Mark Boedges Beginner Set

Two principles guide my choice of brushes.  The first is that I prefer long-haired brushes. They have more spring, allow for heavier paint loading and a greater variety of application. They do not dig into underlying paint as much as shorter-haired brushes.  The second is that I am the kind of person who believes in the “right tool for the job”.  So I have a lot of brushes for a lot of different things.  Delicate things require delicate brushes, and chunky things require chunky brushes.  With these two general principles in mind, I use the following brushes.

Eclipse X-Long Combers

These have become my workhorse brushes.  They can hold a lot of paint, and when they are heavily loaded, the stroke can look a lot like a bristle stroke, but without digging in as much.  When they are lightly loaded, they produce a wonderfully broken and streaky effect.  Also, as they age and wear down (and this happens fast with all my brushes because I don’t take good care of them), they splay out in beautifully useful and organic ways.  Also, I will chop the ends up with scissors to create even more jagged brushes that can produce effects no other brush could. I have all sizes, both new and chopped up. ( Ouch, I'm cringing at the thought, Mark, but smiling as well as I know so many artists who do the exact same. - Rosemary )

Series 279. Master Choice Long Flats 

These are good all-around brushes that I use in two main ways.  The larger ones are great for covering larger areas of the canvas, again without digging into previous layers.  And the smaller ones are great for detail work.  I have all sizes.  These brushes are great for producing defined strokes of paint: think chiselled edges.

Series 273. Masters Choice Riggers

I actually do paint rigging on boats with these!  But also tree trunks and branches, and cracks in rocks.  I could not paint any of these elements without these brushes.  They can hold a lot of paint which allows me to use them much like a calligraphy brush, achieving a thin stroke with little pressure and a thicker stroke with heavier pressure.

Series 2085. Chungking Egbert

This is my most interesting brush.  It’s a bristle.  But it is very long, longer than any other brush by far, and thus it behaves much like a softer brush because of the immense spring it has. The paint can be lightly deposited without digging into the underlying paint.  But it leaves a very bristle-like stroke of paint, full of beautiful, sharp ridges.  Now, hold on to your hats, because I love this brush the most after it ages and I chop up the ends until they are really jagged.  With the super long hairs and a wildly uneven end to the brush, this thing can suggest so much of the jaggedness and texture I see in nature, it’s insane.  I have all sizes, both new and chopped up.

Bravura Long Flat

These are my standard bristle brushes that I use to start paintings, with which I do washes and splatters and drips.  They are also useful for general painting where a heavier application is required, and the real beauty of these brushes is how well they hold their shape.

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This set contains 14 brushes (all on Long Handles):