My new brush set from Rosemary & Co Brushes has some variations from my original brush set as my painting technique has evolved, mostly due to the master copies I've been doing the last couple years of Van Dyke and Rubens. Through creating my Portrait Painting from Master Copy course, Master Copy of a Rubens Portrait course, and my Glazing and Scumbling course, I've been focusing more on transparency and texture, which has lead me to try a wider range of brushes to emulate the effects of old master paintings.
With a good paintbrush, you should be able to imagine the stroke you want to make, load the brush with paint, and apply the stroke successfully without struggling with the brush. This is how Rosemary brushes work: From mind to canvas, their brushes simply execute the thought, which is why I use them and recommend them to all my students.
Rosemary's Masters Choice, Series 278 brushes (always my favorite brushes!) achieve the perfect balance between being soft enough to load the bristles with paint, but firm enough to control the stroke with a bit of snap, which is why they are the primary brushes I use for my Direct and Alla Prima paintings. I love their Chungking Series 2045 brushes for how they hold up to scrubbing an under-painting, but with far more refinement and durability than your basic supply-store bristle brush. And the Hog Domed Round Series 3077 are perfect for when you want a bit of stiff splay for applying variegated texture effects.
For finer, smaller, and more controlled Indirect paintings, Rosemary's Red Dot Collection is a very affordable way to work with brushes that perform with the same quality as real sables.
Rosemary brushes last far longer than most. I have several "workhorse" brushes I have been using regularly for nearly a decade, and they still look new. I take very good care of my brushes, but even so, inferior brushes simply wear out sooner no matter how careful you are. Purchase my new Rosemary SADIE VALERI ATELIER DIRECT METHOD BRUSH SET here.
For a complete demonstration of how I create a wide variety of oil paint effects using all of my favorite Rosemary brushes, my affordable online course "Glazing and Scumbling" shares all my tricks and techniques for creating more depth and texture in your painting surfaces.