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Soft, stiff, flat, round, pointed, thick, thin, short, long, mop, angle, nylon, sable, camel, hog, goat, squirrel . . .
I am so confused!
Please help me choose a few decent brushes to get started. I am not an artist but I do want brushes that will allow me to experiment with color, shape and technique and won't shed all over the page.
Mediums will include:
Acrylic paint
Watercolor (Twinkling H2Os, ink pad, watercolor pencil)
Water-base adhesive such as gel medium and YES! paste.
My "canvas" will most likely be craft store watercolor, acrylic or mixed media paper in sizes ranging from 4"x5" to 11"x16".
If you have an AC Moore near you and a coupon, you can get the pack for 10-12 dollars.
I haven't bought brushes for acrylic painting in years so I don't know what to recommend there. However, I like flats & shaders for acrylic painting and rounds for watercolors. I like short handles since I'm not painting at an easel, and I like blended bristles, like squirrel plus a synthetic. I have a Robert Simmons mop brush for wetting my paper before watercoloring. I clean my brushes with Dawn, and after rinsing really well, I roll or drag them across a cake of preserver and smooth and shape them with my fingers before storing them. I never store them vertically.
__________________ Linda E
Caution: You are entering an artistic zone. This is not clutter - this is creating. These are not pajamas - it's my work uniform.
This is wonderful information, Linda. Glad to learn I should store my brushes horizontally, otherwise they'd be stored in a mayo jar (where my current brushes reside).
I've added those brushes to my Amazon wish list and will see if I can find them locally at an affordable price. No AC Moore here. It looks to be an East Coast store.
Yes, that is exactly the one I use. If you can find a flatter jar, it's easier to roll and drag your brushes across it. But you don't need a large jar; this stuff last forever!
I forgot to mention that I use a flat brush for gel medium, but that's all I use it for. A brush basin works well for cleaning brushes used for acrylics and gel medium, and you can make your own DIY version: find a small scrub brush that's flat on the back, put it in a plastic container, cover the brush with water and a couple of drops of Dawn, and you're good to go. When you are ready to put fresh water in the container, don't pour the old down your drain. It will stop up your pipes.
__________________ Linda E
Caution: You are entering an artistic zone. This is not clutter - this is creating. These are not pajamas - it's my work uniform.
The Jerry's Artarama site has a stiffness rating on their brushes, which I find really helpful. On their scale, I find that a stiffness of 3 works well for all my watercolor and acrylic painting. Here's just one example from the one listed below: http://www.jerrysartarama.com/discou...le-brushes.htm
That said... I purchased my brushes at Blick before realizing I had the Jerry's catalog as a guide... these are the brushes I've been really happy with:
A brush basin works well for cleaning brushes used for acrylics and gel medium, and you can make your own DIY version: find a small scrub brush that's flat on the back, put it in a plastic container, cover the brush with water and a couple of drops of Dawn, and you're good to go. When you are ready to put fresh water in the container, don't pour the old down your drain. It will stop up your pipes.
Was thinking about this ...
If you don't pour the dirty water down the drain, where do you put it?
I'm guessing that it makes a filmy mess that wouldn't be good for the grass, rose bushes or lemon tree either. Maybe I should dump it in a large bucket outside, let the water evaporate and dispose of the bucket when it becomes too messy?
Yes, that is exactly the one I use. If you can find a flatter jar, it's easier to roll and drag your brushes across it. But you don't need a large jar; this stuff last forever!
That's the same cleaner I've used for more years than I can count. I had a small container like pictured above for most of those years, but somehow it "disappeared". When I saw a HUGE tub of it at HL in the clearance bin, I snatched it up. It literally will outlast me.
I have several different types of synthetic brushes that I particularly like. The Robert Simmons Sienna is probably the one I have most of. In general synthetics don't hold as much water or water/paint combo as the natural hair brushes, but they are great quality nowdays, and for a reasonable price. I do have a natural hair mop brush.
But I do have a few kolinsky brushes that I don't let anyone else even get near. Kind of like my Gingher sewing shears. Anyone who raids that drawer in my sewing cabinet takes their life in their hands! Just kidding...but not by much! That would not be the type of brush you'd necessarily want for what you are doing, though. Synthetics are much more durable for acrylic paints and mixed media types of work.
Sometimes you need a collection of cheap, cheap brushes. Because some things you do totally ruin them. For example, for masking fluid.
I have flats in a wide range of widths, rounds in several sizes, brushes for washes, then a bunch of specialty brushes like angular, fan, rigger, and filbert brushes. I like my filberts, and I need to replace some that are sable and deteriorating. Brights are not too useful in my book. I could live with a good number of flats and rounds in various sizes, one or two filberts, and a mop brush. Then I'd be happy, and I could do most everything I want to do.
I had the chance to go to blick while traveling. I wrote down all the brushes dini mentioned. None in stores.... Ended up buying some colored pencils. But I want to know how a $2 item turns into $50 bill...???
Somehow a paintbrush turned up on my craft desk and I love it. It's majestic royal and langnickel. I find myself reaching for it all the time so I am going to get a set from Amazon
I also want to get the brush mentioned in one of sandy allnooks video
__________________ Creativity is intelligence having fun. - Albert Einstein
I had the chance to go to blick while traveling. I wrote down all the brushes dini mentioned. None in stores.... Ended up buying some colored pencils. But I want to know how a $2 item turns into $50 bill...???
There is a Blick art store in San Diego, about 1.5 hours drive for me. I think I'm going to go next month and take a friend who needs to go there for something else. I want to get some of the Pitt big brush markers and thought it would be easier to get what I want if I saw the pen colors in person. It might be a disappointing trip if I go only to find that they don't carry them in the stores.
And I can certainly understand the $2 to $50 thing. I'm already making a list of stuff I want to look at when I go. I fear a couple of those items will try to jump into my bag with the markers!
I'm at the very beginning stage of dabbling in watercolor and doing research.
One piece of consistent advice that I'm seeing is that watercolor brushes should be dedicated to your watercoloring and should not be used for any thing else.
__________________ "May your mind whirl joyful cartwheels of creativity." - Jonathan Lockwood Huie.
How do we know which are the stiffer types? Would they be mostly synthetic?
I like the synthetic sable or sable/synthetic blend brushes best. That type has the right stiffness and what is called 'snap' for me (returning to a straight position and point after making a stroke). I would venture to guess that real sable brushes would have the same feel to them, but I don't have one to compare.
The Silver Black Velvet brushes are a blend of squirrel hair and synthetic fibers. I just find that they're softer - for me they don't hold water as well, and they drag a little and don't return to a point. Jerry's lists them with a stiffness of 2. The ones I like have a stiffness of 3.
Just FYI-you can do Blick online if you know for sure what you want. If you want to know if something is in the store you can call ahead. They take PP online. They may have more online than in the B&Ms.
If you join their club or whatever it's called...which I did for free many years ago in the store...you get coupons constantly for good amounts like 30 or 40% off one item-but that's list-not their discounted price. I think I might also be getting 10% off my buys if I remember to present the key ring thing. I dont remember if that will stack on other coupons. I am hoarding one now to look at a brush set to build off.
Soft, stiff, flat, round, pointed, thick, thin, short, long, mop, angle, nylon, sable, camel, hog, goat, squirrel . . .
I am so confused!
Squirrel???? Seriously - that made me laugh out loud and my husband ask me why I was willing to wake our 20 year old up!!! (edit: And now I've read through and realize I shouldn't have been laughing. Wondering if the squirrels in the neighborhood are safe.....)
Am glad you asked - I'm following because I need to know some of these answers as well. I'm pretty good on acrylics, but am watching for the watercolor answers! Thanks for the question - and the laughter!
Joni
__________________ The future is uncertain, because love changes everything!
you guys are so knowledgeable!!! who knew all this stuff? My brushes are stored in a mug upright. I clean them with water only. I need to learn this stuff!!
__________________ Dear Paperlicious is my blog...with a series on how I'm learning to improve my cardmaking by studying others.
This information is so interesting but I'm a brush killer, yep, I admit it, I kill my brushes. I start out with the best intentions of grabbing the right kind of brush and the next thing you know the paints, mediums, gelatos, lions, tigers, and bears are being applied with no consideration of the brush type. I clean my brushes after use, but somehow there is always one brush that gets buried under mounds of clutter and when I find the poor thing it looks like the grape that's been under the fridge since last summer. ACK!
Even though I kill my brushes, there is one brush I love and treat it well, my watercolor wash brush. I never, ever, ever use it for anything except watercolor wash backgrounds.
I use Pink Soap to clean my brushes. It works really well, even on the brushes with dried paint and mediums.
You guys are so smart! I love reading about this stuff.
Today I went into Michael's to look at the brushes. I carried around a big, flat brush that was on sale for $3, then changed my mind and put it back. The handle was much too long. I worried that I'd put my eye out!
The short handle brushes felt like they had glue on the tips of the bristles. Then I walked around the corner to the more expensive brushes and found some of those to have the same stiff-tipped glue feel. Is it some sort of sizing to keep the bristles in place until they get a good first wash?
And to help prevent damage in shipping and in handling in the store.
Actually, I leave a small amount of the brush cleaner/conditioner in my clean brushes in order to protect the bristles and keep the real hair ones from drying out.
"Is it some sort of sizing to keep the bristles in place until they get a good first wash?"
Yep the stiff is to protect the bristles. I have found that if you finger and flick them for a bit most of the that goes away.
I recently learned that you should never bend the bristles of a sable or other natural hair brush when they are stiff with sizing. It can break the hairs! Always soak the sizing out with water. Sometimes it can take several minutes, so be patient.
I sometimes think just like we can be choosy about what hair and makeup products we use, it can be the same for our crafting tools. What works for some, may not for others since we all work differently - that's why there are so many brushes to choose from!
I have a blog post today on the brushes I use, and I included this video - thought I'd share it here since we were talking about the Silver brushes and the difference in softness between different brush brands and types.
I have a blog post today on the brushes I use, and I included this video - thought I'd share it here since we were talking about the Silver brushes and the difference in softness between different brush brands and types.
This video was very helpful. I'd love to see comparisons of some of your other brushes as well, and maybe a discussion about the numbers (size no.; stiffness rating, etc.)
I can certainly see how each of the brushes in the video would have their uses. But learning what each brush can do and what to buy next will likely always be tricky for me.
Brushes: help me get started
