That’s a great question. Thank you.
A Soft brush is made out of Rabbit or Goat hair, holds a lot of water and can come in many sizes. The disadvantage is that once you complete a stroke with it, the brush has to be re-loaded as it will not keep it’s shape.
The primary uses for a Soft brush are:Painting Birds breasts with one stroke.Swirling the brush and allowing it to split to form a Horse’s main and tail.Doing the same to create a Goldfish tail.Painting the ‘Culm’ or stalk of the Bamboo.
A Hard brush such as the Large Orchid Bamboo has great resilence and you can do more than one stroke with a single loading of the brush. For example, you could do four or five Bamboo leaf strokes with one loading. Hard brushes also come in many sizes from a Fine Detail on up and they are made of Wolf or Deer hair.
I have purchased several brushes from Nan and none have disappointed. I also try to thank the animals that have given so generously to help us develope our art. Perhaps this is why in so many Chinese Brush and Sumi-e paintings, the animals are shown as beautiful, powerful, and so worthy of our love and admiration. I have tried using various watercolor brushes and I do not get the same results. Are there any special tips to consider if one chooses to use synthetic brushes?