Bring Your Artwork to Life with the Best Watercolor Brushes
Whether you are a budding artist or a crafting veteran, you could always do with a new set of watercolor brushes. If you leave your brushes too long, they’ll get hard and worn down. Painting with subpar brushes will make it difficult to bring your vision to life. In fact, watercolor techniques depend on brushes that can glide across the canvas and blend paint seamlessly.
However, there are so many watercolor brushes available to buy; it is difficult to know where to start. Luckily, we have provided this buying guide to point you in the right direction.
What is a Watercolor Brush?
A watercolor brush is an art tool used by artists who want to paint in the watercolor technique. These brushes are usually made with natural bristles (hog, squirrel, goat) or synthetic fibers and are known for retaining moisture and releasing it at a steady pace.
Things to Consider When Buying Watercolor Brushes
There are lots of things you should consider before purchasing your next set of watercolor brushes. These include:
Capacity
When we talk about the capacity of a watercolor brush, we are referring to how much water the bristles can hold. But, of course, this depends on the materials used to make the brush.
Point
Before you pick up your new watercolor brushes, you should inspect whether the brush comes to a satisfactory point and whether it maintains that point while you are using it. However, many amateurs are often dismayed when their brush dries and fans out. Do not be alarmed; this should rectify itself once you reapply water. If not, then you probably need a better brush.
Spring
The spring of your brush refers to how steady the brush is on your canvas. A word of advice: if your brush does not have enough spring, it will splay when you touch the canvas, sacrificing control and precision. Conversely, too much spring will result in the brush losing pigment and moisture quickly.
Snap
Snap is the opposite of spring. If you are buying a new set of brushes, you’ll want them to snap back into alignment with the handle after use. Natural fibers, namely goat or squirrel, offer little snap. On the other hand, Taklon and hog hair brushes are more likely to regain their parallel shape. Although different brushes are better suited to particular styles, you should consider the amount of snap if you are looking to utilize a specific technique.
Flow and release
Also important is the rate at which paint is released from your brush onto the page. If the brush is high quality, it will offer an even flow, allowing for control and precision. For example, natural hair bristles are excellent for the flow and release of color because of the biological structure of the hairs themselves.
Dump
You should take care to avoid any brushes that release all their load at once. While you may be looking to implement a blotchy technique, this is usually very frustrating for most painters. So instead, check customer reviews to check your brushes won’t dump all their pigment in one go.
Natural or synthetic
There are numerous pros and cons for natural and synthetic brushes. Therefore, you would do well to consider what you want to paint (not to mention bristle shape and arrangement) before deciding between natural and synthetic.
Synthetic bristles are undoubtedly the cheaper of the two brush types. They usually keep a lot of snap and spring when wet. If these brushes are of good enough quality, they will hold their point well. That being said, their fibers are more prone to dumping their color load in one go. Admittedly, these brushes won’t last forever, and they are not as eco-friendly as the natural alternative.
On the other hand, natural bristles are much more expensive, though they will last forever if you look after them properly. They also offer unique features that cannot be replicated in synthetic brushes. For example, the natural construction of the bristles allows the brush to absorb moisture and offers a pleasing, steady release. However, no two natural brushes are built the same. As such, it may take you a while to find a brush that compliments your artistic flair.
While natural brushes are usually the best quality, we still recommend having a few good synthetics at your disposal for mixing and scrubbing. In addition, you may object to using natural brushes because they contain animal products, in which case, only a synthetic brush will do.
Customer reviews
If you are buying your brushes online, it is good to check the customer reviews to see what other people are saying about the product. This is the best way to figure out if the brush will suit your style. If you are happy (or unhappy) with your purchase, we recommend leaving your own feedback to help other buyers in the future.
Watercolor Brush Price Range
Like most art tools, watercolor brushes range in price depending on their materials and quality. For example, you can purchase a set of synthetic watercolor brushes for less than $20. However, you can find top-of-the-range brushes for well over $200.
That being said, you should think less about the price of the brush and more about how the brush will serve your artistic style. Sometimes a cheaper brush will do exactly what you need, while the more expensive options won’t yield the same results.
Best Watercolor Brush FAQs
Q. What is a watercolor brush?
A. A watercolor brush is an art tool unlike any other. While it contains bristles at one end (much like a conventional brush), they are designed to hold water in the bristles so you can have control over the pigment. These brushes are similar to other painting brushes but ensure you have control over the watercolor paint.
Q. Do watercolors fade?
A. Whether or not your pigments fade depends on the quality of paint you use in the first place. If you invest in good quality colors, the painting should stand the test of time.
Q. What is the most famous watercolor painting?
A. Without a doubt, one of the most famous watercolor projects was JMW Turner’s collection of illustrations for Dante’s “Divine Comedy” way back in 1826.