Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Brushes for Oil Painting

You will need two sorts of paint brushes: stiff for handling most painting tasks, and soft for adding fine details.

Stiff brushes are made of hog hackle and come in three shapes: round, flat and filbert. Get a small range of sizes to begin with. Synthetic bristles make an acceptable alternative for most purposes, but the natural article is better.

The best soft brushes are sable, and the substitutes are much less satisfactory. A fan-head brush (sable or hog hair) may be needed to blend paint in a smooth way on the canvas.

Care of Brushes

Paint brushes are costly — most particularly sable brushes — and justify to be looked after. A used but cared-for paint brush will in fact perform much better than a new one. Remember:

1. Use painting knives to mix paint, not brushes.

2. Do not stand brushes point down in jars or containers: the hairs or bristles will be permanently bent out of shape.

3. Think before adding paint to a brush. Add the correct amount and apply according to needs: carefully or briskly, with the right pressure and action, holding the brush some distance from the tip.

4. Don't use the brush as a scoop, which will clog the ferrules. This paint has to be cleaned out, and will eventually spoil the handling property of the brush.

5. Clean brushes as soon as possible after use, and certainly at the end of the day's painting. Use turps followed by normal soap and water. Or wash in turps and give a final rinse in turpentine. Soft brushes can be dipped in milk, gently shaped, and allowed to dry, tips up, for a couple of days.

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