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You gradually build a set of eight beautiful brushes during the course series, which makes it more affordable to get good ones. Personally curated brushes. No guesswork (except for me hunting down the right ones in a barely translated world !!) Just excellent tools to help you enter the world of Chinese Brush painting.
You are not required to buy my brushes, but they are not included. If you already have gorgeous Chinese brushes that match the two new brushes for the class, you don't need to feel pressure to buy mine. You are also free to watch, or paint along with something else, but there will be no sales once the lesson has begun until it is lunch time or the end of the day, in fairness to everyone else. Click below to see pictures and measurements of the brushes.
Shown in the photo from left to right are the brushes in my set. Spotted Weasel, Medium Orchid Bamboo, Small Orchid Bamboo, Large Orchid Bamboo, Long Goat, Hummingbird, Bee & Blossom, and the Jointed Bamboo Brush. I realize now I put the Jointed bamboo brush out of order. it should be swapping places with the Hummingbird Brush.
Click below for more photos of the brushes.
A note on brush care:
Do not wash brushes aggressively using the palm of your hand, or warm or hot water. The initial soak is brief and water should not be warmer than your body temperature. Cold water is fine. Sometimes I just use the clean water or final rinse well of my brush water to get the glue off the brush.
After painting (or before changing colors), swish the brushes in plenty of cool water. When you are done painting and swishing, pat once or twice on a clean towel, no dragging or pulling or wringing or aggressive handling of the brush. Wipe the handle dry. Reshape the brush to a point with just your fingertip. If you have a rack, allow the brush to hang dry to keep water out of the handle and delay cracking.
Never store brushes tip side up and wet unless it is sitting on the brush rest and full of ink, in which case you have no choice unless you want a mess. Storing a wet brush or brush roll with bristles in the air will cause the bamboo to split earlier. When transporting your brushes, lay they flat in a bag. Don't stand the roll up in your bag. Ideally, go home and hang them up on a rack, but you can just leave them to dry flat in the roll if you don't have a rack. A gentle incline is nice, but that's enough to make them all fall out of the roll.
If your bamboo splits, it's just moving along in its life cycle. I have seen famous artists with split bamboo handles painting beautifully, the brush is not done until it's much older. When a brush no longer comes to a paint when wet, it is entering the punk rock stage in its life cycle, turning it into a grass brush. That means it's time to replace the old brush, but keep the one that is getting old and use it for techniques which are harder on the brush, such as splaying the bristles and making stripes or grass.
Don't load the brush all the way to the top where it meets the handle with paint. This will cause the brush to get ink or paint at that part. If a brush is no longer coming to a paint, gently swishing it in a cup of water with a few drops of baby shampoo or human shampoo may help, or massage a drop of soap into the bristles with your fingertips. Do not use the brush soaps designed for brushes such as Masters or pink soap or even Castille soap. Just a human shampoo if ever. How nice is it, to never have to use soap? Pretty great, and it makes it easy for plein air, if you save some water for a final swish.
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