mark reid signature brushes

I bought a nr 4 and a nr 6 a while back, but i must say, i'm not impressed... ok, they work for the backwards teardrops, but they don't have a nice fine tip, so in my opinion they're not very usefull... still prefer my da vinci's so far...

Have any of you bought the mark reid brushes, and what did you think?

I agree I wasnt super impressed like I thought I would be. I thought for the price it would be amazing. But id rather use my Loew Cornell Brushes

I third that...would not purchase again

I dislike most of them but love the no 2, and the no four has become a white dauber of sorts it makes nice round dots. I have an ongoing joke with another face painter about mark reid brushes as I just find them so hard to paint with as I sat with her one day trying to make the no 4 work.
Now they do work with the fat and flat thing. but so do others that work ok without the fat and flat. and I have a habit of slightly turning my rounds as I load. this way of loading suits me, as I use liner brushes a fair bit - it which fat and flat don't work for me.so not trying to change my habits.
also they are the only brushes I have with chiped handels (they are wood underneath) as I have droped them and they land handel down with there sort of slanted point onto a concrette floor and the paint has come of all but 1 of them, at the end point, I have nail polish at the end to plug the holes in the coating. They are the only brushes I have, thet I've had to do this too.
All that said I really like the no 2 holds alot of paint for a detail brush and I find it easy it is longer than most no 2 bristles (I have 2 of them.) . I find the brushes really easy to clean and get the paint out of too. but I would not buy any more except the twos.

I like the body brush for Prisma cakes,because they were the only ones I could find to pick up most of the cake...haven't gotten any others. I am happy with them for that reason.

I had several mark reid brushes and after a month they were all splitting I was worried that I wasn't caring for them correctly but I've had other brushes that have stayed nice and pointy for months and years...so yeah, not my fave.

good to know I'm not the only one who doesn't like theirs! mine are splitting after a couple months...the tip was never very good, i use mostly loew cornell

I'm one that has a love hate relationship with them. I love the #2 and use it for my line work. The #4 works for me, but here's the hate part...I have several #4 and half of them split. Ugg! If there is plenty of paint on the brush, it's fine. After lining have the face, I better reload or it starts to split!

I have the same problem with them... I only use the #2 for outlining... the rest sit in the jar with the other paint brush misfits...

I have read a lot of negative feedback on MR brushes. Has it occured to anyone to inform Mr. Reid of the problems with his products? If people disliked a product with my name on it, I'd want to know so I could correct the problems.

I have the chisel brush and love it I use it for blending all the time and will be buying more of them next time I order. Like you guys, not fond of the #4 though. I would love to try the body brush.

Jody Rife wrote:I have the chisel brush and love it I use it for blending all the time and will be buying more of them next time I order. Like you guys, not fond of the #4 though. I would love to try the body brush.

I forgot about the chisel brush... I do like that one, too. However, I use my Paradise chisel brush more.

I use the chisel just for blending. The shape is nice and holds well. I like that it's stiffer then my other chisels.

I too love that chisel brush...I'd marry it if I could...but I can't so I just bought 2 to make up for my disappointment.

I like the number 4 for dots and sometimes I make it work for linework. The number 2 doesn't like me, I don't like it either, so we've agreed not to bother each other.

In answer to deb, no, I haven't given it any thought at all. Why? Because I've watched tons of painters use it with success and my diskile of the brush's performance doesn't necessarily mean the brush defective. Sometimes, it comes down to the tool just not being a good match for the indivual painter's painting style.

I just bought 4 Mark Reid signature brushes... boo! I wish I would have read this first! I tried out the #4 last night and it seemed to do very nice teardrops. We'll see how long it takes to split!

Just to note the brushes are a "signature" line not Marks products per se. These are brushes present to mark for his endorsement and use. Feedback should be direct to Mehron.

Lady Jade is correct. Having painted along side Mark many times I'll say the brushes will last longer if you load them correctly (sorry most folks just don't) and truly spin the brush and stand them up on the tips the way Mark does, otherwise the do tend to wear out quicker.

I am going to stand out and say that I love them! I am laughing reading all of these comments because I love my #4! The only problem is that they did wear alot faster then my others, didn't work as well this season than last...but I will buy more Or even better if any of you want to send me some that you haven't used much...I'll buy them from ya

I'd love to try the 2's and chisel too if any of you have those...

The chisel rocks! #2 splits after a while, but most of my #2 any brand has

Sweet Loretta wrote:Just to note the brushes are a "signature" line not Marks products per se. These are brushes present to mark for his endorsement and use. Feedback should be direct to Mehron.

Lady Jade is correct. Having painted along side Mark many times I'll say the brushes will last longer if you load them correctly (sorry most folks just don't) and truly spin the brush and stand them up on the tips the way Mark does, otherwise the do tend to wear out quicker.

Hmz, how do you load a brush incorrectly?
I've been loading my brushes in the same manner for years, so please correct me if you think I might be doing it wrongly: 'stroke in paint, lift, turn a little bit, stroke in paint, lift, turn a little bit, ... and so on'
ending with a beautiful tip and paint all the way to the base ... It looks like a lot of work, but I do it very quick...
(boy, I just had to think very hard on how to explain my brushloadingtechnique so that somebody would be able to visualize it )

Hmm... Now that I think about it I just swirl the brush around in the little lool I make in the paint haha! I have Artists Loft Brushes from Michael's but I have a #2 Mark Reid on it's way. Please inform me of how not to mis-use it!

I know Mark Reid actually flattens his rounded brush first, then uses the side of the brush to paint and ends wit a twist for his tiger stripes.

Pretty much how Tienke wrote...
I agree that it takes a lot of thought input to write the instructions. The only thing I'd add is to load up with paint enough to allow the brush to glide over the skin and last. I can typically do a whole 1/2 of a full face butterfly outline with one loading (if done properly...and we're not talking about simply tracing a straight outline). It's a lot more difficult with smaller brushes because the little buggers just can't hold much paint...

Oh, then I'm doing it right, 'phew'

I prefer to buy cheaper plastic handled brushes, they work perfect for me, and when you have that child who decides to pick up your brush unexpectedly and put it in its mouth,while its parent is on the telephone, while your painting another child's face. (this had happened to me before) you say "oh well it was only $5.99 for a pack of 6", instead of "Oh No! That brush cost me $24.99!".
Plus plastic don't crack, which means no wood chips in my water.

You don't have to load your brush and flatten it like Mark does to "load correctly' but you do need to not just slap that brush back and forth to fill it with paint. And having taught many classes alone and at Mark's side I can tel you many folk just don't load a brush the right way.

Basicly a brush just has to work for you. And frankly a brush doesn't last forever! But a quality brush may last longer. Lucky kids never touch my stuff, my setup just doesn't let things in their reach.

I have to say if anyone want inexpensive brushes, that hold a load of paint and have a nice sharp point try the Superior Wolfe FX brushes. I love these little babies.