Favorite Travel Brushes
THE “PERFECT” BRUSH?
In my short art journey I’ve tried a lot of brushes. I mean a lot. Everything from natural fiber squirrel hair brushes to cheap synthetic brushes to Chinese calligraphy brushes. Like bikes, if one can draw that analogy, there is no simple “best” brush for all circumstances. Even the truism that natural hair brushes are superior to synthetic brushes, at least in my experience, is not the case. There are instances when I want the thirsty water gathering qualities of a natural hair brush, but there are also times when I want the springy dryness of a synthetic brush. It all really depends on the particular effect that I’m trying to achieve.
For example, during the first large wash where I’m trying to establish the highlights and general warm/cool without a lot of detail, my brush of choice is usually a soft mop brush (synthetic or natural). As I focus on more area details, I switch to either a smaller mop or synthetic round which gives me more control. By the third pass when I’m working on details (cycling figures, tree branches, etc.,) I’ve switched to a small synthetic round for the ultimate in control and dry brush technique.
If you were to look at my assortment of brushes (after being aghast at the small fortune in brushes), you would notice I generally have a “wet” and “dry” version of various sizes from small size 2s to larger size 18s. The smaller sizes for smaller paintings and the larger brushes to have more coverage for larger paintings. You can see how one could very quickly amass quite a few brushes.
BRUSHES FOR TRAVEL
Travel brushes are their own specific niche in art supplies. While one could argue that every brush is a travel brush (especially if you cut the handles short), there are some travel specific brushes usually denoted by the fact they break in two and collapse into a tidy package that protects the bristles. Most travel brushes tend to be on the smaller size of the spectrum. Usually size 2 to 12. This is usually sufficient for small notebook work, but a little under sized if you’re working in 11x14 or 11x16 sizes.
In 2020, the Spanish brush brand Escoda (not sponsored) released a series of 3 piece travel brush sets with some rather interesting bush shapes and sizes that you don’t see in typical travel brush sets. They finally found their way to the US and when I was at the art supply store in Spokane I was able to take a look at each of them personally. The one that suited my style of painting the most was the blue travel set. What is unique about it is that is has a size 16 (a veritable giant in travel brushes) in their Ultimo bristles which are very soft. Essentially, it gave you a soft mop brush equivalent in a large size that traveled well. I had to have it. I would have purchased just that brush alone but it isn’t available outside of the set. The other brushes were a synthetic size 10 and 6 round, both a little on the drier and springier side.
After painting a few small studies, it has become one of my favorite travel sets. The size 16 has good water retention and can cover large swaths of paper. So far, it is also holding its tip well for some medium detail work. The 10 and 6 are pretty standard and are great for more detail work. For me, the only brush missing in this collection is some sort of brush for texture work. For this, I use an inexpensive Chinese goat hair brush. It is capable of large washes as well but I primarily use it on the drier side, splaying out the fibers to get a good texture for trees and grasses.
Overall, I’m pretty pleased with this combination and plan to use it when we travel or when I need to pack something on the bike. The only thing missing is a travel Chinese calligraphy brush. One can dream.
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