Custom Brush Options – Red Sable Brushes

The quality of a paintbrush determines the quality of a finished work of art. Even the most practiced artists find it difficult to control their strokes when using the wrong type of brush. Red sables are some of the most prized brushes when details, fine lines and smooth textures are desired. Made from the hair of a species of weasel, red sables tend to be thought of as having a finer quality than any other natural or synthetic fiber brushes.

Often considered the ideal brushes for watercolor and oil paintings, red sables are strong with a sharp snap. Flexible enough to be used with thinner, water-based media but sturdy enough to be a preferred brush for use with thicker paints, red sable brushes are extremely versatile. They can create fine, precise lines or broad shapes.

Red sable brushes can be manufactured in a variety of styles. Brights are brushes with short bristles that form a somewhat square shape. These tend to be less flexible and create sharp edges. Filberts have longer bristles and more flexibility, but they are still formed in a flat, rectangular shape with rounded edges. Rounds, riggers and liners have cylindrical heads but come to a very sharp point. These can hold more paint and are often used for lettering or calligraphy. These fine brushes are a must for any artist.

Custom Brush Options – Squirrel Hair Brushes

Soft, thin, absorbent and pointed, squirrel hair brushes naturally come to an extremely fine point when wet. Although sometimes considered a cheap alternative to sable, squirrel hair lacks the necessary spring to perform in the same way. Nevertheless, the better-quality squirrel hair brushes provide an especially smooth finish in lettering and watercolor wash applications.

Four types of hair are common in the manufacture of these brushes. They are:

• Kazan Squirrel - The gray-flecked tail of this Soviet Union native provides the fine, elastic hairs so prized for use in fine watercolor and china painting brushes.
• Blue Squirrel - Although similar to those of the Kazan squirrel, the hairs of the blue squirrel are longer, softer and somewhat lower in quality. Blue-black and morphing into gray, these soft and delicate hairs make fine finishing brushes.
• Taleutky Squirrel - Also known as Talayoutky, the strong gray hairs of this squirrel are longer than are those of the other varieties. They therefore make good lettering quills.
• Canadian or Golden Squirrel - Not only is the hair of this squirrel shorter and thicker than that of the others, but it also possesses a belly similar to that found in sable. While too short and rigid for round brushes, these variegated golden hairs do make a fine watercolor flat.

Not all squirrel hair brushes on the market are pure in type. Many share their ferrule space with synthetics or other types of squirrel hair.