Mark Making

Mark-making describes all painting and drawing tools that allow the artist to transfer colour to or take away from a surface to make the marks – brush strokes, cross-hatching, lines, dots, patterns, sgraffito or textures – that make up an artwork. This includes pencils, dip pens, styluses, painting knives and a comprehensive selection of Artists’ Brushes from Pro Arte, Da Vinci, Escoda, Raphael, Royal Langnickel and Winsor & Newton.

What is the best brush for watercolour? A natural hair that can soak up and hold large amounts of fluid and then dispense it in a controlled way and that has great spring is the ideal. The Kolinsky Sable is particularly prized although squirrel and goat offer large area options as well. In addition, combinations of synthetic fibres have been developed to mimic the sought-after properties of natural hair.
What is the difference between a Palette Knife and a Painting Knife? Generally, a painting knife will have more spring and a little bend in the handle to keep the hand out of the way when using the knife to apply paint to a canvas. Palette knives tend to be straighter and more rigid for mixing paint on the palette.
What is a colour shaper? A Colour Shaper is a pencil-like implement with rubber ends that can be used to apply masking fluid, mark into a painted surface or even work into clay.
What is a Dip Pen? A Dip Pen consists of a pen-like handle into which various nibs can be slotted to draw or write with. The nib is simply dipped into ink and transferred to the surface and has no internal reservoir or the facility to take cartridges. The handle will usually have a ‘rose-fitting’ that will hold all nibs that have a curved base which accounts for the vast majority of nibs.
See our blog and product pages for more information regarding mark-making.