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Synthetic Sable Brushes - Review

In the Studio with Michele Webber

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In this video I review SAA Synthetic Imitation Sable Brushes. In order to properly trial these new watercolor brushes I will be painting a yellow butterfly step by step. Paint along with me or just watch as I try out and compare a small flat, large round, rigger and tiny round paint brush. What’s the difference between these new brushes, synthetic and animal hair brushes?

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SHOW NOTES AND RESOURCES:

THE BRUSHES:

SAA Imitation Sable Brushes…

Full Set: https://amzn.to/32Fbhv9
12mm Flat: https://amzn.to/2O6agsX
Size 10 Round: https://amzn.to/2SsRHxJ
Size 0 Round: https://amzn.to/2GlkKOT

THE PAINTS:

UK Cadmium Yellow Light Talens Rembrandt 20ml: https://amzn.to/2TQTgcF
UK Cadmium Yellow Deep Talens Rembrandt 20ml: https://amzn.to/2XFP6SL
UK Cerulean Blue Talens Rembrandt 20ml: https://amzn.to/2RuT0xO
UK Sepia Talens Rembrandt 20ml: https://amzn.to/2XV8Rtu

And used after the video ended to further define the background:
UK Prussian Blue Talens Rembrandt 20ml: https://amzn.to/2JexoC9

Tape and three types of suitable paper:

Montana 48mm Gummed Tape UK https://amzn.to/2CjyxU7

Saunders Waterford High White Paper (my favourite) https://amzn.to/2CjLUmY

Bockingford (cheaper per sheet and great for beginners) https://amzn.to/2HkH90I

SAA Practice paper (also good for beginners) https://amzn.to/2Y0cieQ

READY TO STRETCH YOUR PAPER? This video will take you through all the steps you need: Stretching Watercolor Paper With Gummed Ta...

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16 Comments

@ohbli_oh 5 years ago

‘Paint with the broken end of a stick’ 💛 I have a sable too and since being vegan I feel quite horrid when I look at it and can’t even use it.

@suel4269 2 years ago

I signed up for a Jean Haines course at the beginning of lockdown and bought her Kolisky Sable brushes .I had no idea how they were made. They were very $ so I will treasure them in memory of the poor little creatures.

@beebee8018 4 years ago

I have had this SAA set for several years and they are still like new. Very good brushes.

@justacatwhocantype 5 years ago (edited)

Yes! Thank you! I'm so glad to have found your channel, it always makes me so happy to see artists who use their conscience when choosing their supplies. In this day and age there is absolutely no need for real hair brushes, and it puzzles me that many of the people who would not be caught dead in fur, have no problems buying sable or squirrel brushes. Personally, I would, just as you have said, prefer to paint with a stick.
And the sad irony is that real hair brushes aren't even neccessarily better than synthetic ones. Personally, I own two real hair brushes: a sable and a squirrel-synthetic mix. The sable I got because I bought a set of watercolors without realizing that the brush in it was sable, and the squirrel mix I bought because I am sometimes not the sharpest tool in the shed, and thought that the description meant that it is synthetic squirrel, not squirrel and synthetic mixed. In both cases I found the hair to be so strinkingly similar to my synthetics, that I did not even realize that I was using animal hair until somebody told me. And if I do not realize a difference unless someone tells me about it, then that difference cannot be big enough to justify hurting and killing animals. And this being said, even the greatest brush in the world would not be worth it to me. If it takes someone being gassed, electrocuted or drowned for me to paint, then I would rather not paint.

@colleenmcchesney1482 4 years ago

Really enjoyed watching you paint the butterfly and use the various techniques with each brush. I am continually learning with each video I watch of yours.

@arshadabdullah7425 7 years ago

Thank you! This was very useful and informative. I’ll try it 😊

@ClariceAust 4 years ago (edited)

“For me, I’d rather paint with the broken end of a stick than buy a Kolinsky sable brush no matter what results it gave.” Michele - YOU ARE A LEGEND! I won't use them either because they're cruel. Also, my Zoom class painting teacher who has sold 1500 artworks & taught numerous students over the length of her career, doesn't use them either because she prefers the results she gets with synthetics. Congrats!

@Beagleheads 6 years ago

THANK YOU!
And I love your videos.

@nettiemoss324 5 years ago

Good for you: I am so pleased to hear someone telling the truth about Kolinsky - why do we need to trap/bring pain to creatures just because someone says it is better to paint with than synthetics! You only have to look at some of the best artists who only use synthetics to know that isn't true - if you have the talent then you can paint with any brush! Kolinskys are known to suffer for days on end in these traps before someone puts them out of their misery: it is a disgrace.

@karenirving7088 2 years ago

Thank you for the facts I hope many people watch this. I’m watching this years later and I still hear foolish people buying natural fur brushes😭

@tombryan720 6 years ago (edited)

I have the same pencils you are using and they work just fine but I've found the letters rub off of them very easily. The black velvet brushes seem to work fine for me.
Great painting😊

@sailajaallanki6126 2 years ago

😍 beautiful

@andrewfrost8866 5 years ago

Thank you for calling out the fur trade. As a vegan, I find all animal abuse appalling, and tis is just another aspect of it that goes unrecognised.

@cousinjesse4450 3 years ago

I want to upgrade my brushes and I noticed you have to be very careful as some of the better synthetic brushes say they are a mix with natural. Any brands I should focus on I prefer a stiffer brush in general. My current round brush does not have a good point. Still learning but ready to upgrade.