Dear Artist,

Welcome to our new site. We trust the changes will make browsing and shopping much easier for you. As always if you need any help we are only a phone call or email away! For our overseas customers we trust the feature of USA Dollars & Euros is of benefit to you in calculating costs. As with all new things we expect some 'teething' problems and so invite you to point anything out which you think will improve the site.

Whilst I appreciate many of you are experienced Artists who have a broad knowledge of brushes I'm also aware that many of you are absolute beginners. We are constantly asked which brushes to use for which medium and although this is sometimes personal as a general rule of thumb I would suggest the following :-

For Watercolour most Artists lean towards Kolinsky Sable Or Red Sable as this natural hair holds the water and 'bellies' out whilst having a good snap & spring. If it's the point you are after then a Kolinsky Sable will always lead - the taper is far finer and precise. Our flagship range is Series 33 Kolinsky Sable on standard handles (S/H) - these are absolutely beautiful and are a favorite out there. The Series 22 'Designer' Kolinsky Sable closely follows - these taper to a really fine point and are a must when you require the brush to 'draw' - they are very popular for expressive watercolourists as well as botanical painters.

The main difference between Kolinsky Sable and Red Sable is ( apart from the cost ) - Kolinsky Sable springs,snaps and glides along the paper in a totally different way, flowing and holding so much liquid. Thats not to say Pure Red Sable isn't very good - it is also quite beautiful to use - it is slightly softer and therefore will wear down perhaps quicker than Kolinsky Sable. I'm often asked how long will the 'Sables' last ? Well how long is a piece of string? There are many factors influencing the life of a brush. Perhaps you are painting on 'rough' paper, which in effect is like the brush painting sandpaper. Perhaps you aren't re-conditioning your brushes - please refer to the question and answers section when I explain how to do this. Is your paint pure pigment? How many hours per day/week do you paint ??? etc etc.

Both Red Sable & Kolinsky Sable can also be used for oil painting - however most oil artists would choose a longer handle. This is why we offer most of our ranges in both S/H (standard handles) & L/H (long Handles). As you are probably aware the main factor for the long life of oil brushes is maintainence & cleaning out the pigment which tends to collect in the belly of the brush ( more in questions and answers section ).

We have a lot of watercolour artists who prefer a Sable/nylon mix (blend). The benefits of this choice apart from the price is you have the best of both worlds - so to speak. The Sable will retain the liquid and flow onto the paper when pressure is applied and the nylon will give real control, indeed the snap of nylon is sometimes prefered to the more gentle snap from sable.

Then we have Canadian Squirrel hair brushes which are so different from the above. The mops are very popular with watercolourists and silk painters. These have a silky feel and no spring at all. Hold lots of liquid and have a fine point, preferred by artists who like 'wet into wet' techniques. The squirrel 'tinters' are also popular with oil painters for blending and 'feathering out'.

The 'Golden synthetic' or 'nylon - taklon' which it is sometimes called can basically be used for any medium. There are so many types of nylon now availabe it is possible to dye/blend/alter to suit a particular medium. For example our range called 'Shiraz' was designed with Acrylic painters in mind. It's really firm, keeps a good shape and cleans out well. The range called 'Ivory' was designed for oil painters - again keeping a good shape and very durable. Both the Shiraz & Ivory ranges are used by oil and acrylic artists - its down to your personal choice, we also have some watercolourists who use them !

Then we have bristle brushes. There are many varieties of bristles but predominantly we use 'Chungking Bristle' which is the best in my opinion and has a good firmess which when used in oils will leave a brush mark or grain.The 'Hog bristle' is somewhat softer and will therefore feel totally different in the hand.

I'm asked all the time about ' Mongoose Brushes ' - what are they like and who uses them. They were originally designed with the oil painter in mind as they have a firmness for carrying a dense medium yet a really soft touch on the tips, almost like velvet. Again that doesn't mean to say watercolourists can't use them, they are ideal for texturing !

Goat hair is another type of hair which can be used by nearly all artists but for different purposes. For watercolourists Goat hair will hold a lot of liquid and therefore wet the paper quickly without having to 're-fill' and for oil artists they are ideal for blending. Again another example where a brush can be versitile.

Please enjoy browsing the site and wether you are looking for Water Colour Brushes, Oil Brushes, Acrylic,Guache or Egg Tempera brushes we trust we have something for you. Not forgetting all you Ceramic Artists, Restoration and Conservation artists, Dental Technicians, Nail Artists, Musical Instrument makers, TV & Makeup Artists , Industrial users etc etc - we hope to be of service.

We value your time and your custom. As a family business we realise the importance of traditional values and trust you will be pleased with our product and service.In a competitive world we have remained 'good value' and yet our quality isn't compromised. Our brushes are handmade and shortly we hope to make a 'thumbnail' for you to click and see how it's done!

We offer a free Mail Order catalogue which we will be delighted to send to you, all the brushes illustrated are actual size which may make selecting easier for you. In a world full of 'call centres' and 'big business' we are proud to remain small. When you telephone you will be answered by a 'real' person - unless of course we are closed. If you need to email a question please do, we try to answer all emails within a few hours and last but not least - enjoy your painting as we enjoy making the brushes for you to use!

Kindest regards,