Kat Gosiengfiao

Here’s a survey of watercolor brushes that I use

My Chinese Brushes from college.

These guys have been around for a long time and I remember feeling that I absolutely must use these whenever I was painting for our plates or exercises. It’s a shame though that I didn’t know back then how to take care of them well; one (not in the pic) was thrown aways since it’s tuft (hairs) fell off completely.
This happens when the adhesive holding the tuft to the handle/ body is not there anymore.

I also remember our college professor telling us that your tools will eventually bend according to the way you hold it. True enough, they now have a special bent form exact for my grip or hold.

1. An assortment of round brushes you can buy from Deovir with different fibers like Sable, goat hair, and synthetic.
   I mostly use these for smaller works and for fine details. I prefer using synthetic fiber for very thin lines and details so that the stiffness of the brush helps me control where the paint goes.
   Included here is a size 0 Chinese brush which I use for liquid frisket/ masking fluid.
2. Daler Rowney – These brushes are so-so. They were free in a paint set that I got but I barely use them. They do have natural fibers.
3. Rigger Brush (Berkeley) – This is the one with the long white fibers- perfect for calligraphic brush works and long strokes since it holds a lot of water. Its hair is synthetic. The other three similar-looking brushes are from Craft Central. They are so-so synthetic brushes. They come in packs of 3 or 5.
4. Raphael brushes – These round brushes are my fave. When wet, they have a very defined, thin tip which is perfect for floral painting. The natural fibers spread the paints evenly in washes too.
5. Deovir Pony fiber brushes- I provide these ones for my workshops because they are very versatile and can hold a lot of pigment and water. They are really worth every Peso.
6. Hake and a mop- they all have natural hairs, offer large coverage, best used for big washes in my landscapes and first layer washes.

Those are my most used brushes which I keep in a Bamboo holder

You can see there’s also a waterbrush, nib and holder and a bunch of pencils there.

That’s what I carry around. The bamboo holder needs to be tightly rolled and wound with a rubber band.