Like everyone else, I started with a cheap set of brushes. They were okay, but did not hold a lot of water. Nor were they very good at doing fine detail work. So, I decided it was time to upgrade. I purchased some Pro Arte Prolene Plus Watercolor Brushes. They are an outstanding blend of kolinsky and synthetic hair that provides a brush which delivers color evenly and smoothly across the surface while maintaining a crisp edge or fine point. And that's not just marketing copy. It's really amazing to see these brushes bounce back to their original shape when I wash them. For example, the round brushes always end up with a fine point.
I am very pleased with this investment. Of course, you need to wash and soap the brushes. This is especially true with these brushes, since they have natural hairs (Kolinsky sable hair).
Maintaining brushes is not a hard thing to do. But it does require some consistency. For example, a lot of watercolor buckets are designed with holes to hold brushes.
But that's NOT what you want to use. In fact, by placing wet brushes into those holes, you allow water to drain down into the ferrule of the brush.
That's the metal part that joins the bristles to the brush handle. You can see it in the picture to the right. When water seeps down into this part of the brush, it can weaken the glue and binding that holds the bristles to the brush. Not good.
The solution is simple, but requires consistency. You lay the brush flat when it is wet. Even when it's easier to place it into those holes.
Additionally, when I wash my paint brushes, I turn them so they bristles point downward on the watercolor palette. This allows all the water to drain away from the ferrule. It further protects the brushes.
By the way, if you do watercolor painting on a frequent basis, you might wonder how to store the brushes for easy access. Well, you can use a simple, and inexpensive tool such as The Brush Crate. I use one section for specialty brushes. Another section holds the round brushes and the third section holds the flat brushes. I put my good brushes (that I am more liable to use more frequently) on the outside for easy access. Others that I don't need as often are more toward the inside.
Of course, when I travel (such as to an art class), where I want to bring a range of brushes, I can use a zippered case to hold more frequently used brushes. Though this case shows long handled brushes, I use short handled brushes and have a case to suit them.
I recently decided that I would like to have some travel paint brushes with the same characteristics. If I travel lightly, I will bring my pen & ink, a water brush and these travel paint brushes with me along with a travel palette. I can then either use my sketch book or a water color block to capture a scene.
By the way, if you do watercolor painting on a frequent basis, you might wonder how to store the brushes for easy access. Well, you can use a simple, and inexpensive tool such as The Brush Crate. I use one section for specialty brushes. Another section holds the round brushes and the third section holds the flat brushes. I put my good brushes (that I am more liable to use more frequently) on the outside for easy access. Others that I don't need as often are more toward the inside.
Of course, when I travel (such as to an art class), where I want to bring a range of brushes, I can use a zippered case to hold more frequently used brushes. Though this case shows long handled brushes, I use short handled brushes and have a case to suit them.I recently decided that I would like to have some travel paint brushes with the same characteristics. If I travel lightly, I will bring my pen & ink, a water brush and these travel paint brushes with me along with a travel palette. I can then either use my sketch book or a water color block to capture a scene.
The advantage of this? It's a smaller package, so can be carried with me with much less hassle. But the brushes feel like full size brushes once in use. It's a good mix of features.
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