Watercolor brushes: features of choice

To create a real masterpiece, the smallest details are of great importance, and the choice of a drawing tool plays a decisive role. Each type of paint has its own requirements for brushes, and watercolor is no exception. Even a person with remarkable talent cannot paint a watercolor painting if he chooses the wrong tool, so this moment cannot be ignored.

Features:

Watercolor is a non-aggressive dye, therefore there are no restrictions on the pile material - both natural wool or bristle and synthetic materials can be used. Moreover, in the arsenal of a professional there should be a place for brushes of all types of stiffness, but beginners should not purchase a whole set at once, because this will only confuse and complicate the choice.

It should be noted that watercolor requires a huge (compared to other painting techniques) amount of water, because the material chosen must retain moisture well.

The size of the pile, accordingly, should also facilitate a large amount of entrained water. This does not mean that absolutely all brushes must be very large, but at least one such tool must be present.

Varieties

Watercolor brushes may seem the same only to a 100% beginner, while professionals distinguish a number of varieties of such an artistic tool. The classification is carried out according to a number of parameters, each of which is important.

The first factor is material. The ideal for an artist is considered to be a watercolor sable hair brush, which is highly hygroscopic and durable., however, such an acquisition will cost a lot. Among other materials of natural origin, brushes with nap from a goat, squirrel, camel or bull are distinguished, but they are no longer of such high quality.

Synthetics seem like a bad option to professionals, but such brushes are inexpensive, therefore they are in great demand by ignorant people. Beginners are often advised to take either inexpensive natural material or a combination of synthetics with wool.

In addition, artistic instruments are also classified according to the shape of the pile. In particular, wide brushes are good for painting large areas, thin brushes for drawing small details, flat brushes for soft glazing, that is, applying a transparent top layer over the bottom one. There are also more unusual brushes: rigging or calligraphic. Each of them has a narrow purpose that is useful for a professional artist, but not for a beginner.

Recently, special brush pens have gained great popularity, which resemble an ordinary pen, but write with watercolor paint. The paint in them is usually quite dry, so you need to paint on a wet surface, however, a special water brush, also created on the principle of a pen, was invented to moisten the canvas.

Manufacturers

Real professionals with knowledge of the matter can talk about the advantages of certain brushes from different manufacturers, but this point is more related to personal preferences than to objective factors.

The most widespread in our country is predictably received brushes of domestic production. As a rule, they are distinguished by average quality, but at the same time relatively low cost, which makes them an ideal choice for anyone who is studying or even just trying himself in watercolor art.

If it is still permissible for children's creativity to buy goods from a little-known manufacturer, then for serious needs it is worth choosing something of the level of the "Nevskaya Palitra".

Foreign brushes sold in our country are usually considered the property of exclusively professionals, since they cost a lot, but the quality is also excellent. The manufacturers of such brushes are American, European or Japanese companies that are well known in narrow creative circles. Here the choice is extremely diverse, but the products of the Da Vinci and Pinax brands can be distinguished.

The review of manufacturers will not be complete if we ignore Chinese brushes, but for serious needs it is better not to buy such products. It cannot be unequivocally stated that in the Celestial Empire they do not know how to make such a product at all, however, its acquisition involves a significant risk, because the product may not justify the funds invested in itself, even if they were small. Chinese tools are still being bought precisely because of their cheapness, but with this approach you cannot learn to draw well.

Which ones to choose?

There is no definitive advice on how to buy watercolor brushes - different types work for different techniques. You can give only a few general recommendations, which, perhaps, will somewhat narrow down the huge range of choices and help you choose something that would be suitable even relatively.

A beginner should start with a small set of 3-5 brushes. Perhaps, chasing is not for a variety of pile materials, but for a variety of sizes, since the arsenal should contain tools for quickly painting areas and for small details. In the second place among the criteria for choosing a set, there should be a noticeable difference in the shape of the pile, however, one should not think that the difference in size and shape are interchangeable criteria.

For those who plan to paint in the "alla prima" technique on wet paper, a large brush will be very useful, with which the paint will not be applied at all: it is designed to wet the base.
For glazing, the essence of which is to overlap the lower bright layer with an airy upper one, a thin-bristled brush is more suitable, capable of capturing a small amount of paint and feeling the difference in the degree of pressure.

For those who want to create watercolor drawings, including painting landscapes from nature, but he is lazy to tinker with real watercolors, special brushes-pens with a water reservoir have been created. It is much easier to store and transfer such an economy, and the result in skilled hands is no worse.

You should not buy an artistic tool based only on reviews on the Internet. Creativity is a matter of taste, so it is better to buy brushes directly from the store, having the opportunity to hold the tool in your hands before buying.

Care and use tips

Watercolors are relatively gentle on brushes, and yet they must be rinsed thoroughly after each painting session. Fortunately, due to the watery nature of such paints, washing tools is not difficult - just place them under running water.

After the brushes have been washed, they should be dried, ensuring that the bristles are in the correct position during drying if possible. If you neglect this rule, the pile will quickly tangle and lose its shape, and then there can be no question of any productive use for its intended purpose.

It is the care of the safety of the pile, including the maintenance of its correct form, that is the main task of the artist. It is unacceptable to put the brush in the glass with the pile down, regardless of whether this happens during the drawing process or after the session. Such an attitude to the pile will lead to the fact that it will bend and take on deformed outlines, as a result of which it will not be possible to use it for further exercises.

Old brushes that have nevertheless become unusable should not be thrown away immediately - they can be used in a new way. For example, you can use them to mix colors on a palette or wet a canvas with water.