Brush Anatomy
Differences between long handle and short handle brushes
Importance of quality & what to look out for
Brush hair types
Selecting the right hair type for your medium
Synthetic vs. Natural Hair
Main brush shapes & what you can use them for
Overview of some of my favorites from Princeton
Brush Care
I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE BRUSHES AND WHY?
LET’S START WITH THE BRUSH HANDLE…
The brush handle is typically made out of
WOOD OR PLASTIC
The most common woods used are beechwood or birch which are considered to be a hard wood.
The manufacturer will sand and cut the handle based on one of two things
- COMFORT
- USAGE
Long handle brushes are designed for oil and acrylic because artists working in these mediums tend to use an easel and have their surface sitting upright.
The longer handle allows them to stand further back from their painting
Being at arms length allows you to keep your brush strokes looser and therefore more expressive.
Long handles are usually about 9” in length.
Short handle brushes on the other hand, are designed more for flat work for artists that may work closer to the painting.
Usually 5-6" in length.
You’ll see a lot of watercolour brushes mostly consist of short handles because of this.
Having said that, there really is no exact science to this. Like most things in art, there’s no right or wrong. It’s all personal preference. I work primarily in oil paint, and I tend to prefer a shorter handle because it allows me to have more control over my brush strokes,
Regardless of the length, the treatment of the handle is the same.
Wooden handles must be coated in a varnish or paint to protect the wood from swelling when it gets wet.
DOES THIS LOOK FAMILIAR?
Have you ever had a brush start to crack or chip? This may be a result of poor construction.
1. A weak varnish
OR
2. A ferrule that isn't well fastened
OR
3. A ferrule is made out of a cheap metal that bends easily.
The issue with a ferrule that isn't fastened properly is water or medium can seep in underneath AND CAUSE THIS TO HAPPEN :(
The ferrule is the metal part that holds the bristles to the handle.
The metals may differ based on the quality of the brush.
Inexpensive brushes are usually made out of aluminum which is a softer metal so it may dent or bend more easily.
The ferrule on a higher quality brush, is usually brass (a strong metal). Often times the metal is plated or lacquered. this is just mostly just for aesthetic purposes
Now, the head of the brush also known as filaments or bristles.
The Bristles of a paint brush are made out of natural hair or synthetic.
Most brushes today (specifically acrylic brushes) are made from synthetic hairs. I say specifically acrylic, because acrylic paints tend to damage delicate, natural hairs
There's a lot of controversy in the art world about synthetic vs. natural hairs
Is one better than the other? let’s look at the key differences between the two
Natural fibers are more delicate and usually require a little bit of extra care. think about the clothes that you have that must be hand-washed or dry-cleaned.
Same thing with paint brushes!
Some natural hairs that you see most often would be
Chungking bristle (hog)
Kolinsky’s
Sable
Pony
Goat
Squirrel
Ox Ear.
Some being soft hairs, others being more stiff.
Soft/natural hair like sable, work really well with oil paint because oil almost acts as a conditioner for the hairs. Also works beautifully with watercolours because natural hairs are very porous and can hold water in the belly while still giving you a fine point and excellent control
Stiff natural hair like hog, holds its shape really well which is why it’s great for more viscose mediums like oil paint and heavy body acrylic. popular for impasto techniques because it holds lots of paint but still has enough spring to apply paint onto the canvas.
REFINE by Princeton is a natural interlocked chunking bristle brush line.
Interlocked Chungking bristle is the best out there in terms of a natural hog bristle.
‘Chungking’ is actually a region in China. The hogs that are raised there have very long hair which is very desirable but also very expensive.
Like all natural hairs, Each individual hair has a natural curve to it. The craftsmen and women that are putting these brushes together are looking at each hair and constructing it based on that natural curve so the roots will then interlock inside the ferrule. this will help the brush keep its’ shape.
Some manufacturer’s may boil the bristle and manipulate them to take a curve but eventually after multiple uses, the bristle goes back to its natural form and that’s when you may start to notice the bristles splaying out.
Another perk of chunking bristle is they have long deep flags which essentially means split ends. This helps to hold more paint and have the paint spread more easily.
The fibers used for synthetics now are usually man-made fibers such as,
nylon
polyester
PBT resin (known to be the best synthetic fiber for brushes)
it’s amazing how closely we're able to mimic natural hair brush now with the technology that we have. A high quality synthetic brush that’s well crafted, can be so close to the natural version, that you won't even be able to tell the difference.
PLUS, you will get it at a fraction of the cost and probably have it last longer.
How do they do this?
The synthetic filament is dipped into an acid bath to essentially etch a point on the end of the brush. The best quality synthetic brushes are made with a blend of synthetic filaments so you’ll have a mix of diameters and sizes to imitate the characteristics of a natural hair. A lot of synthetics will then be dyed different colours and patterns to give the appearance of a natural hair.
Like Princeton’s IMPERIAL brush for example…
it looks like it would be a natural hair brush based on the filaments are coloured but this is actually a synthetic mongoose hair.
This is one of my absolute favorites for oil paint because its stiffer than a sable but softer than a bristle so you have the ability to blend and paint with almost no visible brush strokes.
Then there’s more stiff synthetics like ASPEN which is Princeton’s premium synthetic bristle line. I tend to prefer a synthetic bristle over a natural bristle because i find the laydown is much smoother with less visible brush strokes. again, this is just personal preference.
This table shows the compatibility each type of hair has with each medium.
1 star is good
2 starts is excellent.
now that we know what hairs work best with each medium... we’re going to go into all the different brush shape options.
There are three main brush shapes…
flat
round
specialty
Flat brushes are awesome for filling in a lot of space quickly and you can create different types of strokes with them. a more narrow stroke when they’re pulled on their edge, or a wide stroke when they’re pulled flat.
Taking a look at this slide, you can see the strokes that you can get with each brush.
Filbert brushes fall under the flat brush category however, they are very versatile and actually have a lot of features of a round brush. Filberts are amongst the most popular brush shapes.
With a round brush you can make a narrow stroke or a thick stroke based on the amount of pressure you apply.
Round brushes can be so great for small detailed work. The little angle spot detailer is my most used brush
It is amazing how many specialty brush shapes there are that create such unique textures and strokes. the ones listed here, are just some of the most popular ones.
Princeton has a line of brushes called Select which is their best selling line. The complete line has 29 different shapes with all multiple hair types so this line is great for any medium, watercolour, oil, and acrylic.
The Fan brush is one of the most popular specialty brushes. You can use it in so many different ways.
blending and softening edges with oil paint.
creating different textures like grass, hair or trees. (If you’ve ever seen Bob ross paint happy trees, this is the brush he uses to do so)
The Round Blender is used to soften an area and as the name states, blending colour. a must have brush! especially for softening small areas
The Grainer brush has hairs that are thinned and spread apart near the tip. Great for cross hatching, fur, grass, and other textural effects. Love this brush to produce the grains of wood in watercolour
The Dagger is awesome for straight lining and cross hatching, I use this brush a lot for doing hair on animals
Princeton’s Velvetouch line has my heart! these make detail work so easy.
the handles are coated with a really soft varnish that almost feels like velvet (which is where it gets its name). The velvet feel gives the handle a bit of grip so when you’re doing really fine detail work you have incredible control over what you’re doing.
The thicker handle on some of the mini brushes make it so comfortable to hold and actually helps to eliminate fatigue. think about it… when you’re doing fine detail work, you’re not using your whole arm with a stoke, you're using your fine motor skills so all those small muscles in your hands and fingers are really being put to work.
If I could recommend any line of brushes, this would be it.
1.Keep the ferrule clean
Do not immerse the brush in paint up to the ferrule. Wet paint is hard to remove from this area and, if it dries, even more difficult.
2. Clean excess paint
Remove all excess paint with a soft rag or paper towel.
3. Don't over soak
Never leave a brush soaking in water or paint-thinner for an extended period of time.
4. Don't rest your brush on its head
Never let your brush rest on its head. There are many accessories available that will suspend your brush. And if you love diy projects pinterest is your best friend for stuff like this. All you need is a hanger and some butterfly clips ike me you can get some butterfly clips, and hang them to dry
5. Clean the brush properly
Watercolor and acrylic paint should be cleaned with mild soap and water. Oil paint should be first cleaned with paint thinner and then with soap and water. Make sure you’re using a gentle soap. I would recommend buying a soap that is meant for paint brushes.
6. Store brushes properly
After cleaning, remove excess water, reshape the hairs into place with you fingers, and hang upside down or lay flat on paper towel