Brushes: good sables?

Core Topics Materials
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What are favorite sable brushes used for blending? Looking for good suggestions.

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Hmmm… that’s a great question Suzanne. I personally like synthetics or sable/synthetic blends for blending. For more aggressive blending I like Dick Blick synthetics (particularly flat washes):

http://www.dickblick.com/products/blick-studio-synthetic-wash/

For less-aggressive blending I like the
Da Vinci Cosmotop Spin Brushes (they can get very expensive though):

http://www.dickblick.com/products/da-vinci-cosmotop-spin-brushes/

Additionally, I use the Sceptre Gold sable/synth blends quite a bit (washes and rounds):

http://www.dickblick.com/products/winsor-and-newton-sceptre-gold-wash/

For the least aggressive refinement work I have actually been recommending duo-fiber makeup brushes. They are relatively cheap and resilient—and they do a GREAT job:

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Thank you. For small paintings I have been using Lowe’s Cornell mini mops which are excellent for softening edges and Langnickel sky wash for larger areas of blending but I see a lot of people using and blending with sable and I haven’t found ones I like yet, as I heretofore haven’t painted with sables; only use them for blending. I did buy those make up brushes you recommended a while back and they are excellent thank you for the tips on these other ones. I think I would like to find something synonymous to my Langnickel 1357 sky wash which is a 3/4 inch brush and try to get it in a larger and smaller size for various applications. The hairs on it are so soft! And actually those makeup brushes you recommended are the closest I’ve seen so far to its blend ability. Thank you for the suggestions the only other sable I might be looking for might be one for portrait work specifically.

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I have several mop brushes I got inexpensively from one of our local art stores. They had several sizes so I have about five of them. They look like a makeup brush with short handles, and they work really well! I got them in the watercolor brush section. They are very, very soft hairs for synthetics.

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Can you take a picture of them Bev?

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Sure! I will do that.

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FYI I tried to order the real technique brushes and they were about $26 and the company call me through Amazon and said they were no longer available in the white and they only had the brushes in a different color. It made me wonder if they were actually the same. I canceled the order in anticipation to share the information with this group to see if there might be an alternative source for the brushes. I bought them before when you mentioned it in another setting and I love them and I’m ready to purchase another set .

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I purchased them (white in the photo) arrived and were the coloured ones seem fine though

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Thanks John!

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I’ll order a new set Suzanne and see if they are the same. I know that they do have a number of brushes with many different color handles that ARE slightly different. We’re on it. :slight_smile:

EDIT/UPDATE: The above duo fibers are listed as currently unavailable. I’ve ordered these as they look similar:

I’ll let you know if they are the same.

ADDITIONAL UPDATE: Upon receiving the above brushes I can confirm they are indeed the same!

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I like these brushes for small blending They are called the wee mop by Silver

For larger blending areas I like Cotman 999 19mm/3/4 by Winsor& Newton They are available at Michaels

And for huge blending I like ecotools makeup brush for the neck. I get this at Ulta. It’s 3 inches wide. I use this when I am doing large gradients like the sky. It also sweeps away the brush strokes. I have noticed too that if you brush vertically as your last pass you see less strokes.

Always keep these brushes in a drawer or box because they can gather dust (or if you are in my house dog hair) . And as you know dust (and dog hair) ruins the smooth texture.

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Thank you Diane!!! I’ll check those out for sure.

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can i please ask which type of Da Vinci Cosmotop Spin Brushes you would recommend ?
there are so many types… just got a little confused which one you meant :slight_smile:
thanks in advance !

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Hi Liza!

I use the Da Vinci Watercolor Series 5080 CosmoTop Spin (Wash Synthetic with Red Handle) brushes. Again, they can get pretty expensive depending upon how large you go.

Hope that helps!

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Thanks a lot for the answer Anthony ! :blush:
i found these brushes in Jackson’s to be less expensive then in Blink ,
University 233 , Screpte Gold II - are also less expensive there , + they have free worldwide shipping (over £20) :slight_smile:


but Princeton’s 3050 are more expensive.

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I especially like the Blick Masters synthetics. They seem to hold their shape well and can handle more aggressive brush work.

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Tony, you should share your links for Paris Hilton Glitter brushes and Moerca here from today I can’t find them on Amazon Also, I think the Real Techniques ones you have might be different than mine. As someone mentioned in the group, yours looks more like a foundation brush vs. the brush density on mine. Also Natalie shared some on Insta I am trying to find :smile: