These brushes are soft yet springy, and keep their shape well without compromise. We use Japanese synthetic hair fibers to mimic qualities of natural soft bristles, for that crisp, smooth detailing; extensively tested for their professional performance.

However, if you prefer natural brushes, you can take a look at our Turner brush set or other lines of faux synthetic hair and natural hair blends.

These brushes are ‘trained' to maintain their shape even after heavy use and provide consistent control whatever art project you're working on. Using elegant seven-times-lacquered birch wood short handles allows for a luxurious feeling of unrivalled balance, particularly during intricate and exacting strokes. The use of high-quality faux squirrel bristles on these brushes also made them very sturdy. And of course, they'll last even longer if you take good care of them.

These brushes are resistant to heavy use and can hold a significant amount of water to allow you to get the perfect results for your paintings. The faux squirrel synthetic fibers lay down a good, even wash. Therefore, many professional artists were pleasantly surprised and compared our Black Tulip collection brushes with the squirrel and kolinsky sable performance in a much more affordable yet surprisingly effective set.

Yes! These brushes are high quality, and many professional artists praise them for their fantastic performance, thoughtful variety of shapes and sizes specifically designed for water-based media. When it comes to art materials and tools, a famous saying among the artists and the art tutors is that ‘One should buy the best quality one can afford.' It's so true, especially for beginner artists, who are still building up their confidence and knowledge of techniques. The best art tools will help accelerate progress and keep you motivated to paint and experiment with new techniques.

Considering the value for money we offer for such an extensive artist-quality set, including the guides, tutorials and advice, you'll make a significant long-term gift for yourself or other artists, whether beginners to advanced and professionals.

In order to bring you the best quality brushes intact we apply special protective solution to keep the tips of the brushes in the original shape.

We also wrap the brushes in transparent films, and it's done to protect and waterproof the brushes for transit. We want to make sure that you receive your brush set in its best state, wherever you are in the world.

It also serves as a seal of guarantee to our customers and our return department that the brushes have never been used before. In some cases, we experience customers returning used brushes and these are not re-sold. Having these plastic films ensures that you received a brand-new set.

Our Black Tulip collection brushes are easy to clean and maintain:

• For new brushes: First, always remove the transit solution by washing the brushes with mild soap and lukewarm water. Slightly massage between the bristles on the palm of your hand, letting any floating bristles to be washed away, if any, especially in large sized-brushes.
• For regular cleaning or every after painting: Clean the brushes well with soap every after use—before the paint dries— to avoid damage from paint build-up at the base of the ferrule. Do not push the brushes too hard into your palms.
• We recommend using vegetable oil-based soap, gentle to the bristles and your skin.
• After rinsing thoroughly, use a microfiber or other absorbent towel to remove excess water.
• Gently reshape the bristles with your fingers, and let it dry naturally on a horizontal or flat surface.

Brush Care Tips:

• Never leave the brushes soaked in water, as this will ruin your brushes and cause damage to the bristles, glue and handle.
• From time to time, and for optimum results, you can apply a special lanolin-based brush conditioner (optional), for TLC and extra longevity of your brushes.
• Follow our recommended cleaning guide above to reduce possible initial ‘break-in shedding', which might be just short bristles not glued inside the ferrule that are trapped between the longer bristles.
• After washing and drying, always gently reshape the bristles with your fingers, and let it dry naturally on a horizontal or flat surface.
• Shedding: It is natural for brushes to shed lightly. Minimal shedding is common especially while you break them in. To reduce problems of shedding, ZenART has crafted these watercolour brushes with faux squirrel synthetic fibers. The brushes lose fewer bristles and normally don't shed at all. In rare occasions, it might happen, and such cases are significantly less compared to other ones on the market. Reasons can be any of the following:
• Using brushes before removing the transit solution
• Harsh “breaking-in” of new brushes. We suggest trying the above method of cleaning, drying horizontally, and gently removing any floating bristles while dry, before giving up on your brushes.
• Misuse and ruining of the brushes due to harsh chemicals, abrasive surfaces, soaking brushes in water or other solution, vertically letting them stand and loosening the glue.
• In extreme cases, manufacturing defects, when not enough glue was applied and the brush (losing bristles long enough to be potentially glued in the ferrule, not floating shorts). In such situations, we are here to support you, too, and offer our help to resolve any issues.

The Black Tulip collection brushes are short-handled for full expression with water-based paints: watercolour, gouache, inks, and dyes. They have been specifically designed, weighted and balanced for precise horizontal painting and avoiding any hand fatigue or poking in your eye. The exquisite birch wood brush set also has seven layers of UV coating to prevent flaking, and provide slip & wear resistance.

We only want you to find the best fine art tools that you will enjoy using. If that's not us, don't fret. We offer a 1-year guarantee and 100% money-back for 60 days. Just drop us a few lines about your issue, send them to our email address: support@zenartsupplies.co or scan the QR Code to get a quicker response: