New brushes from Roubloff from Kirov

We've been waiting for this day for a long time! All watercolorists who keep up with modern watercolor techniques have noticed the tool that most renowned masters of this technique use worldwide. These are the Rigger brushes, also known as Liners. I tried to find them here in Russia, but couldn't. I brought some from Germany and had a conversation with the manufacturers at Roubloff, and here it is, the joy - brand new Russian Rigger brushes made of squirrel hair in my hands and in action!

There's one rule among artists: you can never have too many good brushes. The more variety in shapes and sizes, the more interesting the results. Different brushes give us completely different textures. Each task requires its own brush.

Look, for example, if you paint those yacht masts with a large brush, they will look like logs. You won't be able to paint them in one stroke, so they will probably appear clumsy.

The same can be said for the ropes and rigging on a sailboat. For these details, the Rigger brush is essential. Thanks to this brush, the sailboat rigging looks as if it was drawn with a simple pencil, which would be a violation of the purity of watercolor technique.

And what about the tiny branches on trees, especially in autumn landscapes? The Rigger brush is precisely what you need. When painting trees, combining brushes of different sizes is essential to make the branches look lively and natural.

Have I convinced you that a couple of Rigger brushes are essential for you? They are very lightweight. The hair exposure for a size 1 Rigger is quite large, about 2 centimeters. Squirrel hair holds water well, so you can make long strokes. You can pull one stroke up to 30 centimeters, which allows you to create long and very thin lines without interruption. When aiming for lightness and expressiveness, this quality is crucial.

And there's more good news from Roubloff. They offer a new ferrule. It looks similar to the previous metal ferrule but slightly shorter. The new ferrule is stronger and better protected from drying out and detaching from the handle, which used to happen before.

I tried several brushes that used to have a film ferrule, and I liked it. The balance of the brush has changed a bit. Now, more weight is concentrated closer to the working end of the brush. This can be very convenient, especially for artists who prefer a freehand style with hand movements, similar to calligraphy. Aesthetically, I also prefer this ferrule over the film. Visually, it goes better with black handles and the calligraphic shape of the synthetic brush Kolinsky-Mix. But even larger brushes, the squirrel-mix, performed well in action. Perhaps they should consider creating something instead of a simple birch handle, or at least develop an elite series.