My new Rosemary & Co brushes

My new Rosemary & Co brushes!

Last month I read a post on Matthew Innis' Underpaintings blog about Rosemary & Co's mongoose brushes. Saturday my order of brushes arrived and I've been painting with them the past few days.

They are lovely. They have shed 1 hair. Collectively.

Rosemary & Co brushes are handmade in England. Sounds expensive, I know. Thing is, they're not. Go to their website, order the free catalog, and check out the prices. Remember that 17.5% VAT will be deducted as VAT is not charged on items shipped to the US. Shipping is just 5 pounds which today is about $7.50.

I ordered 7 brushes. With shipping the total was around $87. I ordered a 1" sable/nylon brush for glazing and tried it today. Perfect. No splaying, it held an even and soft stroke. Yesterday I used the Ebony Filbert, size 4 and it was wonderful, soft, yet held the paint. The Ebony Flat size 8 is great for glazing smaller areas.

The prize may be the mongoose. I now have the size 8 filbert and the size 6 round. I'd tried the Raphael Kevrin mongoose last month and do like it, but the Rosemary & Co are even better. Handmade, lose no bristles, great prices.


I ordered the Shiraz, long flat, size 7. I used it for a background to stroke in thick white paint on a small still life and it worked just fine. It's a nylon brush for heavy bodied paint. I tried it for glazing and it splayed, so that might not be the right use for this brush.

I'll be ordering more.