Art Talk—Art Brushes, Your best tool November 6, 2020 By Linda Kay—Visual Arts Instructor Contact: Email [email protected] Phone: (630) 483-5600

Art brushes are one of my favorite tools to work with. They come in all sorts of shapes, sized, materials and prices. With the right fit for your hand and style of painting, brushes can be one of the best investments you can make. With proper care and use, brushes can last for many years. I have some that are more than 20 years old and have become my favorites, which I pull out for special tasks or effects. With so many varieties and choices available, learning to choose the best one for your needs is important. Depending on which paint medium you are using and which brushes you need takes a bit of researching, testing and trial and error. In an effort to not waste money on useless brushes that don’t meet your needs, lets learn a few things about brushes and how they are categorized. There are categories of brushes that determine their use and usefulness for the many varieties of art mediums and paints you want to work in. There are many brushes that are sold as multi-purpose brushes to use with several types of mediums. While these can be an economical way to purchase a set of brushes on a budget, they are not always, one size fits all, so be careful of bargain sets. I prefer to choose my brushes by which medium I will work in and dedicate them to only that medium. I will not use my watercolor brushes with acrylic paints, nor my mixed media brushes with my decorative painting work. By reserving my brushes for each type of painting I do, I can keep them in the best shape for that purpose and do not risk contaminating them from other mediums. If I were to paint an acrylic painting with an oil brush, I risk ruining my acrylic painting with oil residue left over in the brush. And as we know, oil and water do not mix, a good rule to remember when you are tempted to use the first brush you grab because you are in a rush. Let’s look at the construction of the brush so that you understand their parts, proper names and terms I use when I teach painting classes. On the next page is an illustration you can follow along with. 2 Synthetic Natural

Or Mixed?

The first category that you will notice when choosing brushes is whether they are made of natural, synthetic or mixed fibers. Each type of fiber has its use and aids in applying paint in a specific way. All of these fibers also have a variety of textures that are created when using them. Softness and Stiffness play an important part of the make up of a brush. Typically, soft fibers are good for mediums that are easy to manipulate like watercolors, inks and thinned washes of acrylic or oil paints. Stiffer fibers are good for me- diums that are thicker and need more effort to move around, like heavy body acrylic or oil paints, gel me- diums or molding pastes. Synthetic fibers are those that are man-made with petroleum based materials. They can be either stiff or soft depending on the type of fiber used. Synthetic fibers hold up well with care and are suited for all types of paint mediums. Synthetic brushes are wonderful to work with, hold up well over time and clean up easily. They have a certain feel and response to them when used. A few downfalls are that sometimes they can be stained by the paints you use. White synthetic fibers tend to do this often, but it will not affect the way they perform. Another downfall is that synthetic fibers can melt or distort when cleaned with strong cleaners that have acetone in them and care should be taken.

Synthetic fibers tend to be more economical but that is not a firm rule. Depending on the company that makes them, the technology used and of course the materials used, price can vary greatly. Some of the best and most expensive brushes are synthetic, so don’t let price be your main criteria or choice. Natural fibers are the oldest type of materials used to create brushes. These fibers can include ani- mal hairs and plant fibers. They can also be soft or stiff like the synthetic brushes are. A natural fiber brush has a different feel to them and they react differently when used. They can offer the artist a softness in strokes that synthetic can not. Natural fibers have longevity when properly cared for and conditioned with the correct brush cleaners. A downfall of natural fiber brushes is their expense as the fibers require more handling and preparations before they are made into brushes. Another downfall is their tendency to shed fibers, especially when new.

3 Soft natural fibers are good for watercolor paintings with soft blended color effects. They are also excellent for soft blending in oil paintings. I have used natural Sable hair brushes for a type of Russian dec- orative painting called Zhostovo painting using acrylic paints, and these I reserve only for this type of painting. The stiffer style of natural brushes, like hog hair, are good for creating texture and spreading heavy body mediums. They are also good for scrubbing in washes of paint into the cracks and crevices of a textured painting. The best way to clean natural brushes is to use a flax based soap with brush condition- ers as well. These clean the safest way and leave the fibers feeling clean and resilient.

Brushes made with a mix of natural and synthetic fibers have an extra advantage over the pure natural or synthetic brushes. They have the softness and absorbency of the natural fibersand the body and fullness of the synthetic fibers. They are a hybrid with all the benefits of both. When you wish to have a soft touch and finish to your brush strokes along with the body to hold a lot of fluid and strength of the synthetic, these brushes will really preform. They come in specialty shapes and lengths because they can hold their shapes better and spring back into shape quickly. Since I recommend using brushes for each medium you choose to work in, then the care of them is very important. Storing them in art bins or kits is a good idea to keep them separated for easy identifica- tion. You can also make color coded marks on the handles with paint or a marker so you can see which type of brush it is by sight. A very quick and easy way to do this is with spray paint, but be sure to cover up the bristle ends before you spray paint them. A nice way to add a griping coating is to use a product called Plastic Dip, a rubber coating for tools that you can get at hardware stores.

4 Cleaning your brushes is the most important thing you can do to safeguard your tool investment. A properly cleaned brush is one that will give you its best performance and help it to last a long time. A dirty brush will give you trouble, will not create the brush strokes you want and will age faster. A simple clean- ing practice that you use every time is the easiest and best technique to learn. Yes, it is more fun to just paint, but preparation and maintenance is a must for successful painting. The first thing you need to do for your brushes is to rinse them out with water before you begin using them. Look them over for dirt and clean them if needed. Make sure they are in good shape. Getting them wet before use allows the bristles to soften and open up to accept paints. Reshape them from time to time as you use them so that they give you the brush stroke shapes you want. Keep an eye on the build up of paint around the heel of the brush. When it gets built up, stop and take the time to clean it all out. Paint build up around the ferrule is the fastest way brushes fail.

The following is a tutorial of how to properly clean your brushes:

When painting, try not to get paint all the way up to the fer- rule. Avoiding build up here is the best way to avoid prob- lems. But let’s face it, most of us aren’t being that careful as it keeps us from really painting at our best and most expres- sive.

Wipe out any leftover paint from your brush onto a dry paper towel or piece of paper. This will remove the bulk of the paint from your brush the quickest way. It keeps your water bin cleaner and prevents that paint from go- ing down the drain. Paint build up in your sink drain is a problem which causes blockages and pollution, both se- rious problems.

Now you will want to gently wash out the paint using your wa- ter bucket. Rinse it out until all the paint has been rinsed out. It may look clean enough but in reality it is still holding onto a lot of paint.

5 Use the side of your water bin and rub the brush against it to help squeeze out more paint. Rinse it several times and re- peat the rubbing techniques.

Wipe the brush onto the paper towel to remove the paint that has been loosened up.

Now move to the sink and rinse out the brush under running wa- ter. Be sure to use only warm water, not cold and certainly not hot! Too cold and the paints will thicken and attach to the bris- tles. Too hot and the bristles themselves will alter shape and texture and will not return to their original shape.

Load on some brush cleaner soap and begin working it into the bristles of your brush. Using the palm of your hand is a good place to gently scrub out the lingering paint. A good soap cleaner is important. If you do not have any, I recommend that you use a little Dawn Soap. It cleans very well and rinses out cleanly.

6 After a bit, squeeze the soap from the ferrule towards the chisel end of the brush. If the soap bubbles are clean, you can go to the next step. If there is any paint color in the bubbles, you need to repeat the cleaning again.

After all the paint is removed, rinse the brush several times under running water. Really work the bristles back and forth to let the water get in between the fibers.

Reshape the brush to its original shape.

Lay your brushes flat on a towel or clean paper towel to dry completely. Do not dry them standing up in a container. Water will leak in- to the ferrule, loosen the glue and release the fibers. It will also cause the wooden handle to swell and distort the ferrule. Once they are completely dry, put them away in your art kit or bins.

7 Now that you have a stash of great brushes and they are all cleaned and ready to use, now you will want to know how each one works. Using the right tool for the job you want to do will make painting a joy and so much more rewarding. The following pages are brush strokes that each style of paint brush will perform. All of these brush stokes are used in decorative painting but carry over for all types of painting. They all take a bit of practice to learn, but these will help you to create the looks you want in the shortest amount of time and smallest effort. Set aside some extra time each time you want to paint and use these brush stroke practices as a way to warm up before you jump into the painting you want to do. I am going to demonstrate my favorite brush styles. There are a lot of brush shapes and styles that you can buy, but I have found these to be my go to brushes for anything I want to paint. I mainly paint with only two brushes, a large round brush with a good sharp point and a large 1” or larger flat brush. They must have a good spring action to return to their original shape quickly, so synthetic bristles are my preferred brushes. I generally keep one in each hand so I can change out brushes quickly. I also work very quickly, so I can get what is in my mind onto the canvas. Knowing what my brushes will do for me and hav- ing had practiced these strokes beforehand enables me to work this way. My favorite brush styles are:

• Round, a small, a medium and a large sizes.

• Flat, a 1/2” and a 1” sizes.

• Angle, 1/2” and a 3/4” sizes.

• Fan, #4 soft and a #6 stiff

• Liner, #2

• Filbert, #8

To make brush stroke practicing easier and most enjoyable, take some time to set up a place to paint with the supplies needed nice and handy. You will need some paper with a smooth finish, cardstock is good. A brush you want to prac- tice with, some paint of your choice and make it a color you love, some water and a paper towel. Give yourself about 15 minutes to sit down and practice undisturbed. Play some soft music to relax and jump in and just try. It doesn’t matter if it looks bad, it will improve with practice and time.

8 Brush Strokes—Round Used here: Synthetic, short handle #2 Small #4 Medium #10 Large Acrylic paint thinned to a creamy consistency

HINY: When loading the brush with paint, turn the brush handle to aid in the formation of a nice sharp point. When the brush begins to drag and skip, it is time to reload the brush with more paint.

9 Brush Strokes—Flat or Stroke Used here: Synthetic, short handle 1/2” Small 3/4” Medium Acrylic paint thinned to a creamy consistency

10 HINT: This is why I like the Flat style of brush. It is the most versatile brushes made.

11 Brush Strokes—Angle Shader Used here: Synthetic, short handle 3/4” Medium Acrylic paint thinned to a creamy consistency

12 Brush Strokes—Fan Used here: Synthetic, short handle #4 Soft #6 Firm Acrylic paint thinned to a creamy consistency

13 Brush Strokes—Specialty Brushes Used here: Synthetic, short handle #2 Liner #8 Filbert Acrylic paint thinned to a creamy consistency

HINT: A Liner brush will give you nice long lines. A small Round will give you short lines. Use the brush that fits the space you are painting.

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