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Your cart is empty.Sumi Brushes now offers an exquisite new series of 3 exceptional Bill Buchman “Zen” Japanese Sumi brushes: the “Classic” series, hand-made by Japanese master craftsmen. They are made of carefully chosen finely pointed horse hair with durable lacquered wooden handles. This Artist Quality “Classic” series of Sumi brushes features standard size and smaller size brushes that are especially well suited for detailed Sumi and watercolor painting and for fine Eastern calligraphy. Sumi brushes of such uniquely fine quality have generally been unavailable in the US until now and are sure to please both the experienced Sumi artist and the newcomer. All who explore the wonderful world of the Sumi brush will find that it naturally promotes an artistic mood of tranquility and creativity. These Sumi brushes offer the beginning, intermediate and advanced painter both great control and expressivity due to their ideal level of flexibility: the firmness is sufficient to encourage great accuracy and control while the softness and play promote a natural expressivity not found in Western style brushes. They may be used with all free flowing water media: watercolors, gouache, liquid acrylic, acrylic gouache, acrylic and “tech” inks, Sumi and India inks, liquid watercolors, and all other water media. This “Classic” Series - Number 3 – Regular Size brush, the most popular size, is neither too big nor too small and is very suitable for all calligraphy and Sumi painting usage. Brush dimensions: Total Length: 10 ¼ “; Shaft: 8 ½”; Head: 1 ¾ “; Head Diameter: 3/8”. Sumi Brushes also offers a series of considerably larger Bill Buchman Zen Sumi brushes that are especially well suited for the bold expressive strokes of contemporary painting and calligraphy. See these and also Bill’s DVD series on figure drawing and abstraction, all on Amazon.
Mr. Z
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2025
Holds its point, has not list a single hair in more than a year.
Gj
Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2023
I have owned many brushes over the years and now I use two only. This Brush and the Bill Buckman Zen Sumi Sensei 1. This brush is capable of stoke widths of all sizes in Sumi-e painting including fine line strokes and could essentially be the one brush fits all.I would give it 5 stars, however after 3 months of use with proper care, the handle has cracked above the bristles. While I can repair the brush myself I am disappointed this has happened in such a short period of time.I have recommended the Zen Sumi-e Classic 2 as well as the Zen Sumi-e - Sensei 1 to my students I will hesitate to do so until I see that my student's brushes do not encounter any cracking.As I said, it's a superb brush, but the cracking is a huge disappointment.
BUBU
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2022
1. The size of the pen is a little bit bigger than I thought. It's a typical pen for writing a couplet.2. The texture of the brush part is between typical "wolf hair" and "goat hair".
Silent Witness
Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2017
Nice quality brush and bristles. I use it mostly for painting images of the Four Gentleman (Bamboo, Orchid, Chrysanthemum, and Plum) and also for images that use the same strokes. Brush comes to a nice point and can be used to paint large images, small images, tiny images (with tip), and very large images by combining strokes. Versatile brush that is very comfy in the hand. Good length to allow for painting a variety of image sizes.
Ang
Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2015
After 1 month of normal use (no long term soaking of brush), the lacquered base of the brush has cracked where it meets the brush hairs. I have 2 of the sensei brushes which, although lacquered similarly, have not had any cracking occur thus far. The brush itself works great, but for a brush marketed as "superior quality" for sumi-E and watercolor painting, there should be no cracking of the handle with regular use (especially after only 1 month!).
Kate C.
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2015
Mr. Buchman and I had quite a learning experience after I received this brush and was not satisfied. He wrote to me personally and did much research to make sure that I was satisfied. What I learned is that, although this brush is, according to Mr. Buchman's craftsmen, 70% horse hair, for those of you familiar with Sumi-e painting and looking for a "mountain horse hair brush," this would NOT be the one to buy. If you are looking for a brush more like wolf hair, an "orchid bamboo" brush, this is more suitable. This brushes' bristles are very soft and pliable, and there is not as much springiness as I like. For landscapes, like rocks and mountains, where the brush needs lots of spring and stiffness, you would need a mountain horse hair brush. I really appreciated Mr. Buchman's cooperation and patience with me on this discussion. He is an excellent seller!
JERELHOK
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2015
Excellent brush. So far....
Matt
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2014
This brush is fantastic and is one of my most prized possessions. It has a really nice weight and feel and the bristles are very fine on the outside, and stiffer in the middle. It can do big swaths of color or ink and also very fine details. At first I used it for ink only, but then I tried it with watercolors, and now its the only brush I use.It really is aptly named because when you use it you will feel "zen", probably because you have to hold it so steady in order to make a line of consistent thickness. If you are rich enough and plan to paint with multiple colors or inks, you should get a few of them so each can hold a different color while you paint.
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