FEATURES OF DA VINCI QUALITY BRUSHES - KOLINSKY RED SABLE

More and more watercolour and gouache artists are tempted by offers of brushes which seem a bargain, as they are advertised as “pure Kolinsky Red Sable” or have similar promising sounding labels.

The following information will enable you to be more critical of such offers. What is it that the watermedia painter expects from this sable brush? Longevity, a large capacity to hold colour, elasticity, springiness as well as a finely tailored tip with snap.

Longevity and elasticity are achieved by only using the male tail hair of the Kolinsky red sable (mustela sibirica), grown in the extreme cold of Siberian and Manchurian winters. The elasticity and the springiness of the brush depend on another speciality that should be taken into account. Most hair tapers evenly from the root to the tip. Sable hair, however, shows a root-like thickening only after a good third up the length. The enormous ability to absorb colour, a must for fluid watercolour painting, will stay our secret.

We are grateful to our namesake patron Leonardo da Vinci for the description of the so-called capillary action: How liquid rises up within a narrow hollow. This knowledge underlies the manufacture of our products. Through enforced pressure the drop-free, continuous supply of colour is furthered as well as a precise tip.

If the hair is set too short into the ferrule, the brush wears out quickly. The manufacturer, however, will save significantly in hair cost.