Rosemary & Co R9 Travel Brush Review

I'm pretty sure I picked up the R9 squirrel hair mop travel brush from Rosemary & Co because of some minor positive comment on it in Jane Blundell's blog, and have become increasingly pleased with the choice ever since. It was my second brush after getting an Escoda Reserva Kolinsky Sable #8 Travel Brush, and at the first didn't seem to be as useful and pleasing as my Escoda, being a bit snapless and floppy, and without the needle sharpness of the kolinsky.

However, as I continue on with it I find I reach for it more often, feeling more comfortable to scrub with it and treat it a touch less gently then my kolinsky. I did underestimate the usefulness of it's point, but have become used to its difference. Further, the rate at which it puts pigment to paper and the ease of adjusting the pigment dilution by touching brush to water is exceedingly nice and can be done without too much thought, as opposed to my kolinsky brush :-)

Not so purdy, but still usefull :-)

My only issue with this brush is that even being careful when I cap it, I still occasionally catch stray hairs on the side of the brush, as the fit is extremely tight, bending them backwards and making it a little less pleasing to look at, even if it doesn't actually affect the practical usage of it excessively. Even after 6 months of usage, it still sheds a hair now and then, but I continue to appreciate this brush, and will likely pick up another should the necessity arise :-)

Klum-Pinsel Travel Brush Review

Kolinsky Gussow Steckpinsel Gr:10

Measured hair width - 10mm, hair length - 14mm

It was of great interest to me when my hap was to land upon a thread in Wetcanvas, discussing paint brushes, that pointed out the splendid German brush maker Klum-Pinsel*(Non-English link). A shop that upon closer inspection and with the help of Bing's Web page Translator*, was shown to have a wonderful variety of brushes, and especially travel brushes*(Non-English link) plein air painters might want to take note, with prices that, at the time of this writing, were competitive with the much beloved Rosemary and Co brush makers. The only other difference I'm not sure of between the makers is the exact kind of hair used by Klum-Pinsel.

Being in the market for a flat travel brush, I compared the largest of Rosemary & Co's and Klum-Pinsel's flat travel brushes, and after a call and some emails with Klum(involving Bing again), I found I could get a larger cheaper brush from Klum according to the given measurements of both manufacturers and shipping quotes to San Diego, CA; so I went ahead and bought it, the Kolinsky Gussow Steckpinsel Gr:10 :-)

Klum-Pinsel's s brush on top, compared to a #8 Escoda Reserva below

My initial thoughts on painting with this brush were, something about never having painted with a flat brush before, and afterward were on how it had approximately the same strong snap as my Escoda Reserva brushes, holds plenty of pigment, and has an ok edge.
The edge isn't perfectly sharp but my understanding is that if I wanted sharpness, I should look to a synthetic bristle, which I'd rather prefer not to, or get a mixed bristle next time.

It is a travel brush, so I should mention that the fitting of both pieces together, closed or open, was perfectly snug and left no wiggle room. The bristle squeeze is a touch tight when closing up, which is  something I worry about when a bit jittery from caffeine at a cafe after a day in of painting, an inconvenience but nothing impossible to deal with and worth the trouble for having a larger brush :-)

As of yet I heartily recommend this brush, looking on to time's breaking the brush in and feeling out it's longevity.

The travel brush when closed up

*links may break

Highlight: Manganese Blue

It's a well-known fact that manganese blue is, or at least almost is, an extinct species of pigment.

At the time of this writing, it's still available in dry pigment form from Cornelissen Pigments*, and in watercolor tube by manufacturer Old Holland* at some online retailers and in pan form from the boutique paint maker Pen Holder Arts*(at least occasionally).

Side by side swatch of boutique vs large manufacturer

For interest's sake I got my hands on both available brands of genuine manganese blue and compared them. I found they were similar except for pigment load, that is to say that you need far more of Old Holland's manganese blue paint to approach what Penholder Art's can achieve with so much less. Another point of interest is that Penholder's is a pan paint but much more easily wet and disolved in water than the tube paint from Old Holland, which struck me a touch odd.

As a side note: I recently discovered that one online retailer, Jackson's*, seemed to no longer carry the PB33-only variety of Old Holland's, replacing it with a Manganese Blue Extra(a multi-pigment paint). After communicating with interested parties on the subject, I found that Old Holland ran out of PB33 more than a year ago, and consequently, remaining retail stock is running out.

Though rare, this pigment is widely regarded for its hue, granulation, and low tinting characteristics. Handprint's author said of it "This crystalline synthetic inorganic pigment, a near perfect cyan hue, imparts a lyrically coarse texture even after extensive milling. Though never a popular paint, I feel this is of the loveliest blue pigments ever used in watercolors: it imparts a unique poetry to sky, water or landscape greens when used in diluted mixtures that put its granulation on display. "

4x6in Plein air piece from Union Street Railroad Bridge in Salem, OR - Steven Drenning Jr

The above piece illustrates PB33 in all it's glory. Used singularly and only in the sky here, you can see it's lovely granular quality starkly contrasting the quite similarly hued but non-granulating PB17 of Holbein's Irodori Antique Turquoise in the water below. 

*links may break