This is the brush you use before the painting starts. Base making — laying the first flat coat that everything else is painted on top of — does not need a fine brush, and using an expensive one for it is how a good brush gets worn out on the least interesting job on the table.

The design is honest about that. A plain unvarnished wooden handle, a pressed metal ferrule, and a wide flat head of orange nylon filament. Nothing on it will survive being left in a jar of water overnight, and at Rs. 65 for the smallest size, nothing needs to.

Six widths are offered — sizes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 — each sold on its own. The larger sizes cover a board or a canvas quickly; the smaller ones suit base coats inside a shape, cutting a border, or working on small craft pieces where a wide brush would go over the line.

The nylon filament is stiffer than a soft watercolour brush, which is exactly what a base coat wants. Stiff filament pushes thick paint into the tooth of a board or canvas instead of skating over the top of it, which is what makes the second coat sit flat.

It is also the sensible brush for the jobs that destroy brushes: gesso, primer, glue, varnish and poster paint on chart paper. Keep one of these for each and the good brushes stay good.

Prices run from Rs. 65 for size 2 up to Rs. 280 for size 12, each listed separately below. Cash on Delivery is available across Pakistan including Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, and stock, city and delivery charges are confirmed on WhatsApp before dispatch.

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