A few thoughts: 1)Using larger brushes will will almost always improve your art, and give much more of a benefit than switching to the best expensive brushes. Since expensive brushes are....expensive, it is often impossible to go very large with them. 2)You can paint just as well with a $20 brush as you can with a $200 brush...you just have to understand the characteristics of your brush, and learn how to use it appropriately to achieve the effect you desire. Can't get a thin line with your your #20 synthetic? Use a rigger for the thin lines... 3)Squirrel hair used to be the sable alternative...now squirrel costs as much as sable used to... 4)I've found that often the CHEAPEST brushes give me the most joy and best results. 5)Princeton Neptune and Raphael SoftAqua are as good as I'll go...a couple of those, and then a motley collection of cheap junk, and I'm good. 6)Most 'good' artists'/pros do not use very expensive brushes. I've seen many using synthetic/squirrel blends and even full synthetic. I've literally only seen/know of a couple of pros who use sable, and that was a long time ago when sable didn't cost anywhere near what it does now. I suspect even THEY would be using synthetics if they were still around today, because synthetics have really improved a lot over the last 40 years or so.

I have Davinci Maestro series 35 Kolinsky sable brushes- they are the BEST. They hold tons of pigment and warer and still have a needle point. Getting them really helped my painting. The high quality hand made synthetic brushes are good, but there is still a significant difference to me. I always reach for the sable brushes first. The size 8 is the largest one I have of the Maestro- just can’t justify the cost for the larger ones .

You sable brush reminds me of a squirrel brush. My sable brush is soft but springs back to its shape. I have Escoda reserve. Love mine great video

I do believe that sable can be better depending on how you use it … but his comparison is unfair and the results are exaggerated. He should have compared the Colineo from da Vinci or even better imho the Escoda Versatil. This comparison is ridiculous and these brushes hold an extremely fine tip. The finest tip I saw so far is escoda Perla …

Tis not the sword but the hand that wields it...

100% agree with you. Always keep your eyes open for big sales.

Only one question. Who on earth is charging you £25 for a Daler Rowney Aquafine 26 Round? That’s rip off pricing!

My conclusion after watching this is that 99.9% of people will be more than fine using a synthetic brush

Very interesting and well explained. Thank you for your time!

I'd rather have seen a comparison of an imitation sable brush. I have one that acts like a real sable, but would have loved to have seen if the faux Kolinsky works as well as a real one

this is a great review! thank you for the demonstration! when i was first starting out years ago, several of my synthetic brushes of varying quality were notorious for developing hooked points after just a few months, and i felt that their tips wore down very quickly. in comparison, i have a Kolinsky sable brush that’s over 40 years old, and it performs like it’s brand new - every time. i think there’s something to be said for the longevity of natural hair; in theory, one or two brushes could feasibly last you your entire career if cared for properly!

I’m wondering about the Taklon fibers. Are they biodegradable? How good are these for the environment? I see people on KZfaq saying that they use vegan brushes. I think it’s misleading but I could be mistaken. I’m sticking with my Kolinsky sable brushes🤣

I ve found a brush called Zen! I was in shock! The price? 5 euro ....better than a zibeline 60 euro one! The origins? Who knows?

I love expensive one too but need to consider my level of painting and budget. Some day I will have one for sure

It’s starting to break up and loose consistency because you are pushing WAY harder with the synthethic one just to prove a point. The differences are not that big if you are objective in comparison. There are DaVinci syhthetic brushes that hold up just fine with your sable one.

What series is that Maestro, a 10, 11, or 35?

Be better to have a painting of a Siberian mink not a squirrel behind you so people can make the connect that sable comes from the tail of an animal who is generally trapped in the wild for their fur or else kept in cages piled on top of each other with no bedding. Many are skinned a live. Not worth that cruelty just for a painting. Winsor and newton synthetic sable brushes are so similar to sable they are even softer and make the most beautiful washes. Aqua elite brushes have a pin sharp point even in their size 12 brush.

So I’m guessing no brush company has paid you off. Nobody doing watercolor wants snap back. I know this and I’m a novice (at best) I make my own out of road kill