Product Review - Jackson's brushes for acrylics and oils

Happy new year! I hope everyone had a bit of time off work and some rest and aren't finding the return to a normal routine quite as tough as I did but that's what you get for sleeping 17h a day over the break!

So, I have just posted a video in which I review the wonderful (and pretty) line of brushes for acrylic and oil from Jackson's Art Supplies. They have quite a number of different brushes and I have described them all below and included a link so that you can buy them. I also use some other products in this video, which I have also linked in case you are interested. The gold taklon brush I used in this video was from the economy line by Daler and Rowney "Simply", which are cheap and cheerful and come in multipacks - so I could not give you a normalised price for them. The Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Brush is from her short-handled set (1" flat, 3/4" flat, 3 Round, 6 Round) by Ranger.

In this video, I use cheap canvas panels - my favourite are the Jackson's one, which are quite economical but amazingly good quality compared to most "own brand" products. The heavy body paint I use is CRYLA - Daler and Rowney's professional brand. The fluid acrylic is by DecoArt Media.

To compare the brushes in terms of price and use, I've done a little table for you! You can buy these brushes using the links in the table to view each line OR you can scroll down where most of the lines have got sets you can buy very economically (many with free shipping!) - there are some really great deals INCLUDING a set that contains 1 of each of the Jackson's brushes (except for Onyx).

Vegan?	Line	Fibre	6 Flat cost	Uses and notes
No	Shiro White Hog	Unboiled white hog bristle	£4.70b	Stiff and very high quality. Brief bleaching.
No	Black Hog	Black hog bristle	£5.20c	Softer than white hog but stiffer than black sable(e).
Yes	Onyx	Stiff mixed synthetic	£5.20a	Short handled, stiff, well suited to both fluid and heavy-body paints.
Yes	Shinku	Red soft synthetic	£6.20b	Has good spring. Softer than hog.
Yes	Akoya	Stiff white synthetic	£6.20b	Developed as a "vegan hog" and really delivers. Stiff.
Yes	Procryl	Acrylic	£6.30d	Springy and absorbent so can be used for v fluid washes.
		Comparison brushes:
No	CRYLA	Medium stiffness synthetic	£9.50c	Synthetic. The professional acrylic brush by Daler and Rowney.
No	Monarch	Faux mongoose	£12.15c	Stiffer than sable but softer than hog. Good snap. Winsor and Newton

FOOTNOTES
The prices given are for a 6 flat (about 1/2" or 1.25cm wide) where available but not every brand sells every shape of brush, so the full details are:
a - price for a 1/2" flat.
b - price for a 6 bright.
c - price for a 6 flat.
d - price for a 6 long flat.
e - "black sable" really means polecat ("fitch") hair.

PLEASE NOTE Jackson's offer FREE international shipping for any brush-only orders valued at £20 or more which is an absolute bargain! You can buy any of the brushes mentioned here using the links below.

Jackson's Oil and Acrylic Comparison Set
[£23.00 or US$31.59 or EUR25.90 - this set is eligible for free international shipping as long as you don't buy any non-brush products in your order]
This is a great idea - a set of 5 number 6 flat brushes in Black hog, Shiro white hog, Shinku, Akoya and Procryl, which is a great way to test out all of the different fibres (except for Onyx) economically and given you get free shipping, what's not to love? I think this would also make a great gift. Not suitable for vegans (contains hog). If you want to compare different brush shapes rather than fibres, try the Procryl set (scroll down a little).

Jackson's Shiro White Hog Set of 5 Brushes
[£15.00 or US$20.60 or EUR16.89]
I was really impressed with the quality of the white hog brushes especially when you consider the price - these are professional quality brushes at the price you might usually pay for student grade ones. This set contains 5 Shiro white hog brushes: a 4 Round, 1 Bright, 6 Bright, 2 Filbert and 8 Filbert. This would again be a great gift for an oil or acrylic artist of any level, or just a good way to try out this line. If you buy them with the set below, you can get a really good flavour of the Shiro line AND get free shipping anywhere worldwide! Not suitable for vegans (contains hog). If you are looking for a vegan alternative, look at the "Akoya" line (below).

Jackson's Shiro White Hog Set of 7 Brushes
[£39.00 or US$53.54 or EUR43.91 - this set is eligible for free international shipping as long as you don't buy any non-brush products in your order]
As I said in the blurb for the above set, the quality of Shiro for the price is fantastic. This set contains 7 Shiro white hog brushes: 1 Round, 6 Round, 12 Round, 4 Bright, 10 Bright, 6 Filbert and 12 Filbert - which makes it a REALLY useful and "complete" or well-rounded set in my view! Coupling it with the set above would leave you with a totally perfect set for any artist from beginner to pro in terms of just about all the useful brush sizes and shapes. Not suitable for vegans (contains hog). If you are looking for a vegan alternative, look at the "Akoya" line (below).

Jackson's Black Hog Set of 4 Brushes
[£15.00 or US$20.60 or EUR16.89]
This is a little less stiff than white hog and this set has 4 Black Hog brushes: 2 Round, 6 Round, 6 Flat, 8 Filbert. Coupling it with the below set would leave you with a totally perfect set for any artist from beginner to pro in terms of just about all the useful brush sizes and shapes. Not suitable for vegans (contains hog). If you are looking for a vegan alternative, look at the "Onyx" or "Procryl" lines (below).

Jackson's Black Hog Set of 7 Brushes
[£39.00 or US$53.54 or EUR43.91 - this set is eligible for free international shipping as long as you don't buy any non-brush products in your order]
Per the above set, this is a softer bristle than white hog and this set contains 7 Black Hog brushes: 2 Round, 4 Round, 10 Round, 4 Flat, 10 Flat, 6 Filbert, 10 Filbert they are worth almost £55 (US$75.50, EUR61.88) if bought individually! Not suitable for vegans (contains hog). If you are looking for a vegan alternative, look at the "Onyx" or "Procryl" lines (below).

Jackson's Shinku Red Synthetic Set of 4 Brushes
[£15.00 or US$20.60 or EUR16.89]
These are a very nice red synthetic with a lot of snap to them and the very glossy fibre means the brushes glide through the paint and gives you work a very smooth and clean look. This set contains 4 Shinku red synthetic brushes: 0 Round, 6 Round, 8 Bright, 4 Filbert. 100% vegan friendly!

Jackson's Shinku Red Synthetic Set of 9 Brushes
[£39.00 or US$53.54 or EUR43.91 - this set is eligible for free international shipping as long as you don't buy any non-brush products in your order]
These are a very nice red synthetic with a lot of snap to them and the very glossy fibre means the brushes glide through the paint and gives you work a very smooth and clean look. This set contains 9 Shinku red synthetic brushes: 0 Round, 2 Round, 6 Round, 10 Round, 4 Bright, 8 Bright, 12 Bright, 2 Filbert, 10 Filbert - this is a pretty complete selection of brushes and they are worth almost £55 (US$75.50, EUR61.88) if bought individually! 100% vegan friendly! 

Jackson's Akoya White Synthetic Bristle Set of 4 Brushes
[£15.00 or US$20.60 or EUR16.89]
A perfect vegan alternative to white hog! This set contains 4 Akoya white synthetic bristle brushes: 2 Round, 6 Round, 6 Bright, 4 Filbert, which is a nice selection to get started with, or you can buy the larger set (below) if you want a bit more flexibility - but this would make a nice gift for a student of oil or acrylic painting, particularly a vegan student or anyone else just trying to avoid using hog. 100% vegan friendly!

Jackson's Akoya White Synthetic Bristle Set of 6 Brushes
[£39.00 or US$53.54 or EUR43.91 - this set is eligible for free international shipping as long as you don't buy any non-brush products in your order]
A perfect vegan alternative to white hog! This set contains 6 Akoya white synthetic bristle brushes: 0 Round, 6 Round, 4 Bright, 12 Bright, 4 Filbert, 10 Filbert - a really useful selection and a perfect gift too! 100% vegan friendly!

Jackson's Procryl Set of 4 Brushes
[£23.50 or US$32.27 or EUR26.46 - this set is eligible for free international shipping as long as you don't buy any non-brush products in your order]
This is another great value set, again with free shipping as an option. This contains 4 Procryl brushes: a 6 Bright, 6 Filbert, 6 Long Flat and 6 Round. Again, a great way to try a new fibre out. 100% vegan friendly. 

PSA: Faulty batch of Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paint in "Magenta"

I just wanted to put up a quick post to let everyone know in case they've had a bottle from this batch - please contact Ranger's Customer Services people. They're really helpful and swift in what they do and it was honestly really easy to deal with them, unlike many companies nowadays! They offered to ship me a replacement immediately but I didn't want one as to be honest, this paint is still useable and I've had no issues using it for monoprints or for painting with, but I wasn't planning to do any impasto work with it right now. By the time they'd get a new bottle to me from the USA, the carbon footprint and cost to them would not be justifiable given I'm happy to use it as it is - but that may not be the case for everyone so if you have one of these bottles and are struggling to use it, speak to them about it. Even if you're happy to use it like I am, contact them anyways as it'll help Ranger to trace how widespread this is. When there are issues like this, I do feel strongly that it's up to the community to help our valued suppliers by reporting how widespread the batch has gotten etc. Please also post a comment on this blog post as it may help others to know where you got it from - and obviously contact your vendor so they know to speak to Ranger themselves and maybe take it off of the shelves.

Per my recent haul, I got many 2 fl. oz. bottles of Dina Wakley's wonderful acrylic paints - all of which have a lovely thick body and dry in the conditions of my studio in under 5 minutes. The Magenta though was like milk or a thin cream - could not hold its shape and took over 30 minutes to dry. Not right! Weirdly, the bottom of the bottle didn't have a Lot Number or Date of Manufacture per usual, but Ranger's people DID manage to trace the issue to a batch that somehow got released when it shouldn't have and that was missing an ingredient - I was the first to report it so we don't know how widespread the issue is. I know the batch mine was from came into the UK between 25th Sept and 10th Oct based on it having been out-of-stock at my vendor of choice on 25th but in stock on 10th when I ordered. It only seems to be impacting the Magenta paint as far as we can tell.

Here's the bottom of the bottle showing the lack of lot/date:

And this shows the consistency when it came from the bottle - note it POURED out on its own - it didn't need squeezing. It did not hold this shape for long and formed a uniform puddle that then took hours to dry, whereas the other thick wiggle swatches I did at the same time took 15 minutes (as they were a thick layer, 5 minutes normally).

Art Haul: Well, it has been like a whole week since the last one, right?!

This is part of my "must have full set syndrome" kicking in - I decided to get the rest - or near as damn it - of the Dina Wakley Media acrylic paints from Ranger. I already have bought two batches - my first was Night, Blackberry and Rosy (I had not realised the latter was a metallic) and then I expanded into some primaries and more secondaries with Lemon, Lime, Tangerine, Sky, Blushing and Umber. After the haul below, the only ones I don't now have are Gilt, Penny and Medieval - three metallics - I may or may not get them as I honestly seldom use metallic paints but who knows. I've stuck to the 1 fl. oz. (c. 60mL) bottles because they're very economical and have a fine-tip on them already, and above all, they're SMALL. I like to be able to keep all of my Dina Wakley Media Paints in the largest of my Dina Wakley Media storage bags - they're always to-hand and I can move them to other locations really easily. I did um-and-ah over the Black and White - I have a LOT of black gesso, white gesso, black acrylic, white acrylic - I don't really need them. That said, for monoprinting and a lot of other techniques, having paints of the same consistency is really important and it would save me a lot of hassle having to thin CRYLA down with GAC-100 every time I wanted a runnier paint. Dina's paints are quite stiff but they're not true Heavy Body paints like CRYLA that have the consistency of clay and huge pigment loads.

The Dylusions inks are the 4 of the current release (Aug 2017) that I don't already have - I've had Vanilla Custard and Rose Quartz for about a month, and I have Laidback Lilac and Mushy Peas already in the acrylic paints, but I wanted to get the others as I love these muted, more pastel-y shades when used dilute but as you can see from the swatches down below (which I paint with one of Dina's brushes), they're SO striking when laid on thick! The Dylusions paper is designed to resist the dyes so they blot off and leave a lovely even, vivid and bright effect. If you use watercolour paper (which is what I swatch onto) such as the stuff in Dina's Media Journal, you get AMAZING intense effects! 

All of the items in this haul are from Art From The Heart (Dyan Reaveley's business in Harrogate, North Yorkshire) - superprompt service and always a pleasure to deal with. Plus what's not to love when you get a package like this one?

Ranger Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paints in:
   Cheddar [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
   Elephant [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
   Evergreen [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
   Fuchsia [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
   Lapis [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
   Magenta [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
   Ruby [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
   Turquoise [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
   White [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
   Black [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
   Ocean [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
   Ancient [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
   Sterling [BUY NOW: USA, UK]

For those of you in the USA, you can get 6 tube sets of the 2016 colour release or the metallic paints for just $36, which is a pretty good deal - but sadly doesn't ship to the UK - in the 2016 set, you get Blushing, Evergreen, Cheddar, Fuchsia, Elephant and Ocean, and in the 2017 set you get Rosy, Medieval, Ancient, Gilt, Penny and Sterling. These may be a good way to stash-build economically? It's about a 30% discount for each set.

Ranger Dylusions Ink Sprays in:
   Mushy Peas [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
   Laidback Lilac [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
   Periwinkle Blue [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
   Peony Blush [BUY NOW: USA, UK]

Again, for those of you in the USA, you can get the corresponding 6 Dylusions acrylic paints for $30 right now, which is about 25% off - well worth it, they're great colours! 

Media Journal: "Fear" (mixed media on gessoed paper)

This piece is my October entry to Dina Wakley's awesome #showusyourmedia challenge done with #rangerink, and this month we have to cover "Fear". I've put it on Instagram as we have to, but I wanted to be able to show the whole process here. To me, it is a man living in darkness looking out of a window at a world being masked by the encroaching darkness spilling from Fear which floats overhead. The colours and beauty of the world are being destroyed by Fear.

What does fear mean to me? I'm very open about my past bouts of clinical depression - I've had two in my lifetime. One hit during my Ph.D and I spent 1 month on Valium hoping it would pass, and then 18 months on Prozac when it didn't pass. I've since been in remission but I have had a few small relapses - the most recent one being around Christmas of 2016, but thankfully it only lasted a week or so and was caused by a pain drug I was trialing. Depression robs of you of so many things and for me, it robbed me of the ability to relax as I was paralysed with fear 24/7 - not the slight nervousness or worrying about finances that most people (irritatingly) call "anxiety" - I mean full blown unrelenting 24/7 clinical anxiety where your heart is racing all the day long and your adrenaline is at maximal levels and your body is ready to fight-or-flight...except you're just trying to sleep or watch TV. It's hell. It really is. NEVER dismiss someone who talks about depression or anxiety - not until you experience them can you really know what it feels like. I felt during both bouts that I'd become a shadow and that all the colour had been robbed from my life and the world. That was the basis of this work. Fear hangs over the man in the picture's world and spills out darkness. The world inside of his window is already just shadow and the world outside of his window is slowly being destroyed too. He has copper to his left, which is associated with beauty and creativity - things fear rapidly destroys.

If any of my readers think that they or someone they know is suffering with clinical anxiety or clinical depression, speak to a medical professional - don't leave it to chance. If you're unsure, you can self-test online for free, and if you live in the UK you can get free online cognitive behavioural therapy - I used that very website over 10 years ago and believe me - it works. You are not alone - but never try to ignore it. Depression is a fatal illness if not treated - you would not ignore cancer, don't ignore depression.

WHAT I USED:
Ranger Dina Wakley Media Journal [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
(I used a "watercolour paper" page)

Daler and Rowney Simply White Acrylic Gesso [BUY NOW: UK]
(this is not available in the USA so I recommend this instead)

Old credit card for applying gesso

Ranger Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paints in:
   Lemon [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
   Lime [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
   Tangerine [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
   Sky [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
   Night [BUY NOW: USA, UK]

Ranger Dina Wakley Media 1" Flat Brush
(this is from the 4-pack of short-handled brushes [BUY NOW: USA, UK])

Dictionary definition of "Fear" 
(mine is from a 1951 Oxford English Dictionary from a second hand book shop)

Paper scraps - mine are from:
   Idea-ology Tim Holtz Correspondance 12" paper stash [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
   Idea-ology Tim Holtz Tissue Wrap Melange [BUY NOW: USA, UK]

Copper foil tape [BUY NOW: USA, UK]

Ranger Dylusions ink sprays in:
   Black Marble [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
   After Midnight [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
   London Blue [BUY NOW: USA, UK]

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Matte Collage Medium [BUY NOW: USA, UK]

Foam brush for applying Collage Medium

Pipette for dispensing ink

Winsor and Newton ProMarker in:
   030 Black [BUY NOW: USA, UK]

Idea-ology Big Chat stickers [BUY NOW: USA, UK]

Idea-ology Small Talk stickers [BUY NOW: USA, UK]

Ranger Dylusions White Linen acrylic paint pen
(this is from the 2-pack of paint pens [BUY NOW: USA, UK])

Ranger Dina Wakley Media Scribble Sticks [BUY NOW: USA, UK]

WHAT I DID:
STEP 1: I used an old credit card to apply gesso to the page in the journal and left it to dry for a few hours - this is a great way to get a really thin, even coat that is just enough to paint on.

STEP 2: I wanted the idea of colour being masked by shadow but still very much being there, just hidden, as that's what fear really does to you - it makes you forget the colour of yourself and the world, but the colour is still there. I selected Night (of course) as the shadow, and I wanted Lime, Lemon, Tangerine and Sky as my colours of the world.

STEP 3: I also wanted some collage elements and in my scraps bag, I had some strips of tissue wrap torn from the edges of a recent project and an off-cut of paper from a paper stash that had some orange on it and would match the theme. I cut a dictionary definition of "Fear" too, and I arranged the elements on the page to work out how they should go. I wanted to have the paint under them so that they were a window the viewer is looking out of, seeing fear out there, spreading shadow over the world.

STEP 4: I added paint to the page and made some bold strokes, leaving some paint thick and textural.

STEP 5: I applied Collage Medium to the elements and added them directly into the wet paint - I did not worry about ensuring every edge was stuck down. I added a few little bits of Collage Medium over the paper so that it would act as a resist in later steps, but only in a few spots.

STEP 6: Whilst it dried, I was working on another project and went to look for something I needed and I found a role of adhesive copper tape that I'd forgotten and I decided to use some, so I applied it here to add to that abstract "window" concept. The outermost layer of the rape roll had oxidised a bit which made it even better. Once I'd put it on, I added Black ProMarker down one edge and blurred it with my finger whilst wet, so that the copper hardly showed on the one side - it just needed muting a tad!

STEP 7: With the paint almost dry, I used a pipette to apply 1mL London Blue, 0.5mL After Midnight and 0.5mL Black Marble along the top of the page and in a few other places, in separate spots - the ratios were important as I wanted the lighter blue to mix into the darker colours but still be visible. I held the page vertical and let it fall, catching the ink on a paper towel at the bottom of the page.

STEP 8: One spot of the ink looked like a head, so I used Night paint and some rough brushwork (the brush was wet) to apply some shadow and to turn that head into a person in darkness looking out of the abstract window and seeing fear.

STEP 9: With the Night Scribble Stick slightly damp, I 'edged' the whole page with it. I then used Night and Black very wet to border the dictionary cut-out and to add some spatters.

STEP 10: Using the stickers and a white paint pen, I added a phrase at the bottom of the page: "Fear is when no beauty shines and darkness robs the world of life and colour". DONE!

Doctor's Orders: Oooops? #arthaul

So erm...well...what can I say? The worst part? This isn't even all of it - there's at least 5 more instalments to come...! It's quite a big haul because there have been some fabulous discounts on at Amazon and at Art From The Heart! Everything herein is from Amazon UK.

The Ranger Wendy Vecchi Mica Sprays (BUY NOW USA, UK) - at long last! Ranger released Mica Spray sets of 3 colours for each of their 4 signature designers some time ago - Tim Holtz (Brushed Pewter, Antiqued Bronze, Tarnished Brass BUY NOW USA, UK), Dina Wakley (Ruby, Lapis and Evergreen BUY NOW USA, UK), Dyan Reaveley (Bubblegum Pink, Crushed Grape and Vibrant Turquoise BUY NOW USA, UK) and, of course, Wendy Vecchi (Buttercup, Pearl and Forget-Me-Not) - I've struggled to get hold this set from Wendy but I love her palette - I also love Dina and Dyan's ranges but Tim's have not appealed to me because they're more or less the same as the metallic Distress Spray Stains. Wendy's Pearl excites me - there is no Pearl in the rest of her line of Archival Inks or Embossing Powders or Enamel Accents - and the name doesn't "fit" with her tradition of garden-related-words - Snowdrop would have been better, I think. I am now living in hope they'll release some more Pearl items from Wendy as a nice off-white to sit nicely with her other colours would be awesome!

I've posted on Twitter recently a lot of mini-monoprints I've been making (post on those coming soon!) and I decided getting a little gelli plate would be really worth it for a lot of techniques - I researched online and found this Gel Press Reusable Gel Printing Plate, 6" by 6" (BUY NOW: USA, UK) - they make a lot of different sizes and it's actually a faux gelli plate. It's a vegan-friendly mineral-oil-based reusable gelli plate, and it has a wonderful service. My YouTube Friend Mrs Weirich (aka Lindsay The Frugal Crafter) used a very similar one of these some time ago, and she got lovely results, which has made me want to try one for some time now. I've used normal gelli plates made of gelatine before but I like the very perfect surface of this - it really appeals to me - plus it's quite stiff so you can pick it up and use it like a stamp.

These Derwent Techniques Brushes (BUY NOW: USA, UK) were a bit of a whim item really. I was looking for something else and they were heavily discounted to just over £8 from £17, and I do want a sword suited to acrylic painting (check) and a rake for use when monoprinting (check). I'm sure these will come in useful!

A little bit of restocking! You can never have too many Ranger Dylusions Size 10 Journaling Tags (BUY NOW: USA, UK) and I have used a lot lately. Likewise, I needed to restock my favourite embossing powder - Ranger Wendy Vecchi Watering Can Embossing Powder (BUY NOW: USA, UK) - this powder is a deep, warm grey and thus a lot less harsh/cartoon-y than using black. I really enjoy how it looks and like all of Wendy's line, it is an ultra fine detail powder and just beautiful - blending it with other powders makes a nice bit of texture, even with beautiful bright colours like the vibrant yellows and purples.

Mwahahaha I struck a bargain here ;) I've wanted this Tim Holtz Idea-ology Clippings Stickers (BUY NOW; USA, UK) pack for a while for use in mixed media, cards and art journalling...and when I ordered it and paid for one, two packs arrived yaaay! So for just £3.98, I got almost 600 stickers, 2 of each of them. Lovely!

Another item I've wanted for a long time - this Ranger Dina Wakley Media Circle Patterns stamp set (BUY NOW: USA, UK) looked so useful for mixed media and for framing elements like collaged images. I love circles and how even crappy patterns or bits of waste artwork look brilliant cropped into circles with a punch or die and then stamped with a pattern - try it - it really looks great!

So I have to say, these were SO economical and I wanted something to keep my stencils and pens etc tidy and to hand. I also wanted to have some of this artwork to hand, because these beautiful Ranger Wendy Vecchi Designer Bags (BUY NOW: USA, UK) of course feature Wendy Vecchi's beautiful artwork - I have shown below the larger two that you can't see properly in the above image as I think they're so pretty. I've got the Ranger Dina Wakley Designer Bags (BUY NOW: USA, UK) on order too. Each set gives you a large, medium and small bag as a set (just over £13 when I bought these) and they're pretty useful sizes. I'm also hoping that having Dina's beautiful, bold and expressive mixed media work around me will inspire me somewhat to loosen up a bit when doing mixed media - which I find hard!