Paint Brushes

Art brushes come in various shapes, sizes and textures. Because one brush can't perform all jobs or be used with all painting mediums, there are many brushes, each designed for different types of pigments and functions. While liner brushes are used for fine details, flat brushes work best for laying in skies and large areas of washes. Before randomly grabbing a brush, an artist needs to know the quality of the brush as well as what to expect when using it.

A good art brush has three basic qualities. It should be able to form a sharp point and control paint flow. Good art brushes should also have the ability to return to their original shapes after making strokes. What's more, quality art brushes should hold and distribute paint where needed.

Rounds are the most traditionally shaped brushes. They have a sharp point for painting fine lines and details. Choose rounds with a good spring in the bristles. Flats, as the name implies, are flat brushes that are wide but not that thick. Bristle lengths vary, with some flats having short bristles, while others have very long ones. Flats are used to make broad brushstrokes. However, by turning them, you can make narrow edges. Short flat brushes are perfect for creating small, defined brush marks. Mops are brushes that can hold large amounts of fluid paint and are mostly used for large washes. When washing out a mop brush, thoroughly clean it as there many hairs. Liners, also known as riggers, are thin brushes with long bristles and a sharp point. They are excellent for making fine lines with consistent widths. They're excellent for creating boat masts, animal whiskers and thin tree branches, as well as signing your name to a painting. Fan brushes have a thin layer of bristles which are spread out by the ferrule. Usually used to blend colors, fans are ideal for painting grass, thin branches and hair. Just be careful to vary the marks as it's easy to make them look too identical, giving an unnatural look. Fans can be used to smooth out or blend brushstrokes, spreading small dots (stippling) and highlighting, as for individual hairs. Filberts are narrow and flat with hairs coming to a rounded point. Used flat, a filbert brush makes broad strokes. On the other hand, when it's used on its side, it produces thin lines. These brushes can make many different marks and can also be used for dry brushing.

Sables Kolinsky hairbrushes are the finest and most expensive brushes and are ideal for watercolor paints. They have soft, elastic hairs that can form lovely shapes with a long, pointed tip. Because squirrel hair brushes are very absorbent, they're also excellent for watercolor, as well as tempera and gouache. They have a long, pointed tip and are soft and pliable. Although pure red sable brushes do well with acrylic paint, it's harder to clean and care for them. However, the secret is cleaning the brush thoroughly and often before any paint dries. Bristle brushes have split ends at the tips, which can hold much heavy paint. Resilient, bristle brushes work best with oils and acrylics.

Synthetic hairbrushes are man-made brushes with almost identical qualities as natural hairbrushes. However, they're cheaper in price. They have excellent color-carrying capacities with fine points that maintain their shape. Because of their softness, white synthetic brushes are excellent for blending and smooth stroking. Orange synthetic brushes are the most recent high-tech brush. Made with new fiber, they feel and works like any sable. They perform remarkably well with the glazing technique because of their extreme softness.

Before buying or using a particular brush, consider your intentions for the brush. In other words, be realistic about what a brush can and cannot do.

It's believed by some people that flagged brushes are better for getting rid of brush strokes than finely pointed ones. However, flagged bristles are known for still leaving them even though their manufacturers try to reduce them. For smooth finishes, fine-tipped bristle brushes do the best job.

Only use soaps made to clean brushes, as regular soaps can dry them out. After cleaning a brush and blotting out any excess water, reshape the head using your fingers. Don't let the brush dry with hairs pressed against a surface as this can distort the shape. Store brushes upright on their handle ends when they're dry.