I still can't get used to synthetic brushes for fine detail work
After twenty-five years I should be past these小小的 superstitions, but I remain convinced that nothing handles a fine rigger like a good old Kolinsky sable. I bought a highly recommended synthetic equivalent last month, told myself I was being modern and sensible. Used it this morning on a Passiflora study and ended up cleaning it off mid-stroke to switch back. The spring is wrong, the point doesn't hold, and the paint release feels all wrong to me. I know the ethical arguments, and I respect them. But I wonder how many other people quietly hoard their natural-hair brushes and simply don't admit to it.
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Oh, I feel this so much. I have this one old sable round that's basically bald at this point, the tip is gone, it should have been retired years ago, but I cannot let it go because it just behaves the way I expect. The synthetic ones I've tried, even the expensive ones, they feel like they're fighting me the whole time.
I get the ethical side, I do. But I also think there's something about a brush you've broken in over years, the way it holds water just so. That's not superstition, that's muscle memory.
What's the synthetic you tried? I keep hearing good things about the Rosemary & Co synthetics but haven't taken the plunge myself.🙂
It was a Da Vinci synthetic, the one everyone seems to recommend. I wanted to like it. I really did. The spring was the main problem for me. It felt bouncy in a way that fought against the kind of control I need for fine veining and tendrils.
And I know exactly what you mean about keeping a brush past its prime. I have a No. 2 that has maybe three hairs left that actually come to a point, and I still reach for it when I'm doing anther detail. There's no logic to it. But I also think there is something in how a brush breaks in, the way the belly softens just slightly, the water-holding changes. It's not entirely sentimental.