THE COMPLICATIONS OF EXPENSIVE ART EQUIPMENT.

I love a really good paintbrush, but I’ll never be able to buy the Da Vinci Maestro Kolinsky, size 50. Yes, it’s a very large brush, and of amazing quality, but the lowest price that I can find is $1,263 (on Amazon: goo.gl/XBfneP), and that’s with a 22% discount. Original price: $1,612.57.

Whether it’s worth that much money is another discussion, but there’s a story behind this type of brush. The brand is made in Germany from what is called winter male kolinsky red sable hair, which is not from a sable’s tail, but from the tail of the Siberian weasel. There is currently a ban on importing this type of hair into the US as the weasel is on an endangered species list (although to be fair, it’s low in that ranking). So if there’s a rush on this item when we get to the holiday season, stock could run out.

The smaller, and more affordable, size 16, Series 35 brush is around $300.

The cute Siberian weasel, which is killed for various reasons, not just for it’s tail hair.

Photograph © feathercollector/123rf

Some Da Vinci Maestro brush types that I’m only showing because I like good paintbrushes so much.