A new range of brushes!
The Onyx are a range of stiff haired, short handled synthetic brushes which have a great spring, hold their shape incredibly well and have a good colour holding capacity. Smooth, versatile brushes that glide with paint, they are best used with heavy body or fluid paint. They are firm yet flexible and have a lovely silky texture when working with them. They are perfect for both precision work and looser styles and can be used with acrylic and oils.
I decided to give a few sizes in both the flat and round a little try out. I used Jackson’s Artist Acrylic in Orange Red as I thought it would be a good test for both brushing out flat and creating more defined brush marks. I used two of our Jackson’s Ultralite Panels to test the brushes out on as it is a great, lightweight surface
When first touching the brushes without having paint on them, I could feel that they had a great spring and bounced back when I pushed them onto my hand. I was surprised at how much water and paint the brush held, this meant that my lines went further and I was able to create a more continuous line. The brush also reacted well when I applied pressure to it, the bristles did not splay outwards and held their shape well.
In the Flat range I tried the Mottler 1 inch, 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch and in the Round I sampled sizes 12, 8, 4 and 1 with a variety of different brush strokes. I noticed that I had the ability to produce both thick, bold lines with the flat brush and also really thin lines with the edge of the bristles without it dragging or the bristles splaying. The brushes also allow you to blend really easily and are flexible enough that you can create subtle, soft marks.
Click on the underlined link to go to the Onyx brushes on the Jackson’s Art Supplies website.
Brush orders over £20 have free worldwide shipping.