Calligraphy Brushes

A “Calligraphy” brush is kind of a code for an easy to use, responsive, and very versatile brush. This kind of brush is one of my specialties! A high quality Calligraphy brush is easy to get a fine point from; has enjoyable springiness, provides excellent feedback, and most importantly has very smooth and reliable delivery of paint and ink.

One of the reasons i use a wide variety of different materials for brushes is to produce the best Calligraphy brushes anywhere. Based on a combination of my own research plus the feedback i’ve received form thousands of visitors to my exhibits, all agree that my Calligraphy brushes are outstanding. Plus i have a number of offerings.

I offer Calligraphy brushes in a number of bristle diameters which range from about 1mm up to about 12mm and a couple of lengths of about 3/4 of an inch and about 1 inch.

Below i’m going to briefly describe the offerings. The brushes all do an excellent job and some do a more than excellent job.

Siberian Elk

Siberian Elk. This is the ultimate brush, in my opinion. It does everything right. Read the description for the details Siberian Elk is a rare material that provides excellent responsiveness and even better delivery. I offer this in a 3/4 inch and 1 inch lengths and in 3 different diameters.

Siberian Elk is ideal for water based media, such as watercolors, inks, Aqueous and Medium Body Acrylics.

Bamboo is variable in diameter. Due to this I do not set a specific size for brush diameter but select a diameter range. You can always request a specific size by asking for a larger or smaller diameter and i will get as close as i can.

The “Itty Bitty” Siberian elk has a bristle diameter of about 1mm, a bristle length of about 1/2″ and can produce lines as small as about 1/2 the width of a human hair. It has a bamboo cane handle. Obviously this is a very small diameter brush.

The “small” diameter Siberian Elk has a bristle diameter range of between about 2mm and 4mm and a bristle length of about 3/4 of an inch. This brush will also produce a line roughly 1/2 the width of a human hair.

The “medium” diameter Siberian Elk has a bristle diameter range of between about 4.5mm and 9mm, and a bristle length of about 3/4 of an inch. This brush has a bamboo cane handle. This brush will also produce a line roughly the width of a human hair.

The “medium Wangi” diameter Siberian Elk has a bristle diameter range of between about 7mm and 9mm, and a bristle length of about 3/4 of an inch. This brush has a Wangi bamboo handle. This brush will also produce a line roughly the width of a human hair.

You can also use the 1″ long variants of the brushes above. The extra length reduces the responsiveness just a tad.

Goat and Synthetic Blend

My Goat and Synthetic Blend brushes are about 90% goat hair and 10% synthetic sable filaments which are uniformly blended. The Goat and Synthetic Blend brushes are my most popular overall. They offer great performance, great media holding capability, a subtle feedback.

The Goat and Synthetic Blend is ideal for water based media, such as watercolors, inks, Aqueous and Medium Body acrylics.

The “small” diameter Goat and Synthetic Blend brush has a bristle diameter range of between about 2mm and 4mm, and a bristle length of about 3/4 of an inch. This brush will also produce a line roughly the width of a human hair.

The “medium” diameter Goat and Synthetic Blend brush has a bristle diameter range of between about 4.5mm and 9mm, and a bristle length of about 3/4 of an inch. This brush has a bamboo cane handle. This brush will also produce a line roughly the width of a human hair.

The “medium Wangi” diameter Goat and Synthetic Blend brush has a bristle diameter range of between about 7mm and 9mm, and a bristle length of about 3/4 of an inch. This brush has a Wangi bamboo handle. This brush will also produce a line roughly the width of a human hair.

Springy Brown Synthetic

My Springy Brown Synthetic brushes are a very responsive synthetic filaments which is textured and tapered at the tip. The responsiveness of the brush is a favorite among those who use calligraphy brushes. They offer excellent performance, good media holding capability, a delightful feedback. My synthetic brushes can last up to about 20 years with proper care.

The Springy Brown Synthetic filaments are my most versatile brush material. It is ideal for water based media, such as watercolors, inks, Aqueous and Medium body acrylics, plus solvent based media types. The synthetic material is largely impervious to the cleaners typically used for solvent based paints and inks.

The “small” diameter Brown Synthetic brush has a bristle diameter range of between about 2mm and 4mm, and a bristle length of about 3/4 of an inch. This brush will also produce a line roughly the width of a human hair.

The “medium” diameter Brown Synthetic brush has a bristle diameter range of between about 4.5mm and 9mm, and a bristle length of about 3/4 of an inch. This brush has a bamboo cane handle. This brush will also produce a line roughly the width of a human hair.

The “medium Wangi” diameter Brown Synthetic  brush has a bristle diameter range of between about 7mm and 9mm, and a bristle length of about 3/4 of an inch. This brush has a Wangi bamboo handle. This brush will also produce a line roughly the width of a human hair.

Synthetic Sable

My Synthetic Sable brushes are a tad less responsive than the Springy Brown Synthetic but still offer excellent responsiveness. Like the Brown Synthetic, the filaments which are textured and tapered at the tip. The responsiveness of the brush is also a favorite among those who use calligraphy brushes. They offer excellent performance, good media holding capability, a delightful feedback. My synthetic brushes can last up to about 20 years with proper care.

The Synthetic Sable filaments are a very versatile brush material. It is ideal for water based media, such as watercolors, inks, Aqueous and Medium body acrylics, plus solvent based media types. The synthetic material is largely impervious to the cleaners typically used for solvent based paints and inks.

The “small” diameter Synthetic Sable brush has a bristle diameter range of between about 2mm and 4mm, and a bristle length of about 3/4 of an inch. This brush will also produce a line roughly the width of a human hair.

The “medium” diameter Synthetic Sable brush has a bristle diameter range of between about 4.5mm and 9mm, and a bristle length of about 3/4 of an inch. This brush has a bamboo cane handle. This brush will also produce a line roughly the width of a human hair.

The “medium Wangi” diameter Synthetic Sable brush has a bristle diameter range of between about 7mm and 9mm, and a bristle length of about 3/4 of an inch. This brush has a Wangi bamboo handle. This brush will also produce a line roughly the width of a human hair.

Russian Sable

Russian Sable is a very fine tip Sable brush. It requires a light touch and can produce lines about 1/2 the width of a human hair. Russian Sable comes into its own with a practiced hand.

Russian Sable is ideal for water based media, such as watercolors, inks, Aqueous Acrylics. It is too soft for more viscous media types.

The “small” diameter Russian Sable has a bristle diameter range of between about 2mm and 4mm and a bristle length of about 3/4 of an inch. This brush will also produce a line roughly 1/2 the width of a human hair.

The “medium” diameter Russian Sable has a bristle diameter range of between about 4.5mm and 9mm, and a bristle length of about 3/4 of an inch. This brush has a bamboo cane handle. This brush will also produce a line roughly 1/2 the width of a human hair.

The “medium Wangi” diameter Russian Sable has a bristle diameter range of between about 7mm and 9mm, and a bristle length of about 1 inch. This brush has a Wangi bamboo handle. This brush will also produce a line roughly 1/2 the width of a human hair.

The “large” diameter Russian Sable has a bristle diameter range of between about 10mm and 12mm, and a bristle length of about 3’4 inch. This brush has a bamboo cane handle. This brush will also produce a line roughly 1/2 the width of a human hair. This is an extraordinary brush and made to order.

Goat Hair

Goat Hair is the most widely used bristle material the world over. Goat Hair forms a short fine tip and requires a light touch to use the tip. Goat Hair has good responsiveness and excellent media holding and delivery. In most of the Mid-East and Far-East, Goat Hair is the prefered material for calligraphy brushes. This is due to long tradition and has no basis in the brush’s performance compared to other media types.

Goat Hair is ideal for water based media, such as watercolors, inks, Aqueous acrylics.

The “small” diameter Goat Hair brush has a bristle diameter range of between about 2mm and 4mm, and a bristle length of about 3/4 of an inch. This brush will also produce a line roughly the width of a human hair.

The “medium” diameter Goat Hair brush has a bristle diameter range of between about 4.5mm and 9mm, and a bristle length of about 3/4 of an inch. This brush has a bamboo cane handle. This brush will also produce a line roughly the width of a human hair.

The “medium Wangi” diameter Goat Hair brush has a bristle diameter range of between about 7mm and 9mm, and a bristle length of about 3/4 of an inch. This brush has a Wangi bamboo handle. This brush will also produce a line roughly the width of a human hair.

Stiff-ish Orange Synthetic

My Stiff-ish Orange Synthetic brushes use a very responsive synthetic filaments that are textured and tapered at the tip. The responsiveness of the brush is a favorite among those who use more viscous water based paints and solvent based paints. These brushes offer excellent performance, good media holding capability, a strong feedback. My synthetic brushes can last up to about 20 years with proper care.

The Stiff-ish Orange Synthetic filaments are versatile. They are intended for more viscous for water based media, such as Medium and Heavy Body Acrylics, Oils and other solvent based media types. The synthetic material is largely impervious to the cleaners typically used for solvent based paints and inks.

The “Itty Bitty” Stiff-ish Orange Synthetic has a bristle diameter of about 1mm, a bristle length of about 3/4″ and can produce lines as small as about the width of a human hair. It has a bamboo cane handle. Obviously this is a very small diameter brush.

The “small” diameter Stiff-ish Orange Synthetic brush has a bristle diameter range of between about 2mm and 4mm, and a bristle length of about 3/4 of an inch. This brush will also produce a line roughly the width of a human hair.

The “medium” diameter Stiff-ish Orange Synthetic brush has a bristle diameter range of between about 4.5mm and 9mm, and a bristle length of about 3/4 of an inch. This brush has a bamboo cane handle. This brush will also produce a line roughly the width of a human hair.

The “medium Wangi” diameter Stiff-ish Orange Synthetic  brush has a bristle diameter range of between about 7mm and 9mm, and a bristle length of about 3/4 of an inch. This brush has a Wangi bamboo handle. This brush will also produce a line roughly the width of a human hair.

 

Many of these brushes are also sold in sets.