Let's Talk Water Brushes! | Pros and Cons, How to Fix Blockages, and Doodlewash Feature
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- Опубликовано: 13 авг 2017
- Let's talk about water brushes! This video is NOT a review, comparison, or detailed tutorial on how to use water brushes but rather an intro to watercolor brushes, why you might want to use them (or not!), and how to fix your water brush if it stops working.
Thanks so much to Charlie and Doodlewash.com not only for hosting World Watercolor Month and running an amazing blog, but also for featuring me as a guest artist!
Check out my feature to learn a bit more about my roots and where I find my inspiration at Doodlewash: dwsh.co/2vwHB4U
If you'd like to see a specific technique video on painting with water brushes, let me know in the comments below. For videos on brush comparisons, I recommend checking out The Mind of Watercolor or The Frugal Crafter's videos on water brushes!
Pentel Aquash Water Brushes: amzn.to/2eX9sWh
Sakura Koi Mini Water Brush: amzn.to/2fDK6gb
NOTE: I actually went on Amazon to find the link for the Artistrove brushes and their descriptions actually states that their brushes are INTENDED to function the way they do, with the water coming from the base. I have not found them to be functional for my style of painting, but let me know if you've had good experiences with them and if so, how you use them more effectively. amzn.to/2wI194L
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♦ Favorite Papers ♦
Arches 100% Cotton 140lb CP: amzn.to/2uJkxzx
Strathmore 500 100% Cotton 140lb CP: amzn.to/2hc8VAt
Bee Paper 100% Cotton 140lb CP: amzn.to/2uIzMIQ
CansonXL 140lb CP: amzn.to/2eWTPht
♦ Favorite Paints ♦
Daniel Smith Essentials: amzn.to/2uJ30r3
M Graham 10-Color Set: amzn.to/2eXHIR0
Schmincke 12 Half Pan Set: amzn.to/2uMzChZ
Sennelier 14 Half Pan Travel Set: amzn.to/2eWQFdx
Mission Gold 24-Color Set: amzn.to/2vTL9MF
♦ Favorite Brushes ♦
Escoda Versatil Size 8 Round: amzn.to/2uMcVdX
Silver Black Velvet Size 10 Round: amzn.to/2hc7MZH
Princeton Elite Size 12 Round: amzn.to/2vhLStU
Princeton Neptune Quill Size 4: amzn.to/2tSWkI8
Pentel Aquash Water Brushes: amzn.to/2eX9sWh
♦ Other Favorites ♦
Mijello Fusion Palette: amzn.to/2vTU0xY
Fineline Masking Fluid: amzn.to/2tT6U1T
Pentel Pocket Brush Pen: amzn.to/2u8nm9T
Faber Castel PITT Brush Pen: amzn.to/2hclgnY
Sakura Micron Pens: amzn.to/2u8bIM5
Uniball Signo White Gel Pen: amzn.to/2xTcUYL
Col-Erase Colored Pencils: amzn.to/2hcyHo1
Pilot Eno Mechanical Colored Pencils: amzn.to/2yUgpMW
I have created watercolor palettes in collaboration with Da Vinci Paint Co. Your purchase of these palettes and other purchases made with the affiliate links below helps to support two small businesses and this channel:
Da Vinci Paint Co: davincipaints.com/?aff=9
Denise’s Earth Friendly Palette (half pans): bit.ly/3A6B5CY
Denise’s Earth Friendly Palette (tubes): bit.ly/3NXnX8R
Denise’s Earth Friendly Refill Set: bit.ly/3G9VmLu
Denise’s Wildlife Palette: bit.ly/3NXAgSA
You can find all my favorite and most used supplies here: www.amazon.com/shop/inliquidcolor
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Jackson's Art links are also affiliate links in which a small percentage of the sale supports this channel without costing you more. Thank you for your support!
Jackson's Affiliates: bit.ly/2HztjHF
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Don't forget to check out the feature on the amazing Doodlewash Blog! Charlie has so many great blog posts, artist features, and a wonderful community to share and create with! dwsh.co/2vwHB4U
In Liquid Color: Loved your story on Charlie's blog, and was glad to see how you adapted your lifestyle as health issues popped up. I can tell it was not easy or smooth, but you persevered. Appreciated your watercolor paper review, and will start to test my paints on my paper before I start to paint. Great suggestion!! My everyday go to paper is the Strathmore 400 Windmill series, but my absolute favs are the Canson Moulin du Roy 300gsm cold press and the Arches 300gsm cold press. They are both "orgasmic" to paint on. Yep, I need to get out more! ;-) "Thank You!", for that very labor intensive, informative watercolor paper review!
A great little tip I picked up for working with a water-brush outdoors is - in place of an old rag or tissue paper - Cut the toe out of an old cotton sports sock, fold it over and wear it as a band on the wrist of your other hand. It makes it super easy to clean off your brush tip, especially if you are working off your lap or standing. I suppose you could just buy one of those sport sweat bands but the old sock works for me.
Indeed, I learned that trick from John Muir Laws - eager to try it in the field!
Yep - that's the chap - he's the one I got it off... Oh by the way... big thank-you for the instruction on stripping down the regulator in the Pentels. I left water in both of mine last summer and a black slimy algae built up in the tank and the reg' making them near unusable. I have just finished testing them after stripping them down and washing them out with mould cleaner and they're like new now.
I love water brushes. They make watercolor slightly more adhd friendly!
I bought the Pentel Aquash brushes in a pack of 4 at Michael's. It has small, medium, large, and flat brushes. With a coupon I paid maybe $13.
I have been using water brushes for at least 10 years and that is the first time I have ever seen one taken apart. Who Know. Good Job Denise. lol.
Thanks Jacqueline! I'm glad to share something new :D
The Sakura brushes are nice because they come with a travel plug so you can separate the chamber from the tip while traveling, yet keep the chamber filled with water. The plug fits the Pentel brushes, too, so I swapped mine to theirs (don't tell!). Good intro video and worth it just for the DYI fix-it. Nice! Cheers! :)
Oh, nice to know the stopper works for the Pentel too! now if only I knew that safe place I put mine so that I wouldn't lose it... ;)
Mine was all great, until I lost the plug...
Thanks for this video. All you picture done with these brushes are lovely. I totally understand the good brush, good paper pressure that you talked about. I like to take these brushes with me in my travel kit. I'm glad you showed how to take the brush apart because for me I like less water and now I know how to adjust my brush to do that.
Hi Denise, thank you for the video. I have some water brushes and I enjoy using them whenever I go out painting. They are really useful. Congrats on the Doodlewash article. I'll go read it right now 😊
Great video Denise! 😁 I'm glad you added fixing the water brush part at the end. Very helpful. 😃
Your channel is amazing, thank you for the high quality content! So much useful information!
I love using reusable cellulose/cotton Swedish dishcloths while I'm painting rather than disposable paper towel. I like them better than a traditional "woven" fabric towel as I feel they are more gentle on brushes. They are super slim and dry quickly making them convenient for travel! I get the Skoy brand and cut the regular dishcloth size into smaller sizes for travel.
Denise, you are a lifesaver. I watched this video a while back and found it incredibly informative. Today I woke up to the unpleasant surprise of a clogged waterbrush. I immediately rushed to this video, and now it flows like a dream.
So glad it was helpful!!
Aquash brushes are very "juicy". They were the first brand I used. I find them extremely difficult to control because the water flow is constant. They dilute the paint and always leave puddles. I hated waterbrushes until I discovered Kuretake Zig waterbrushes. The Zig waterbrushes have an even flow without dripping - a whole different experience than working with an Aquash brush. I highly recommend the Kuretake Zig waterbrushes.
I use water brushes a lot because I do a lot of painting doodles while I'm "oot and aboot," but I also use them at home when I'm doing "real" paintings. I've especially found them great for using with my Dr. Ph. Martin's ink and I've got a couple that I've filled with different colors so I can use them as brush liners without having to take out my whole ink setup! You're right about the small one; it does seem to let out a little bit more liquid than the large one... which I usually get around by just occasionally dabbing off some of the excess liquid with a towel, which really only matters for my ink brushes. Buying the three pack from amazon is relatively inexpensive and they're so versatile you might as well stock up!
I watched this on the Doodlewash page and really enjoyed it. I loved hearing about your experiences with various water brushes. I, too, purchased some really inexpensive brushes at first and was unhappy with them. I look forward to trying a better quality water brush. Thanks!
Thanks so much Barb. Glad to have you here from Doodlewash! I hope your next water brushes make up for the shortcomings of the others you've tried :)
Congrats on the feature, that's pretty awesome! :)
I love how informative this video is, especially the part about taking them apart to fix or wash them. I might be able to salvage a few brushes using that trick! :)
Thank you Eve! I was definitely worried I would botch something but aside from the delicate little sponge or losing the white regulator piece, I don't think much harm can be done! :D
🙏😌 Thank God I found this video, and thank YOU for making it too!!
😄👍 I had one water brush that I especially loved for it's bristles, and another that I loved because it has a softer body that's easier for me to squeeze. Thanks to your fix-it tutorial at the end, I was able to switch my favorite bristles into my favorite bodied brush. I love it!! 👌☺️
Very useful and objective demo. Thank you!
Great video, very professional demo. Thank you for sharing.😊😅
Omg thank you this fixed my sakura koi water brush! Worked like a charm 😍
Great water brush 101 vid, thank you!! I didn't know you can pull them apart and clean them. The turning directions for the Koi and Pentel are important fodder for the newbie using this tool. Ha, ha!! When I received my Sakura Koi travel set of 24, watercolor paints, I returned my Koi waterbrush that came with the set, thinking it was defective. Tee, hee, hee! 🤣👌🏾
Thank you for the info, very helpful.
I am very new to watercolor and recently purchased the Sakura Koi 48 watercolor set along with 4 different sized Pentel water brushes... Your videos are great and i think you deserve wayyyy more subscribers!!!
Also there is a FLAT pentel brush in case you were not aware.
Thanks so much Bret! Happy painting!
Want to give you my tip, sometimes water isn't available (sink/fountain) so I carry a small empty acrylic bottle with water to refill. Brush, bottle, paper towels, and test paper all fit in a plastic pencil case from the dollar store. You can actually fit 3 brushes. Great video!
Thank you, thank you denise, my brush kept giving off green pigment, no matter how much i washed it. It obviously needed to be opened and deep cleaned. I was going to just toss it and buy another, but works perfectly now. Great video.
This is so informative! And we looove your animal portraits 😍
Right now I'm pretty much exclusively using water brushes, because I'm somehow super bad in controlling the water flow with normal brushes. They work really well for me...as long as I'm not trying to do super large wet in wet washes.
Your back story is very interesting with quite a few parallels to my own. I'm also trying to build my life around my health. It's challenging.
The brushes are so helpful for that, in my opinion. Thanks so much for checking out the feature! Chronic illnesses are a long and difficult road. It's great to have a network of support! Well wishes :)
Yes, I think if I hadn't found these brushes I would never have fallen in love with watercolour.
Thank you! Well wishes to you too :)
Recently found my sister's old waterbrush. It was hard to take apart because it still had water in it after I think two years. There wasn't any mold(as far as I can tell) and I cleaned it thoroughly with soap. I love using it! It's very convenient because I don't have to use big water jugs anymore and I don't have to pick up watercolor as much. It helps a lot when trying to do a fade! It gets clogged a lot which is kinda annoying but very fun to use!
I am just starting to get into watercolor. The water brushes would be a good thing to learn. Dana
Wow, you are genius artist.
Thx so much!
Very helpful. Thanks, thumbs up, and subscribed.
Oh My God! Just noticed my littlest water brush wasn’t working this morning (Derwent) and your fix worked! Thank you so much!
I'm so glad it worked!
Thank you for this video. It saved my Pentel brush :)
So glad!
A little trick to use if you have a leaky water brush is to put some plumbers tape on the threads. This should help stop the leaking.
My favourite waterbrush pens are the pushbutton ones by Derwent. Great control, but it also releases small amounts of water which is great for softening paint edges and blending
Glad you tried them, at the right time they are great. The better ones are worth the money to me. PS the repair tip is great.
Thanks Essie!
In Liquid Color I checked out doodle wash, very nice and I loved that they showed so many paintings, all except for the snake. They freak me out. Hope it brings many more to your website. I know, snakes do a lot of good.
Haha thanks Essie :)
Factual ... that’s what I like. Thanks 🥰
I love the Derwent pushbutton waterbrush pens. The medium is my go to and I have great control with it. Before that I had the cromatek ones and they were not good, drippy and the bristles shed so badly. I also have the fine and flat brush of the Derwent pushbuttons, but I don't use them that much because I rarely need a wash brush when I'm doing more relaxed sketchbook painting, and the medium has a really good point, though I do use my rigger brush when I need fine details, since I don't need much water for it.
Me encanta dibujar usando diferentes técnicas, pero la acuarela la tenía abandonada porque me resultaba demasiado difícil y complicada. Hasta que descubrí los pinceles de agua. Al principio los usaba para mis lápices acuarelables, pero cuando me animé a probarlos con pastillas de acuarela descubrí lo cómodos y limpios que son. Gracias a ellos la acuarela se ha convertido en uno de mis medios preferidos. Ahora me siento un poco culpable cuando los utilizo con papeles y pinturas de buena calidad, pues sé que la mayoría de artistas lo desaprobarían. Por eso me ha encantado tu vídeo: entiendo muy bien la sensación de disfrutar pintando sin presión y me anima muchísimo ver las magníficas pinturas que realizas con estos pinceles.
I love the royal majestic set of 5. As to bit more rigid brush I turn to my davinci junior brushes, i have 3 of those wich i love to pieces ;p i have one aqua brush wich isn't even leaking when flat without that little black plug and i totally forgot the brandname of that. I love the majestics because it's a synthetic wich means no animal abuse, and their scraper back is awesome.
Oh of course you need your book and paints. What book are you using that can do watercolor pleas?
A lot of water brushes spill the water out of the side but where is the difference since it still runs to the bristles and then drops.Ive used them for around a year/the zig ones/and i find the small sizes tend to do that.
Tyy sm u saved my money 😫💕💕
Grate demo, that helps me to Desiderio to buy some,thanks
20:36 what i do if my sponge melted away? how can i replace the little sponge?
ps i know its probably allready asked but what is the journal brand?
I just got a Pentel Aquash in Medium and water drips from the black barrel just as the Artistrove brush did, maybe it was just my brush that did it
This video is really informative though, thank you!
I've only been seeing a lot of tutorials for lettering
I'm glad it was helpful! I'm sorry your brush is giving you trouble.
one little tool i can highly recommend: keep some of the plastic tubes from pump sprays lotion despensers and the like, in different diameters. they are perfect to push parts in and out of pens, and the soft PE plastic will not scratch or damage anything, while paint and ink wont stick to it.
Thank you for the video! I actually own a Pentel water brush, and it's super convenient to take with you outside the work desk ;) My only complaint is that when I squeeze it , the water comes out above the bristles, near the the black plastic. Does that imply the brush to be broken, or am simply squeezing too hard? Hope someone can advise me on this.
My smallest brush does this too, as do all of my cheaper ones. I think it just happens with some. You could try going in like I did in the video and adjusting the valve, but that's entirely up to you!
Which watercolors are in your travel palette? The colors and the brands, I mean. I'm trying to build my own travel palette but I'm not sure what to put in it. And how did you modify that Koi waterbrush so that it fit in your travel palette?
You should do a review of Arteza water brushes!
I have some bent bristles with my Pentel Waterbrush :( What should I do to fix it ?
I don't what it is about Pentel's medium size Aquabrush ... 3 out 4 I've bought quite working about a week or two, can't squeeze water through it. My fine and large tip brushes don't have this problem. I researched the hell out of this but have come up short as to exactly what is going on (you're video came the closest to showing how to take it apart ... I found out how but it was more experimentation than knowing what exactly to do...or not do)... The Pentel's regulator is a bit different than the Koi ... the white piston only come out through the bristle side, it does not push through the water barrel side, so the problem of the piston sliding out towards the water barrel stopping the water flow and correcting it by pushing it back in doesn't apply to the Pentel. Plus the Pentel's white piston is beveled on both ends (same on the Koi?) and I have no idea how the position of the bevels plays into water regulation (if it even does). There's also a hole in the white piston, does it go all the way through? As far as I've been able to tell it doesn't, so what is the function of the hole? On my medium brushes that have failed I just take out the white piston...sure, now it VERY easy to push out too much water, but better too much than not any ... still, it would be nice if there was something from Pentel that would explain what the problem is and how to correct without buying more brushes and hoping it doesn't fail ... I've been a big fan of everything Pentel for decades so I'd rather they have a fix (or maybe they don't care?) or, I may just have to go on to a different product...
I have trouble cleaning my koi water brush because when i do it with my sponge that came with it and the water would be clean but once i use the paint the old paint would ruin my piece
thank you so much !!
thought i'll never use my brush again
Do you have a video on how to clean brushes? I got some really nice brushes abs scared to use them because I'm not sure how to take care of them. Your thoughts would be amazing.
Watercolor brushes don't need much cleaning if they're only used for watercolor. You can buy brush soaps for them and gently clean them if you like, but I only do mine once or twice a year :) Just rinse well after each use and don't leave them tips down in water cups.
In Liquid Color thank you so much. Love watching you paint. I am new to Watercolors.
Oh I was soo scared to leave them to dry, ferrule side down, thinking I will damage the tips. So along with my makeup brushes, I also dry my painting brushes, ferrule side down, hanging off a makeup brush drying rack ($5 Walmart, Sigma etc also have them)
I ordered the pentals using the link in description. When you squeeze them water comes from where the clear part meets the black part that holds the bristles. Is that what yours do?
If you squeeze too hard that can happen. If its excessive you can contact them and ask, but it takes time to get use to how much pressure is required.
Caran d'Ache and Faber Castell each make a style of water brush that I think is even easier to control than the Pentel ones. You press a button for water to come out instead of squeezing a larger chunk of the barrel. The Pentel ones are still great. I just get a slightly better result with the other style.
The Caran dAche have been on my wish list for quite some time! I look forward to trying them out at some point :)
I love my Pentel Aquas and now I love them even more since John Muir Laws also likes them😛 having said that I am biting the bullet and buying some Silver Brush and Princeton’s.
I especially enjoy using my Pentels for gouach.... just the right rigidity. BTW plein air I carry just a plain drinking water bottle to refill from. I carry a syringe minus the needle of course which can be purchased at any farmer type feed store as they're used to give livestock shots... or you can get the ones used to measure liquid meds to children/babies.
Oh interesting tip for the pentels! I'll give it a try.
If I have to choose which is the best for me between waterbrushes and regular brushes... I can't 😂 I use both regularly. I also don't really like Koi's waterbrush, and love the Pentel and Kuretake ones the most. Even my cheap waterbrush feels better than the Koi's--but I guess it's up to everyone's preferences, though 😀
I agree, the mini Koi at least is pretty difficult to use. The plastic is much harder to squeeze and the flow isn't as even. I haven't used the full sized one!
Cool. Its interesting that you feel pressure using higher quality materials - I do too, and Ive never heard anyone else talk about that. Personally, I prefer Princeton Velvetouch brushes - I just like the feel of them. I do all my painting at home, but if I ever wanted to paint on the go, I would definitely consider getting an Aquash. :o)
Where can I find the notebook ? I am trying to buy a travel notebook for watercolor ring
pentel is fairly well known in the eu: Imho the retailer here also supplies the tombows wich kinda makes sence since both tombow and pentel excell in lettering: but when you make calligraphy pens it at end only makes sence they will make brushes as well, afterall calligraphy brush pens are really awesome> so why not make that addition as wel. Think Ink in those brushpens or diy glimmer mists etc.
Has anyone tried the water brush from Marvy Uchida? I'm new to his products and wonder about the quality. It's the least expensive one I could find at Michael's.
omg wish i had seen this - i was using my waterbrush and i could NOT for the life of me understand why the water isnt coming out at all! i then had to take it apart (thankfully i didnt damage it as i was super careful) and i found the stopper and threw it ._. but unlike urs mine didn't have a tiny hole or anything its completely plastic so i dont think it'll work even if i were to push it in (i think it was pushed in in the first place - cant remember exactly) and my brush works fine even thou its nt there anymore
its quite funny how some of them unscrew clockwise and some anti clockwise... i keep confusin tht!
and i really like how u showd the examples of ur artwork and explained the pros and cons of them - i was afraid tht they'll overtake the normal paintbrushes lol
Good video. I use watercolor pencils a lot in addition to regular watercolors. I find that these work really well with watercolor pencils as they have somewhat thick pigment/medium compared to regular watercolors and the stiff bristles control the pencils on the paper better. I particularly love the Caran D'Ache brushes. They have buttons on the side to control the water flow and best of all, a plunger to load the water in. In addition, the 3 -brush set has a large, a small, and a marker tip. I don't use markers, but I find that if I need to erase/lighten small areas of my painting, the marker tip works better than a scrubber since it does not damage the paper as much. I often just use these along side my regular brushes because the stiff bristles give me extra control. I saw a James Gurney video in which he filled up 2 of his waterbrushes with ink/water mixtures (brown and blue) and did beautiful ink wash drawings with those, but I found that I was not skilled enough to control this. I just wish they made a good filbert-shaped waterbrush!
Thanks Lisa! I've wanted to try the Caran water brushes but haven't got my hands on one yet. I hear they're great though, and I like the tip about the scrubber. I may have to pick that one up in general! I've been working on my (terrible) brush letting for months now and am looking forward to trying the ink trick at some point!
I have a quiestion how can i do so the tip of water brush not open
I am just a little to rigid to enjoy these brushes, Maybe I will give them another chance based on your "review" but I have only tried them twice and did not like either occasion! I will use one when I use my Denise's palette maybe the 2nd or 3rd time out but not the 1st! Hope you have a good afternoon and will be back online soon, 'cause your are missed!
It definitely takes a while to get used to them! I didn't like them at first but now they're all I use for travel!
I try to only fill my water brushes with distilled water or water i know isn't chlorinated. I once traveled and used an iron filled with the city's tap water. The steam left ugly rust stains on the cloth I ironed. Thanks be to God nothing expensive was ruined, but I learned to not trust tap water I'm not familiar with. Thanks for showing how to fix a nonfunctional brush.
Could you recommend some art palettes and brushes which are found in India too... Most of the links don't supply goods to India
I'm sorry, I don't know what is available in your country. Can you order from Jacksons? bit.ly/2wjWt9g
What is the water colour sketchbook you use? :3
You can find it here: amzn.to/2miqkGM and the rest of my favorites here: www.amazon.com/shop/inliquidcolor
How do you prevent mold in the waterbrushes?
I've never had issues with mold. The paint shouldn't get into the barrel and just keep the bristles clean. If you needed to clean it out, you can disassemble them like I did in the video.
nice ^^
Very nice objective demo. Thank you for a job well done!
YES the koi brushes are threaded backwards lol. It took me about 20 minutes of trying to get it open to figure that out.
My friend isn't use to these watercolor brushes and squeezed the brush so much alot just came out and now I feel like she broke it because it just keeps leaking out
She can try the fix in this video if she's comfortable doing so!
Can i use it with nanking/ china ink?
I'm not sure. I know with india ink I've had issues with it clogging the brush.
I have an ohuhu water brush and mine wont come outtttttt 😭
Australia
Dont toutch the hair on the brush. The oil from your skin makes it not to soak up water
Not trying to be rude but where's your proof to that??, just curious!
Ashy is drawing it’s true look it up,our skin is filled with oil,and oil with water,they repell each other,so if you keep touching your bristles it won’t soak up water as before
Oh, I think that was the problem with mine ! I like fidgeting with things and I was also testing it on my skin, I gave the hairs a good wash and rub on a cloth and water's flowing again !
how do I stop your videos from showing up on my video suggestions? I never want to make the mistake of clicking on one again and getting my hopes up for some valid information...or beautiful artwork for that matter!
I was waiting in the whole video that she will use them one day 😒