A month ago, I purchased this set on Amazon, at a really good Prime special price of CAD$14.99. I did not expect anything from it, since it was so cheap. Please read on for my review on these Adaxi watercolour brushes to see if they are worth the money. 🙂
Packaging and Presentation
First of all, even though this is sold as an Adaxi brush set, the name Giorgione is on the packaging. I don’t know why that is, but maybe it is a line by Adaxi named after the painter. Anyway, the set also comes in pink if you have a preference.
Furthermore, the handles are matte, and the ferrules are firm. The brushes felt much more luxurious than their price point.
By the way, these brushes have long handles. They can be used for acrylics and gouache, so being long-handled makes sense. Also, the brushes come in a sturdy cardboard box and each brush had a plastic cap to protect the bristles. I must say, just the packaging alone, this does not feel like a cheap set of brushes. To be absolutely honest, even the expensive, professional brushes I bought did not come packaged this nicely!
Brush Size Comparisons
The 7 Adaxi round watercolour brushes come in sizes 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12. I find that these are generally bigger than the regular brush sizes; for example, the 0 is more like a 2, and so on.
The sizing does not matter to me much, since each brand can have its own standards. Even though the size 0 brush is more like a 2, you can still do fine enough details with it.
Performance
The first time I painted with Adaxi watercolour brushes for the review, I used Mungyo Nostalgia of Pastel palette. The brushes impressed me; they came to a point even better than my Princeton Aqua Elite brushes, and held enough water despite being stiffer and more snappy. I would compare the bristles to the Emma Lefebvre x Craftamo brushes, maybe just a tad stiffer.
Next, I painted with the size 10 and 12 brushes for the wash. They held good amounts of water and I actually had to blot them because they held more than I thought they would.
I enjoyed using these brushes so much, I painted quite a few pieces with them.
For the cat, I used gouache and the brushes performed well with it also.
Adaxi Watercolour Brushes Overall Review
These brushes really impressed me. They held a good amount of water but still have good snap to them, and come to a sharp point after. I have small hands and the long handles did not present any problems at all. The ferrules remained firm and none of the brushes shed. For pocket change this set is a steal!
