Review: Rembrandt watercolour brush (series 100)

Rembrandt watercolour brushes are made by Royal Talens, a company located in Apeldoorn, Netherlands.

These are the different series of watercolour brushes available from Royal Talens. Click the image above for a larger view.

• Series 100: Kolinsky red sable hair, round with fine tip
• Series 107: Petit Gris Pur/red sable hair, round with extended pointed tip
• Series 135: Quill mop brush, Petit Gris Pur, round pointed
• Series 110: Red sable hair, round with fine tip
• Series 114: Petit Gris Pur, round with fine tip
• Series 132: Petit Gris Pur, oval pointed, cat's tongue brush

Petit Gris Pur is Russian blue squirrel hair.

Series 100 and Series 110 look quite similar. Series 100 uses Kolinsky red sable while Series 110 is just red sable. Series 100 seems to have a larger belly and hence should be able to hold more water compared to Series 110. Other than that, I don't expect the performance to differ noticeably.

Sizes available are

• 000
• 00
• 0
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 6
• 8
• 10

The gold-coloured metal ferrule looks beautiful, classy.

The body is wooden, short handle, and comfortable to hold.

Here's a comparison with other size 8 brushes that I have. From top to bottom: Rembrandt, Winsor & Newton Synthetic Sable, Da Vinci Casaneo and Silver Black Velvet.

The two WN and DV synthetic brushes have good points but they are not as sharp compared to the Rembrandt, or should I say a kolinsky sable.

There are people who don't use brushes made with animal hair. Good news is synthetic brushes nowadays are really good and comparable to sable brushes. Unless you have a synthetic and real sable side by side for comparison, you may not see or feel the difference. That said, the WN and DV synthetic brushes are also capable of painting thin lines, but it's easier with the Rembrandt watercolour brush.

The SBV brush is made with a mix of squirrel and synthetic hair. Its point is quite sharp too. SBV sizing is about 1-2 sizes smaller compared to other brands.

The Rembrandt watercolour brush performs well. You get get thin and thick lines easily. It has good water holding capacity and releases water well. The kolinsky hair has good spring and can go back to its point easily.

These are strokes from the WN Synthetic Sable. Unless I label the two photos, I personally can't see the difference between the two.

Here's a drawing painted with the brush.

The brush performs well so it's a satisfying brush to use.

Kolinsky sable brushes are great for painting details, thin lines and going into tight spaces. My painting style is loose so I don't necessarily need a kolinsky sable. Having said that, it is a fantastic watercolour brush with predictable consistent performance. Highly recommended.