Review: Nevskaya Palitra kolinsky sable watercolour brush

Nevskaya Palitra is an art supplies manufacturer based in St Petersburg, Russia. The White Nights watercolour is made by them as well.


Nevskaya Palitra is actually the brand name for watercolour brushes. The brushes are available in Kolinsky sable and synthetic hair, in short and long handle bodies. Most brushes are round with just one flat option at the time of this review.


These are nice looking brushes with white bodies.


I've been uses these brushes for many years now. The one at the top is a size 5 which is now really worn out with fraying hair. The bottom is a size 6 and is a few years newer.


Different companies use different system for their brush sizes. Nevskaya Palitra's sizes are larger than others. Shown above are the Escoda size 6, Nevskaya Palitra size 6, Da Vinci Size 8.

The Nevskaya Palitra also seem to have a bigger belly and can hold a good amount of water.


Kolinsky sable watercolour brushes are the best watercolour brushes. This brush has good snap and is able to return to shape easily with each brush stroke. The point is sharp and easy to maintain.


This brush performs really well. The quality is comparable to the sable brushes from Da Vinci and Escoda.

These brushes are not easy to find online though. Since the performance is very similar to Da Vinci and Escoda, there's no compelling reason to seek out these brushes specifically.

Here in Singapore, they are sold at Straits Art.

These are the prices for the brushes from Straits Art at the time of this review:

  • #0 - SGD $5.50
  • #00 - $5
  • #1 - $6
  • #2 - $9
  • #3 - $11.90
  • #4 - $23
  • #5 - $31
  • #6 - $44

The pricing is competitive compared to Da Vinci and Escoda too. You'll probably be able to get even better brush when you buy them in store at Straits Art.

This is a watercolour brush I can recommend easily.

These brushes have been featured countless times in my sketching videos on Youtube and I get often questions asking about them. I think it has got to do the the white body which is quite striking.

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4 Comments

These are excellent brushes.

These are excellent brushes. I started using them when I saw it on your YouTube videos. I love them! It’s starting to wear out after long term use but I find it doesn’t wear as much as my other brushes (have have escoda and Princeton brushes). It’s also able to retain a sharp point particularly the #1 round which I found surprising considering there is very little hair in that size.

It’s very hard to find though, even online. I brought mine in taiwan when I visited a few years ago and regretted not getting a few more. I wish they are available on Amazon.

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