Choosing your brushes

There is an overwhelming array of brushes on the market for all types of painting and it can be difficult for any artist, especially a beginner to decide which ones and how many you need to buy.

So which brush shall I buy?

You do not need a large number of brushes, just a handful will do, but it is important to use the correct brush for the job and then the brush can do the work for you.

Types of bristles 

Basically, there are three types of material from which artist brushes are made.  When choosing, it is important to choose one that is suitable for your medium.

1.  Hog hair:  These brushes have stiff bristles, normally used for oil or acrylic painting, and they are strong enough to push the paint around and leave brush marks, if that is what you want to do.

2.  Sable or Squirrel hair:  These brushes have soft bristles, mostly suitable for watercolour or thin paint as they can hold a lot of water.

3.  Synthetic:  These brushes are cheaper than the natural bristle brushes and I don’t think that they are as good, although they can be used with any medium.

Shapes of brushes

Artist brushes also come in different shapes, with each shape having its own particular use or uses.

1.  Round:  This is probably the shape most used.  The brush is thick at the ferrule and tapers to a point.  You can alter the thickness of your painted line by the amount of pressure you use.  This brush is usually used for sketching, controlled washes and outlining and it is normally used with thin rather than thick paint.

2.  Flat:  This brush has a square, flat top and is used for broad strokes and plane shifts, (as you might do when painting rocks).  This brush is also great at making sharp crisp lines by using the edge of the brush.

3.  Filbert:  This brush is similar to the flat brush, but instead of having a flat top it has a domed shaped top.  It is used to give a smooth finish and soft edge and is a good brush to use for blending.  This brush can also be used for dry brush techniques like painting ripples on water.

4.  Fan:  As you would expect, this brush is shaped like a fan and is great to use when you are painting foliage, grasses or other textures.  For acrylic use, I  suggest you choose one with sturdy bristles or otherwise the bristles will clump together.

5.  Detail:  This is a fine short haired brush and is used for detailed work.

6.  Rigger:  This is fine a long haired brush and is used for painting lines.

Brush sizes

All the different brush shapes and their different types of bristles also come in different sizes, and this can make decisions about which brushes to buy seem even more difficult. But just remember, size does matter, as you would soon find out if you tried to paint a large area with a small Detail brush. So when choosing your brush size keep the size of your planned paintings in mind.

It is probably best to start with a prepacked set of brushes that suits your budget and you will soon learn from experimenting, which type and size of brush best suits your style.  Also remember to always clean your brushes after each painting session and don’t leave them standing in water.  Look after your brushes and they will look after you.

Happy painting!

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