of colour, but the tiny hook that had developed on the tip meant the thin line was not as reliable as I’d hoped.  And the soft bristles made it hard to judge how much water to add to mix up a decent tint of the colour.  Writing with it was ok, although the soft bending made forming the letters a touch challenging.

Winsor & Newton Cotman 111 round: Conclusion

This brush did a great job of holding its’ tip to start with, and after use had only developed a small hook.  It’s a pretty brush, and I really would have liked it to work out.  But a combination of a slight bluntness from that hooked tip, coupled with the strangely soft and pliant bristles made it uncomfortable to work with.

Yes, it was my second favourite in this batch.  But no, I won’t be buying another one or using it again.

This brush is currently selling at £4.40 from Jackson’s.

Synthetic brushes: A hint to help fix hooked tips

Curved or hooked tips is a recurrent problem with most synthetic brushes, but may not mean the end of your paintbrush. This tip came in from Rebecca, who left this suggestion in the comments section of my Synthetics 2 blog. (It tallies with advice on hooked tips from the Rosemary & Co website).  Many thanks for sharing it with us.  “Hooks that develop on synthetic bristles can often be remedied by dipping the bristles about half way into a cup of water taken off the boil. Take care not to get the ferrule or upper bristles wet with water this hot or it may affect the glue. The timing varies from 10-30 seconds based on the brand and size. Gently reshape the tip on your thumbnail after heating. While I don’t expect that is an annoyance one would want to deal with during a long painting session, it will at least restore the brush to a usable condition for lighter tasks.”

All four brushes – even at this distance you can see the hook on the Rosemary & Co Designer

Conclusion

So four brushes were tested.  The Billie Showell was too long in the nib and couldn’t carry much paint.  But gave a fabulous thin line.  The ProArte Masterstroke S60 felt blobby and unreliable (although it held its’ tip well).  The Red dot Spotter was a dud, and left me bitterly disappointed as its nib deteriorated into an un-useable state in under 10 minutes of use. The Cotman held a point wonderfully to being with, but felt floppy.  For me, only the Billie Showell is worth using again.  I’ll turn to it when I need to do very fine thin lines.  But even this one isn’t going to be a replacement for my normal Series 7.  The quest continues.

All four brushes next to the leaves they have illustrated

I’ve decided to do one more set of tests, then give up (or at least stick to the one or two brushes that just might be good enough to rival my sable brushes).  So the last four brushes are ordered, and as I’m a hopeful creature, I’m keeping everything crossed that next time, next time will see me stumbling across the Holy Grail.

In the meantime, thanks so much for sticking with me on my seemingly endless quest, and see below for a !!Youtube film!! of this comparison.

Completed Lesser Hawkbit Leontodon saxatilis.

The post Comparing Synthetic Watercolour Brushes – Part 4 appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

Why look for alternatives?

As a committed vegetarian since the age of 11, I’ve always been a bit bothered that my sable brushes are made from hairs that come from a little weasel.  With each passing year, more and more companies are waking up to this need for a reliable and high quality alternative to both sable and squirrel hair brushes.  And I’m giving lots of these a try.  The brushes I try out are mostly based on reccommendations from my Youtube viewers, and blog readers.  Thankyou.

Another reason to look for alternatives is price.  I get through one or two Series 7 brushes a month, and my size 1 brushes retail at £28 full price (May 2023).  Yes, you can often get them at discount, but all the brushes I’ve trialled here come in at well below £10.

The four brushes Ill be testing today, fresh from their packaging

I’ve sourced all these brushes from Jackson’s art, here in the UK.  They have a wide range, and they post their stuff in safe but minimal packaging, all recyclable.  Many other suppliers carry them, both here and internationally.  Just have a look online.  None of the brushes I try, nor Jackson’s Art supplies have given their brushes for free, so this blog is entirely unbiased.  Saying that, please remember that choice of brush can be a very personal thing, and just cause I love or loathe a brush doesn’t mean you will agree!

To complete these tests, I use each brush to paint one or two leaves of the forget-me-not; then put them through a “blob test” where they need to deliver blobs of colour, mix these down to watery tints, provide a sharp crisp line, and then I write their names alongside these results…with the brush in question.

Princeton Neptune Round: The new brush

First up, I tried the Princeton Neptune round.  It’s a synthetic squirrel, and I had to use a size 2 as no size 1 brushes were in stock.  First impressions were good.  I was slightly disappointed to see a little hook on the tip as I remove the plastic brush protector, but this didn’t seem to alter the way the brush worked.  It’s a good handle length, and the brush isn’t stocky, or long, like a rigger might be.

Princeton Neptune Round: Mixing paint

When mixing paint the brush looked good.  It wasn’t too small (meaning it takes ages to get enough of your colours onto the palette) nor too big (carrying too much paint for each brushstroke). The tip held well describe the rather rough treatment I give it during colour mixing.

Princeton Neptune Round: How sharp is that point?

The point of the brush held throughout the painting process, and delivered a truly reliable and crisp line.  It was accurate and I soon forgot I was trialling a new brush.

Tip of Princeton Neptune round during painting

In fact, it was so good that once I’d trialled all the other brushes I came back to it and completed the forget-me-not using this brush.  And enjoyed it.

Complete illustration with Princeton Neptune Round brush

Princeton Neptune Round: The Blob Test

This test involves mixing up a big blob of once colour, pulling out as fine a line as possible from it, mixing a tint out to clear water, then writing the name of the brush alongside.

Unsurprisingly, the Neptune Round passed the Blob test with flying colours.

Close up of the tip of the Neptune round alongside blob test

After using the brush for a while it did develop a bit of a kink at its’ tip, but held up significantly better than the other synthetics I’ve trialled.  I shall certainly be working with it more often, to see if I can truly use it as a replacement, I’d also be interested to see how a number 1 size brush behaves.  This one was a number 2 as the smaller ones were unavailable.

“Blob test” comparison of brush nibs (Neptune on the far left)

Princeton Neptune Round: Conclusion

This brush is one of the most promising I’ve tried so far.  I will certainly be trialling it further.  It held its’ point, gave a reliably accurate and shaper line, could handle mixing, and didnt degrade over the course of one morning’s painting.  At the time of writing, this brush (number 2 size) cost £5.50 from Jackson’s art.

Jackson’s Art S777 Quill: The new brush

Next up is the Jackson’s Icon synthetic size 10/0 quill series 777.  I got a bit muddled when I made the accompanying Youtube film and kept saying it was a 10/1 as I think I saw that written on a packing note.  Apologies, it is in fact a 10/0.  It looks like no brush I’ve ever used before.

Unused Jackson Quill S777 10/0

It ha such a wide brush head, and is so seemingly big.  But the point looks sharp, so I’m willing to try it.  However, I was already a little out of my comfort zone…

Jackson’s Art S777 Quill: Mixing paint

I mixed up some fresh green for the forget me not leaves…and the brush swallowed the whole palette full in one easy gulp.  Because the brush head is so big, inevitably it’s also very absorbent and thirsty.  This was quite a problem for me.  I had to re-appraise the amounts of paint I was mixing, and no matter how much of a mix I made, the brush devoured the whole lot in one gulp.

Close up of the unused tip of the Jackson Quill

The other problem came when I rinsed the brush between mixing colours.  Because it took up so much paint, it also took a lot more time and effort to clean the brush out.  Several times some residual amounts of colour caught me out, and got added into a new colour mix, with unintended results.

The flip side is that if you wanted a full brush and not to keep returning to top up the brush from your palette, this brush would deliver.

Jackson’s Art S777 Quill: How sharp is that point?

Despite looking crisp and sharp, the point of this brush was blunt the first time I applied it to the page.  It left thick and unreliable lines, and simply didn’t feel accurate.  It’s not like it doesn’t have a point, it does, and in comparison to the broadness of stroke you can get from one stroke, the sharpness is admirable.  But for botanical illustration?  It didn’t work, at least not for me.  The photos suggest it has a pin-sharp point, but I think the issues arise the second you apply pressure to that tip.

Tip of the Jackson’s S777 Quill

Jackson’s Art S777 Quill: The Blob Test

The brush was excellent at mixing on a large dollop of strong colour, and did an excellent job of mixing down through tints to almost clear water.  It also held it’s tip for one straight line.  however, when I tried to use that point to write the name of the brush alongside the test blob, the bluntness and lack of accuracy became evident.  Again, the photos belie the blunt feel of the nib once in use.

Jackson’s s777 Quill alongside the Blob test

Jackson’s Art S777 Quill: Conclusion

I think this is an excellent brush.  It has the ability to hold loads of paint and to deliver a massive range of line widths.  if I was a calligrapher, or someone using big expressive brush strokes, I think I’d be in seventh heaven.  But I like tiny crisp lines and a reliable smaller brush which doesn’t eat all my paint in one sitting.  For my style of botanical illustration, this brush was a complete mis-match, and I shan’t be trying to paint leaves with it again anytime soon.  At the time of writing, this brush  cost £5.10 from Jackson’s art.

Brush alongside the leaf (top right) it was used on

Escoda Versatil round: The new brush

First impressions of the Escoda Versatil round brush are not good, despite me feeling happy that I was finally painting with a size 1 brush.  This range are synthetic sable.  The unused point looks rough, and seems to instantly splay when any pressure is applied.  The handle and length of the brush and nib is fine.

Escoda Versatil round: nib fresh from the nib sheath, after one dip into water

Escoda Versatil round: Mixing paint

When mixing colours, the brush doesn’t swallow up all the colour in the palette.  It picks up a good amount of paint from each pan.  However,  despite repeated attempts at spinnning the brush in the mix, trying to “twist” it into a point, no sharp nib was forthcoming,  It remained steadfastedly blunt.

Escoda Versatil round: How sharp is that point?

Interestingly, using the brush was left awful than I feared.  The very tip of the brush had one of two rogue hairs working together, and these could deliver a tiny accurate and crisp line.  But just behind, less than a millimetre away, is an area of splayed hairs and roughness.  I had to concentrate really hard with each and every brush stroke to make sure I didn’t catch the edge of this zone and suddenly thicken my line.

After a while, I found I could paint alright, by using one corner of the brush tip, although I won’t pretend I enjoyed the experience.  The brush felt a bit flattened too, almost like I was painting with a corner of the nib.  With less than 15 minutes of use, the nib was visibly deteriorating and becoming less and less reliable.

Escoda Versatil round: The Blob Test

The brush delivered a good blob of solid colour to the page, and relying on that apical stray hair, I could get a decent thin line.  It also did a good job with the diluting and mixing the blue colour to a paler and paler tint.  But the writing was challenging and I’d already fallen firmly out of love with the brush.

Clos up of the Escoda Versatil round nib showing the rough tip

Escoda Versatil round: Conclusion

Sadly, this brush is a definite no for me.  It’s tip was unreliable and scruffy, and only held a crisp line if I relied on two or three loose hairs.  It degraded as I used it, and I was very relieved to be finished with it at the end of painting a leaf and doing the blob test.  Not one for me.  At the time of writing, the Escoda versatil round brush (No 1 size) cost £6.70 from Jackson”s Art.

Escoda versatil round 1 whole brush with painted leaf

Da Vinci Colineo: The new brush

The last brush I tested was the Da Vinci Colineo.  It’s a synthetic sable, and another number 1 size.  My first impression was that the handle is bluntly triangular, something I’m not at all used to in a paint brush.  The tip, on removal from its packaging, looks good.  I can spot a couple of loose hairs, but on the whole it looks ok.

Fresh Da Vinci Colineo brush

Da Vinci Colineo: Mixing paint

The brush mixes paint well.  Neither too thirsty nor too small to hold a good amount of colour, it’s easy to mix with and collects the right amount of pigment from the pans.

Da Vinci Colineo: How sharp is that point?

Indeed, it’s the crucial question.  How sharp IS that point?  In this case, disappointingly, not very.  The tip looks flattened, and laterally compressed.  It feels more like a brush which has a rectangular shaped head than a round brush (perhaps it is designed to be a little square shaped at the tip, not round?)  To get a sharp line, I had to use one corner of the brush point, almost like I was relying on the corner of the brush tip.  Using it this way, I could get very accurate crisp lines, which momentarily made me put it as my second favourite (after the Princeton Neptune).  But at no point did this approach feel reliable or safe.  One false move and the whole flat width of the brush would come into play.

Point of the Da Vinci Colineo

Within ten minutes of use, two hairs came loose.  Within 15 minutes the scratching of the hairs was so pronounced that I could hear them on the paper.  Not a good sign.  When I came to paint the top layers of green, a paler tint, this brush failed me completely.  It gave much more paint into the area than I wanted, and ended up swallowing the highlights I’d been planning on leaving white.

Da Vinci Colineo: The Blob Test

In the blob test, the loose stiff hairs and unreliable point showed.  Yes, the brush was fine at mixing colours and doing the blob and the tints.  But a reliable thin line wasn’t forthcoming, and writing the name of the brush with such a scratchy tool proved awkward.  Another one to cross off the list of candidates, alas.

Da Vinci Colineo: Close up of the nib during the Blob test

Da Vinci Colineo: Conclusion

Alas, the Da Vinci Colineo round is another brush I’ll not be using again.  With the stiff, scratchy square nib, triangular handle, and stary hairs, there;s no way I could rely on this brush to deliver the consistent accuracy I need for botanical illustration.  Currently, this brush retails from Jackson’s art at £6.60.

Used Da Vinci brush with the flower.

Overall Conclusion

Rather like the curate’s egg, this batch was only good in places.  Princeton Neptune round is a real contender, and I’ll be lining it up along side my other current favourites; namely the Princeton Neptune Script (whose nib was a little too long for me) and the Rosemary & Co. Red dot Spotters.  Having used it a little more since the initial test I’m still deciding whether or not to order in another.  But it’s looking promising, and I actively enjoyed painting the rest of the forget me not with this brush.

Forget me not with all four brushes alongside the leaves they painted, and annotations

However, the Jackson’s Quill just felt like a brush for a different discipline.  And unfortunately the Escoda Versatil and Da Vinci Colineo simply didn’t have the required quality when it come to sharp consistency in the nib.

As I say, all these brushes were bought from Jackson’s Art in the UK.  Some are carried by other UK suppliers such as Ken Bromley and Cass Art.  Internationally, I’m sure you have your favourite art shops, too.

For now, I’m going to be returning to my Series 7 sable brushes, and trying to use the synthetics alongside them.  It’ll be interesting to see how they hold up in a context lasting longer than a few filmed minutes.

To see these trials as a film, please check out my Youtube film (below)

The post Comparing Synthetic watercolour brushes Part 3 appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

In my last blog (and accompanying Youtube film review of brushes ), I ended up recommending Rosemary and Co. Spotter Red Dot.  But since then I’ve painted almost exclusively with my beloved pure sable Winsor and Newton series 7 sable paintbrushes .

Winsor & Newton Series 7 brushes with hand lens

Sable

Sable brushes are not, in fact, made form the hair of the Sable.  These creatures live in Larch woods, and are a type of marten, latin name Martes zibellina. No.  The sable used to make watercolour brushes comes from the Kolonok, or Siberian weasel Mustela sibirica.

As a life-long vegetarian, I survived for many years without even thinking properly about the link between animal welfare and my paintbrushes.  But following from a chance remark on one of my Youtube videos, I decided to look for synthetics instead. These weasels are voracious predators of rats and other vermin, but can also be pests to poultry farmers.  Their fur has long been used to make brushes for artists and calligraphers.  But I think I should try to move away from Kolinsky sable brushes if I can.

What other synthetic options are out there?  Recommendations and suggestions have come in thick and fast since then, and I’ve managed to get my hands on some of these brushes, and tested them.

The set-up

I need to illustrate the Common Knapweed, Centaurea nigra subspecies nigra.  As before, I’ll use a different test brush on different leaves.  And hope for the best!

I’m working on Fluid 100 hot press watercolour paper.

In all cases, I test a size 1 brush.  This is my default brush size and is perfect for my botanical illustration and natural history work.  I’ve ordered all these brushes (except the Rosemary red Dots) through Jackson’s art, a UK based art materials shop.  It should also be pointed out that I haven’t been asked or paid to review any of these brushes, so (hopefully) that makes my reviews un-biased.

Here are the four brushes I’m reviewing.  Left to right: Da Vinci Casaneo, Rosemary & Co Red dot Pointed, Jackson’s Kite S561 and Princeton’s Neptune Script.  Links to all brushes in the text below.

The price I use for my Series 7 number 1 is a full discount price, not the full retail price of £17. 10 (2021 price).  And these prices fluctuate a lot, with the brushes sometimes being as little as £5.80 each.

Princeton Neptune script

The first synthetic I’m trying is the Princeton Neptune script.  This is a synthetic squirrel, rather than a synthetic sable.

Princeton Neptune Script

First sight is alarming.  It has an extremely long point, longer than any brush I’ve worked with before.  Somewhere in the back of my mind the term “rigger” springs to mind.  Is this the correct name for these long, fine-tipped brushes?  After a little internet trawling it seems my hunch is right.  Click here for more on rigger brushes, and how to use them.

However, despite my misgivings, on taking off the cover and using it I’m pleasantly surprised.

The tip is extremely fine, and doesn’t degrade or blunt at all for the whole time I use it.  The synthetic squirrel holds a lot of paint, so you don’t need to keep refilling the brush.  Thin lines build up next to one another without merging.  Crisp edges are easy.  Thin defining lines aren’t at all problematic.  This brush is great!

Princeton Neptune Script with leaf painted with the brush behind

My problem is the feel of such a long point.  This is pronounced when I’m mixing colours.  (Please don’t tell me to have a special rubbish-y brush for colour mixing.  I know I should do, but when I’m working to dead-line I just don’t have time to keep switching brushes!)  Saying that, if you have a slightly more leisurely approach to your watercolour painting, it’s a great idea.  Nothing trashes brushes faster than mixing colour with them).

Mixing colour with the Princeton Neptune Script

The action of the brush on the page is lovely.

Because the tip is so very fine, perhaps it takes a little longer to build up areas of colour, and to my eye they look a little washed out when I’m done.  Perhaps because each line is so very thin you do actually end up with less pigment on the page?

But for crisp detail, the Princeton Neptune Script is great.

Close up of the tip of the Princeton Neptune Script brush

This brush retails at £4.90 – £6.10.  My regular Series 7 no. 1 size brush retails (with a hefty discount) at £5.80, so this one is slightly cheaper.

Kite S561 by Jackson’s

This was the most expensive of the brushes I tested.  It’s a synthetic sable and cost more than my Series 7 brush (£10.30), so I was expecting good things.

Jackson’s Kite S.561

Imagine my surprise when the Kite S561 simply didn’t work out that way.  The tip of the brush is ragged, and blunt.  It has a slight hook.  In the hand, it feels the same shape and weight as a Series 7, but it’s not performing like one.

Jackson’s Kite S.561.  Looks perfect but somehow…isn’t.  The right had side of the leaf behind has been painted with this one.

The lines it leaves are thick and unpredictable.  No matter how I twist the brush in the paint to “sharpen” it to a point, it remains blunt.  In fact, I have to stop using it as it’s compromising the Knapweed illustration.

I’m disappointed.  It could be a dud brush.  But for the high price, I would have expected something far better, especially when the other synthetics on the market are priced so much more competitively.

Close up of the tip of the Jackson’s Kite S.561 brush

Rosemary and Company Pointed Red Dot

I’m feeling optimistic with these Red Dot brushes, brought direct from the company (Rosemary and Company)  Not only do they come recommended by the excellent botanical illustrator Polly O’Leary, but they’re the sister product to the Red Dot spotters that I reviewed and liked most in my last blog.  They’re synthetic sable.

Rosemary & Co Red Dot Pointed brush

Initial feelings are fabulous.  The brush looks and feels a lot like my Series 7.  It has plenty of bulk to hold paint, and the point is tiny and crisp.  This remains undamaged by mixing paint.  Each brush-stroke delivers a little more than the Neptune script, so the colour builds up swifter and more saturated.  So far so good.

Close up of the Rosemary & Co Red dot Pointed with leaf painted with it behind

Then, after about 10 minutes, the brush starts to change.  The tip loses its definition.  I feel almost like the barrel of the brush swells, and seems to hang really low behind the tip, threatening to leave extra unwanted brush marks.

On the plus side, the “barrel” or well holds a lot of paint, so I don’t need to keep going back to my paint-box to top up on paint.  The tip doesn’t become completely compromised, it’s still pretty sharp.

It’s not a disaster, but it’s certainly no longer nearly as good as when I first used it.  And less enjoyable than the the Red Dot Spotter.  But like I say, I know a lot of excellent botanical illustrators swear by these brushes.  I don’t want to be too hasty in writing them off.

Price wise it only costs £2.75 though.  So perhaps I was unlucky and had a “bad brush”.  These things happen.

Close up of the tip of the Rosemary & Co Red Dot pointed brush

Da Vinci Casaneo 5598 Round

The Da Vinci is another synthetic squirrel, this time a Kazan squirrel.  I had to look up “Kazan squirrel”.  It seems to be a normal squirrel (although whether Red or Grey I couldn’t establish) from the Kazan region of Russia.  So we continue.  Anyway, it’s another synthetic.

Da Vinci Casaneo brush with leaves painted with it behind and below

My initial response to this was not brilliant.  The brush had a tiny hook at the tip.  Not enough to make it un-useable, but not a good start.

I’d forgotten the useful tip I’ve been given about removing hooks from the tips of synthetic brushes:

It has come in from Rebecca, who left this suggestion in the comments section of my last watercolour brush blog .  “Hooks that develop on synthetic bristles can often be remedied by dipping the bristles about half way into a cup of water taken off the boil. Take care not to get the ferrule or upper bristles wet with water this hot or it may affect the glue. The timing varies from 10-30 seconds based on the brand and size. Gently reshape the tip on your thumbnail after heating. While I don’t expect that is an annoyance one would want to deal with during a long painting session, it will at least restore the brush to a usable condition for lighter tasks.”

I started using the brush and it’s fine.  The hook hasn’t thickened the line width, and the point remains tight.

After a few minutes though, it seems to develop some sort of lateral compression.  The brush looks as if someone has squeezed it between thumb and finger.  This leaves me feeling nervous.  It feels like the brush could do something unexpected at any point, being this odd shape and with the little hook.

Nib of the Da Vinci Casaneo brush, showing the odd “compressed” effect

Although is paints perfectly well, the ominous feeling that it’s all about to go wrong doesn’t lift.  I feel like I’m about to screw up the illustration at any point.  I can’t relax into painting, but am hyper-vigilant, checking every stroke.  This is no way to paint.

Because of this, even though the performance is better than all but the Princeton Neptune, I turn from the Da Vinci Casaneo.

Again, it could be a bad brush.  Or just one that’s not perfect.  Which, for someone who is as tough as a critic as I am, is basically the same thing.

It’s a shame.  With a price point of £6.30, they’re not much more expensive than the price of my (discounted) Series 7 brushes.  But are less reliable.

Close up of the nib of the Da Vinci Casaneo brush

Synthetics: Conclusion

Having tried all four brushes, I’m afraid none match my Series 7.  Is this because it’s what I’m used to?  Or because it’s a superior product?  It’s hard to tell.

However, if I were to explore these synthetics further, I’d be focussing in on the Rosemary and Company Red dot range.  I truly feel there will be a brush in there that suits me and my approach to painting.  They’re cheap, and have lovely points.  And although they seem to degrade quickly, I feel there’s scope for me to use them more before writing them off.

I did think the Princeton Neptune Script brush was brilliant, and held its point wonderfully.  It’d be superb for doing tiny long hairs, say on the stem of a Wood rush Luzula sylvatica.  But I just don’t think I can get used to wielding a brush that long.  It feels too weird.  I’m a creature of habit, and habit calls for a shorter, stouter brush.  But they’re well worth a try if you’re less stuck in your ways than I am.  In terms of getting detail and during the actual act of painting, the Neptune was my favourite out of these four brushes.

And here ends my exploration of synthetic brushes.  There are many more brands out there, but I think I’m finished exploring.  I’ll stick to a more detailed investigation of the Rosemary and Co brushes.  I might play around with the Princeton Neptune and see if I can get used to such a long tip, and keep my fingers that I find the perfect solution soon.  Only then will I be able to look at a weasel full in the face again.

Weasel Mustela nivalis (NOT the Siberian weasel, but a cousin)

For a lot more detail on this set of comparisons, please check out my Youtube video (or see it, below), and don’t forget to refer back to my other earlier review of synthetic brushes, both in blog form ,  and as a Youtube film.

Although I don’t plan on reviewing any more synthetics, please do put suggestions as to which you favour or have tried in the comments section below.  I like the idea of these blogs and films being a good reference point for people on a similar journey, questing for the perfect synthetic brush.

Annotated Illustration of Common or Black knapweed showing which leaves were done with which brush

The post Paintbrushes: Exploring synthetics Part 2 appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

Paintbrushes

As with all of these posts, it’s vital to stress that what equipment one uses is a very personal choice, and we often finesse our techniques according to the equipment and brands we use and like most.  I’d love people to add their own favourites in the “Comments” section at the end of this blog, then the post would serve as a much more balanced resource for artists starting out, or for established practitioners looking for new ideas.

There’s also a section where I test several synthetic sable brushes, looking for an alternative to real sable ones.  There’s a film of these trials on Youtube.

Since writing this I’ve done a second comparison blog which you can find here, and associated film here.

Illustrating Rowan Sorbus aucuparia

Paintbrushes

I absolutely love, and have always used, Winsor and Newton series 7 sable paintbrushes.  They’re expensive, yes, but I’m yet to find another brush that comes close to their quality.  They hold plenty of paint.  Their points stay true and tiny.  They rarely shed, and when they do it’s a discrete one hair at a time.  The paint on the handle doesn’t peel or crack off and fall onto whatever you’re doing.  The metal part (the ferrule) never rusts.

Series 7 brushes with another vital tool of the trade, a hand lens

You can get them in “Miniature Painting” and “Round”; I’ve tried both and tend to go for the round ones, simply because that’s what I’m used to.

Size of paintbrush

Size-wise, I do almost all my illustrating with a number 1.  I have a stash of about 10 ready to go at any given time, and work through something like one every 6 weeks.  As I say, they don’t shed much, but inevitably they do suffer from the wear and tear of daily hard use.  There’s no need to dispose of these worn brushes, just use them for more detailed work.  After all, in effect they’ve turned into a smaller size 0!

Comparison of two Number 1 paintbrushes; above is a new one, below is one I’ve been using for 4 weeks

I use the larger number 2 size for looser washes, and have a number 4 and a number 6 for when I do big washy backgrounds (in my landscapes).  These bigger brushes still have good points, and can hold loads of paint, so doing a big area of sky, forest, grass, or fields is possible.

Using a number 4 brush for background washes

As well as my worn and thinned number 1 brushes, I also use the tiny 000 and 00 sizes for painting in almost invisible hairs, and details within flowers.  The tips of these are the ones that make people think you’re almost mad to use them, but they’re vital when getting the minutae down.  I used 00 brushes a lot when illustrating a series of mosses.

A 00 size brush alongside a pencil for scale, and illustration of Woolly fringe moss Racomitrium lanuginosum

Other brands

I know there are other brush brands out there, some of which I’ve tried and some which I haven’t.  A lot of other botanical illustrators really like Rosemary brushes – they didn’t work brilliantly for me, but they’re probably worth trying.  They certainly are good quality, and are significantly cheaper than  Series 7.

I once had a comment questioning the ethics of using sable brushes, and it is true that these brushes are made of sable hair, a species similar to a pine marten.  As a vegetarian committed to all sorts of ecological and environmental causes, I would certainly appreciate having a top-quality, animal-free alternative brush, so if anyone knows of one, please leave a comment.

Completed sketchbook study of hawthorn berries Craetegus monogyna, completed with a well-worn Series 7 no. 1 brush

Synthetic alternatives to Sable

Having written this blog, and following very useful feedback from other illustrators, I decided to try out a handful of high quality synthetic sable brushes.  Not only are these more ethical for a vegetarian such as myself, but they’re also a darned site cheaper!  I filmed these trials, here’s a link.

All the brushes were round number 1 size.

Comparing the points of the three new synthetic watercolour brushes.

The three brands I compared were Winsor & Newton synthetic sable, Rosemary and Co. Spotter Red Dot, and Princeton Aqua elite.  None were appalling, and one came close to equalling my beloved Series 7 brushes.

Synthetics: Winsor & Newton synthetic sable

I was surprised that this brush looked scruffy on removal from its’ tubing.  Working with it, although it did have a point and did hold paint, the brush was too long.  This meant I couldn’t achieve the tight control I require.  The stray hairs didn’t help sell the brush to me.  The handle was comfortable.  Price wise, I found them selling at £5.80 each, or on sale for £4.06.

Close up of the Winsor & Newton synthetic sable brush, with the leaves I painted using it

The very tip of the brush also had a noticeable “hook” which made it hard to get that sharp point.  With the Series 7 brushes, if I roll them into a tip in the wet paint, the point is exquisite.  With this dowdier cousin, I couldn’t get the frighteningly crisp point I look for.

Synthetics: Rosemary and Co. Spotter Red Dot

This brush was definitely my favourite of the synthetics I trialled.  The brush shape didn’t appeal at first – the point of the brush looks short and dumpy.  However, the point was very sharp, and it worked well in wet and dry paint.  it was only when using the brush with extremely wet and pale washes that the point held less well.

Close up of the Rosemary and Co Red Dot synthetic sable brush, with the leaves I painted using it

I was really impressed by this brush, and at a price point of £3.40 each they would be excellent alternatives to a Series 7 brush for those on a budget.

Were I to commit to getting sable out of my life, this is certainly a contender for a replacement.

Synthetics: Princeton Aqua elite

The Princeton Aqua elite had a decent point.  Again, it was absolutely serviceable.  However, the brush felt like it had lateral compression.  It felt flattened, with the associated slight splaying of the point that a flattening brings.   I almost felt that the nib was too long.

Close up of the Princeton Aqua elite synthetic sable brush, with the leaves I painted using it

This feeling of the brush being too long also made me feel uncomfortable using it.  I had to focus and concentrate to ensure I got the crisp lines I was after.  I felt slightly less control that I wanted.

However, as with all things, this could be because I’m used to a shorter-shaped brush.  These things are so very personal.

The price for this brush is £5.80; exactly the same as the Winsor & Newton synthetic sable.

Synthetics: Conclusion

Having tried all three brushes, I attempted finishing the test illustration with them.  It shows how very set in my ways I am that within half an hour I had reverted to the Series 7 brush.

Completed illustration (initially used as a synthetics brush comparison test piece)

These synthetic alternatives are all good.  the Rosemary & Co. brush is excellent.  If I were to commit to sable-free illustration, I’d certainly be investing in some of these Red dot brushes.

Comparison of synthetics and Series 7

Price wise, for anyone on a budget I will heartily reccommend these brushes.  One of my Series 7 brushes costs up to three times the price of one of these – a cool £17.10 cost price (2021 prices).  They can be got on sale for £11, but even at discount that’s a much bigger outlay than for the £3.80 Rosemary one.

For much more detail on this comparison, do check out my Youtube film.

Zen Art Fineline Minature brushes: Trying out a freebie

I was recently sent a set of  ZenART fineline minature paintbrushes to try and review by the manafacturers.   Obviously, the company sent them to me for free, looking for a good review, and some decent social media feedback. I’m a little cynical, so I tried them without a great deal of conviction. It’s important to have full disclosure about these things, I think…

They came in a cardboard box, and inside is a lovely canvas carrying thingy, all bound in red ribbon. There’s a great assortment; riggers, filberts, and angled brush, and several round ones. I only use round ones, so those are the ones I can speak for.

I’m surprised to say they were really good, and potentially a welcome alternative to my beloved Winsor & Newton series 7 brushes. They held their points, didn’t splay, had decent wells to hold paint, and produced consistent tiny lines. The number 2 was good for pale top washes, holding lots of paint and having the required sharp point. Accuracy was good with the number 1 and the 5/0.

They are also synthetic, which is an excellent thing in terms of my feelings about using animal hair to make brushes.

However, by the third of fourth day of use, the tips had become slightly blunted and weren’t holding the crisp point I require.  In every other respect they remained really good; they didn’t shed any hairs, rust, nor discolour.  The paint on the handle remained in place and didn’t peel or crack.  For me, the loss of tip is a deal breaker.  I would suggest folks who don’t need such a precision-perfect tip could do a lot worse than go for these (very reasonably priced) brushes, but if you need a very crisp point then for me, they haven’t made the cut.  But definitely worth a try.#

Synthetic brushes: A hint to help fix hooked tips

This tip has come in from Rebecca, who left this suggestion in the comments section.  Many thanks for sharing it with us.  “Hooks that develop on synthetic bristles can often be remedied by dipping the bristles about half way into a cup of water taken off the boil. Take care not to get the ferrule or upper bristles wet with water this hot or it may affect the glue. The timing varies from 10-30 seconds based on the brand and size. Gently reshape the tip on your thumbnail after heating. While I don’t expect that is an annoyance one would want to deal with during a long painting session, it will at least restore the brush to a usable condition for lighter tasks.”

Conclusion

So there you are.  The easiest of all these equipment blogs.  What paintbrush do I use?  A Winsor and Newton Series 7, size 1.  And no, they don’t pay me or give me free brushes to say this (however, if someone working for the company is out there and has a whole load of brushes they want to get rid of….?)

Mulberry Morus nigra with paintbox and Series 7 brush

Other alternatives are the Rosemary brushes (which some people adore) and the Zen art minature fineliner brushes reviewed above, both of which are a lot cheaper that W&N.  But thus far I’m still to find a real potential replacement for my Series 7s.

You can order these brushes direct from Winsor and Newton, or from your local art shop.  If that’s not possible, look for good online art suppliers like Jackson’s, Cass Art, London Graphics Centre, or Ken Bromley.  In the US I believe Dick Blick  to be a good art store.

The post Equipment: Paintbrushes appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

Plant clamp

These clamps are really helpful.  They clamp to your desk, and the other clamp holds onto whatever specimens you’re drawing, at whatever angle you choose.  They can hold direct to a stem, of to a small test-tube with water in that hold the plant.  They’re also useful if you ever want to film yourself at work.

Get a decent light

The older I get, the mrore important this has become.  I now have a really good daylight LED lamp.  It’s adjustable, and the light can be rotated.  This means you can get the light on your subject swiftly and easily.  Mine is a Daylight Lumi Task lamp.  Not cheap, but invaluable.

Scalpels and cutting mats

When you’re illustrating plants, it’s really important to take them apart to see how they work.  This helps you understand the different structures, and how all the flower parts fit together.  It can also help when you’re looking at fruits and seeds.  Cross sections of flowers and fruit are often a requirement with a botanically accurate illustration, so it’s good to have the right kit available.

Cowslip Primula veris with dissected flowers, specimen, and scalpel

Scalpels are crucial, along with a good cutting mat.  I tend to use “self-healing” cutting mats, which close up after being sliced.  These are mostly blue or green, so when I’m busy dissecting I pop a sheet of white printer paper on top so I can see what I’m doing.  RS make a good range of these mats.

Scalpels come in many shapes and sizes.  I have my posh scalpel, a Swordfish with a number 3 handle.  Then my normal everyday Swann-Morton scalpel with replaceable blades.  The blades I favour are size 10A.  These fit both scalpel handles. I also have lots of craft knives scattered across the studio, and these sometimes get used to help in dissections, or to sharpen pencils.

Scalpels: Swordfish, craft knife, Swann-Morton ACM round handle, Swann-Morton handle no.3, curved blade 20, 10A scalpel blades

It’s a good idea to keep your dissecting scalpels just for dissection.  Blades blunt incredibly quickly.  It’s also worth noting that if you’re trying to cut a section across a leaf or flower, to look at under the microscope, a razor blade is your best bet.  DOuble sided ones are the sharpest, and it goes without saying that a great deal of care is needed both when using and when safely storing these.  Wilkinson sword make good ones.

Pins and Prodders

I’m pretty sure “prodder” is not a technical term, but I use it to describe a rear-mounted needed with a wooden handle.  This tool is properly known as a “seeker” (I think) and is invaluable.  I use it all the time to life the edges of leaves, to move things under the microscope, to hold a bit of a plant in place as I draw it.  A variant on the theme is the dissecting or prepping needle, another useful and similar tool. I’m sure you can buy these prodders separately, but you may as well invest in a dissection kit.  That way you get seekers, scalpels, scissors and forceps all in one handy canvas container.  I like the ones sold by NHBS.

Assortment of tools you might find in a dissection kit.  The prodder is at bottom left.

I use a lot of pins and foam or polystyrene.  This allows me to pin specimens into the correct position when I draw them.  I’ve pinned bat and swallow wings, dragonfly bodies, and leaves that seemed intent of curling up.  You could invest in entomological pins.  These are very slender, so can be used for pinning insects too.  They’re also good to use as “prodders” as they have even finer tips than the wooden handled one.

This bat has its right wing pinned into position with an entomological pin

As well as pins, specimens (especially botanical ones) can be held in place with a bit of blu-tak.

Scissors

A fine pair of sharp scissors is great if you want to neatly remove a part of the flower or plant for a closer look.  Dissecting scissors are good, as are embroidery scissors which often have tiny blades and sharp pints,  Do not use these for anything other than your dissections!  They’ll blunt super fast.

Tweezers

You’ll also need a pair of watchmaker’s forceps.  These have pointed tips, and are an integral part of a dissection kit.  You can sharpen these if needs be on a whetstone.

Measuring

You need a ruler when you’re doing botanical illustration,  You may not be working to scale, and that’s fine, but having a good tool at hand which allows you to compare the lengths of different parts of a plant is vital.  Your eyes can really trick you, especially when it comes to under-estimating the length of a stem. I have a whole range of lovely Rabone rulers.  The longer ones are great to tear paper against, and as cutting edges.  Because they’re made from steel, they don’t get nicked or warp like wooden rulers might.

I also use callipers when I’m illustrating insects, it really helps get the proportions correct.  Mine are made by Clarke precision.

Banded jewel beetle Chrysochroa buqueti rugicollis. This beetle was drawn from a specimen using callipers.

Some illustrators like Proportional dividers, however I’ve never used them.  Others use the cunning trick of placing their specimen on graph paper, so you can easily get the sizes right with minimal disturbance.

Magnifying glasses

These are absolutely vital.  If you’re trying to identify specimens in the field, or if you’re getting a closer look at a plant you’re drawing, you’ll be needing magnification.

Hand lenses (also known as loupes) are great, and relatively inexpensive.  I have several.  In the studio, in coat pockets, in my handbag.  The same is true of scalpels, although it’s really important to remember that carrying any blade is technically illegal.  Not so for the hand lens.  These can be hooked onto a finger, or worn around the neck.  They tend to multiply x10, x15, or x20.  I use mine ALL the time.

A few of my trusty hand lenses.  The one on the left belonged to my father when he studied Zoology at college

They’re made by various companies; Opticron, Kite, and Gowllands.  All are good.

Jackdaw Corvus monedula with painting materials…and a hand lens

I have used a desk magnifier, but this broke.  For a while I used the glass lens, but eventually this too broke, or perhaps it was stolen by the children for some paper-burning excersizes.  Anyway, I know it’s no longer around.

Green cellar slug Limacus maculatus with my illustration and my old hand-held magnifier

I replaced it with a rather good hand-held magnifier.  Eventually this was replaced…with glasses!  Now I have decent reading glasses and a good daylight lamp, I can see much clearer.

Microscopes: Dissecting microscope

There comes a time in a botanical illustrator’s life when you just have to bite the bullet and buy a dissecting microscope.  I use mine a lot.  It’s crucial when looking at tiny things like mosses or the flowers of grass.  There’s a big enough space under the lens to see plenty, and the magnification is enough to make a real difference to the level of detail.  I got mine second hand, which really pushed the price down.  A new one from a decent company like Brunel comes in at about £60 – £100.  You can even buy additional eye pieces to double the magnification.

If you do invest, buy one which has a battery-operated in-built light source.

Dissection microscope in use, along with that old broken lens and my sketchbook

Even flowers you initially think are straight forward can reveal secrets when you get them under the dissecting microscope.  Sorting out the fold of the calyx of a thrift flower was a case in point.  I thought I knew exactly what I was drawing, and then when I double-checked under the microscope it turned out I’d invented bits of the flower!  I rely on my microscope to stop mistakes like this before I get caught out by a client…

When working on the Dewberry stamp for Jersey Post, it was so helpful, allowing me to look really closely at the different undeveloped drupelets of a non-ripened berry, and to figure out the thorn shape.

Microscope in use with the Dewberry stamp

Microscopes: Compound microscope

I also have and use a compound microscope which magnifies up to 200x.  This is good for really intricate details, and when I’m illustrating micro-organisms.  It’s left over from my Zoology degree.  I don’t think I would have purchased one for illustration.  Unless you’re about to start drawing diatoms, rotifers, and tardigrades I think you should be ok without one of these.  Saying that, they are a fascinating insight into the surprising details of the natural world.

Diatoms seen through the compound microscope

Microscopes: Digital microscope

A friend has just lent me her digital microscope as I’m currently busy illustrating ants.  One of the species is only 2mm long, so the microscope helps.  I’ve not got used to using it yet, though.  I keep worrying about where the eye-pieces are…

My microscopes: Clockwise are the Digital, Compound, and dissecting microscopes

Other useful things

Photos are helpful for reference, and most phones now come with decent ones.  Make sure you can take close-up shots though.  If you can’t you can buy adapters to help with this.  Mine is a Victising 3-in-1 camera lens.

Microscope slides are useful and cheap.  You can put a piece of sellotape (sticky side up) onto the slide, then have an immobile and perfectly positioned specimen to draw.

Lots of work and drawing equipment on the desk

Conclusion

A lot of the science-based equipment is pretty obvious.  Only a few items cost more than a few pounds (like the microscope) and even these can be found for lower prices second-hand.  It’s not to much a list of what you need, as a list of things that will simplify your illustrating life, and make life easier for you.

If you have any beloved bits of kit I’ve not mentioned, f4eel free to share it in the comments box.  I’m sure I’m missing all sorts of helpful hints and tricks of the trade – let’s share what we know!

The post Equipment: Magnifiers and scalpels appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

Personal Preference

As mentioned before, choosing your equipment can be quite a personal choice.  We develop loyalty to brands and types of drawing tool over the years, and just because it becomes our favourite shouldn’t mean everyone should be expected to feel the same.

This is particularly true for pencils.  Personally, I love using mechanical pencils.  However, I know some illustrators and artists, even within the field of botanical illustration, loathe them.

Pentel P205 pencil with 0.5mm H and HB replacement leads

Why Mechanical pencils?

So why do I love them?

Well, for one thing they give a sharp and clean line.  This is important when you’re trying to record precise details, such as hairs on a stem.  Because the nib itself is sharp it lays down less graphite, so there’s less grey dust to get smudged across the page.

I love the speedy way you can sharpen them; literally, just push hard on the edge of the lead, it snaps, and you have a perfect sharp nib again.  You barely have to stop drawing, let along scrabble about for a pencil sharpener.

These sharp lines are also really helpful in producing “pencil roughs”, a pencil drawing of the subject.  These get emailed off to the client who can ask for adjustments (or a total re-draw) and means mistakes get picked up before you’ve opened the paint box.  Pencil can be rubbed out.  Watercolour cannot.

Pencil rough illustration of Branched Bur-reed Sparganium erectum

I realise that if you were looking for deep shadows and soft edges, mechanical pencils might not be ideal.  However, I’ve learned how to get quite a depth of tonality from these pencils.  As always, the line is darker if you press harder.

Finished pencil illustration of White waterlily Nymphaea alba

What brand and leads to use?

Again, this is quite a personal choice.

I have always used, and am wedded to, the Pentel P205.  I’m not alone in this passion as Ian Hedley’s blog shows.  (This blog also has lots of technical information on the structure of the pencil).

I use quite a hard lead, either HB or H.  My preferred width is 0.5mm (hence the “5” in P205).

Specimen and pencil line drawing of everlasting sweet pea Lathyrus latifolius

I also like the fact that these pencils can rub-out easily (depending on paper).  I use them on hotpress watercolour paper as well as on cartridge paper.

I asked K.T. from Goldspot pens (who wrote a recent guest blog on waterproof inks) for other suggestions to add to the list:

“I also love the Pentel 205! But there are several other mechanical pencil brands that draw and write wonderfully that I’d be honored to mention.  One of my favorites is the Kaweco Sport mechanical pencil.  The Kaweco AC Sport and Kaweco Al Sport are also great options in the Kaweco line of mechanical pencils.  The luxurious pen brand Caran d’Ache also has beautifully functional mechanical pens for $5 up-to $500 (believe it or not!).

The Staedtler pen brand has tons of great, cheap options that draw and write incredibly.  Their Micro 775 and Micro 774 are incredible drawing and drafting pens for architects and sketch artists.”

A note on Cartridge paper

Lots of heavy-weight papers are good to use.  Ones which can take a certain amount of erasing, and are heavy enough not to rumple or crease are prefect.

I use Daler-Rowney Smooth-Heavyweight paper (220g / 135lb) which seems to be widely available.  This paper can even take a certain amount of watercolour, and is great for pencil and ink.

Choosing an eraser

I can’t count the number of times I’ve used a rubber (eraser) and had it feel really hard, and smear the pencil instead of removing it.  It’s also easy to damage the page with a rubber that’s too rough.

About 15 years ago I started using Factis triangle Tri-24 erasers and they’re now my go-to choice.  They’re cheap, soft, and effective.

Factis erasers

I also use them when erasing pencil lines from below finished watercolour (yes, that’s something you can do, if your hotpress watercolour paper is tough and smooth enough!) and when rubbing out pencil guide lines of a finished pen and ink piece.  Sometimes you have to press pretty hard to get the pencil off completely, but it usually works and I’m yet to damage a dry illustration with these rubbers.

False Virginia Creeper, rubbing out the pencil rough drawing under the paint

Conclusion

In conclusion, I’m going to stress again that the choice of materials is in no way mandatory, but a personal matter.  This blog describes the tools I’ve come to love and rely on, but I’d encourage people to ask around, try different brands and pencils, and see what feels best.

Pansy with pencil illustration

Stockists will vary depending on where you’re based.  If you can support your local art shop, please do.  If that’s not easy, or their stock is limited, then larger art suppliers have good online provision.  In the UK, I favour Jackson’s art, Cass Art, London Graphic Centre, and Ken Bromley.  I haven’t lived in the USA for many years, but know that Dick Blick are a good supplier.

Ideally, I’d love people to feel free to use the comments section to talk about their favourite pencils, cartridge paper, and rubbers.  It’d be a lovely resource for people starting out and wondering where to begin, or for seasoned illustrators and artists to find new ideas and equipment.

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