The very best brushes - Rosemary & Co

Whenever I do an order for brushes from Rosemary & Co I say to myself “I do not need another brush” it doesn’t work very well and the resolve is easily broken. 

A few of my favourites... (friends might notice that I put my Ardmore ceramics to good use - and I might add that when I bought these many years ago they were much more affordable!)

And there’s more...

The last order was no different. I have come to like the Red Sable Blend Brushes very much. The mixture provides just the right amount of paint-holding capacity along with some firmness in the bristles. They aren’t as soft as the all sable ones and have the added advantage of being cost effective. My favourites are the Designer pointed rounds which are tapered to a much longer point allowing the artist to ‘draw’ with the brush. The Sable Blend dagger is a very versatile brush allowing for very expressive brush strokes.

I am trying a brush design that I have previously only had in synthetic fibres - a Sable and Ox hair One stroke. It’s quite firm but holds a lot of paint. 

Then there is a very new brush set, the Snowdrop brushes designed for the artist Vladislav Yeliseyev to his particular requirements. The brushes come either as individual round brushes in a range of sizes or as a set comprising three pointed rounds and the wonderful Snowdrop Swordliner - this one was a very special surprise inclusion in my order so I could test the brush.

This brush has a long taper and takes some time to master - lots of practice is clearly needed to use it the way Vladislav Yeliseyev does in his masterful watercolours.  The balance of the handle makes this brush a joy to use - perfectly designed to allow free flowing lines to be created. 

Watercolour abstract using the Snowdrop swordliner. 

Inside the Studio

Artist’s Studios fascinate other artists, collectors and art historians so I thought I would give you a glimpse into my studio. It’s a smallish space - I have banished my car and taken over the garage for my studio. An air-conditioner has been installed to prevent me melting in the heat of the Australian summer, and to any painting fumes. However, I am careful to use odourless solvents and mediums and where possible to open up the doors and let in the fresh outside air.

This post was prompted by an interesting Facebook Page called, suitably, A Peek Inside Artist’s Studios which invites artists to post photos of their studios.

Looking at images of artist's studios reveal a multitude of approaches to studio design. There is the 'nothing gets moved/cleaned/thrown away' variety and also the pristine clinically clean and tidy kind. I must confess I didn't find too many of those!

I think I tend to fall somewhere in between. At heart I am practical and tidy. When I'm working materials go everywhere with abandon.Then I have to tidy up. OK, it's confession time - I have to make room for my students...

When I was unpacking my boxes some favourites were the two Ardmore ceramic pieces. I bought the bowl and jug  many years ago(pictured above). This was before the Studio found fame on the world arena, and when they were (sort of) affordable. I decided immediately that instead of hiding them away in a cupboard I would use them in the studio to store my watercolour brushes.

This video is an interview with David Dawson provides not only a glimpse into Lucien Freud’s Studio but his way of working and personality as well.

I find the images of the studio of Francis Bacon quite disturbing - I couldn't  in my wildest dreams work in a studio that wasn't organised.

The piles of stuff would literally drive me crazy. I must confess to having a “be kind to brushes” phobia - I cannot bear to see brushes abandoned in tins, encrusted with paint. I need a clean palette and lovingly cleaned brushes.