So start with that first, go to a reputable art store to find the best painting brushes. And there are some really top brush companies in the world. One being Silver Grand Prix, another one being Treacle. Those two are certainly very good. For intricate details, you can also turn to fine brushes, commonly found in art studios, for the maximum amount of control and creative possibility. The Harbor Freight Tools Horsehair Bristle set provides 36 separate 1/2 inch horsehair brushes you can mix-and.

• Good Paint Brushes For Artists
• Good Paint Brushes For Artists
• Types Of Art Paint Brushes

Art Lesson 6, Part 1

In this lesson, you will discover How to Choose Brushes for Oil Painting

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How to Choose Brushes for Oil Painting

“How to Choose Brushes for Oil Painting” is an important topic for a fine artist. Have you seen the huge variety of brushes they offer at art supply stores? Yes, it’s totally confusing. All the natural and synthetic brushes of different shapes, sizes, brands, and qualities – there are too many choices.

With shapes alone, at least 10 types were invented, as the typical brush shape used by the Old Masters was a Round Brush, nothing exotic. Titian, for example, is well known for his desire to be different from Michelangelo and Raphael. Reportedly he had his brushes unkempt as a broom.

Let’s look at the most popular types of brush shapes that we can choose from:

• Round Brush. There are two sizes of Round Brushes.
• Flat Brush. There are also small and bigger sizes of Flat Brushes.
• Bright Brush. There are three sizes of Bright Brushes. This brush is actually a short version of a Flat Brush.
• Angle Brush.
• Filbert Brush. This is like a flat brush, only with a rounded shape.

Each type of brush produces a different stroke. But let’s be honest, it is enough to have just two types of brush sizes to create impressive and diverse strokes. It is the manufacturers’ wish that we buy many kinds of brushes, that’s why they make them seem vital. Actually, Round and Flat brushes can satisfy your needs entirely. I use Flat brushes more often than Round, but it is more out of habit and I can easily do all of my artworks with nothing but Round brushes of different sizes.

Do we need all shapes? Not at all. It’s perfectly fine to have round brushes and flat brushes – they can satisfy our needs entirely.

So, what are the best materials for brushes? In the Old Masters .Academy ™ we will use both natural and synthetic types of brushes, appropriate for different purposes.

This table, that you can find in your Workbook, helps us understand what the best use is for each particular brush.

They are placed in order, from the most expensive to the least expensive.

If you have just one type of brush, let’s say only Hog brushes of different sizes, you can certainly apply them in any of the processes listed above – not only in processes that are mentioned as suitable, but also in glazing and varnishing. And if you have more appropriate type of brushes for each type of task – use them. If not, it’s ok, deal with what you have.

Good Paint Brushes For Artists

Let’s look at each brush type, one by one.

Sable Brushes

Sable Brushes are expensive but worth the price. They are long lasting (if you carefully maintain them); they do their job perfectly and are just pleasant to use. These brushes hold their shape when loaded with paint, they will bend and return to their original shape, stroke after stroke. Pony and Squirrel brushes also have soft hair, but they are too soft, they do not keep their shape and are inappropriate for oil painting.

Choose Russian Sable, Kolinsky, Red Sable or Black Sable, whatever you find more appealing to you; they perform great, in similar ways.

Sable brushes have soft, flexible hairs that are ideal for applying thin glazes.

It is possible to use Sable brushes for impasto layers as well. They work excellently in detailed passages, as they form a sharp point which helps you achieve precise strokes.

You can also use them for varnishing, however that would be an uneconomical decision – you need to have individual brushes for varnishing that are absolutely unadulterated and doesn’t contain any particles from oil paints.

Sable brushes are also perfect for painting smooth layers. I wouldn’t create sketches using scumbling and drybrush methods with such costly and delicate brushes. More rigid brushes, that we will look at a bit later, should be chosen for these purposes.

Mongoose Brushes

Mongoose Brushes are very much similar to Sable Brushes in performance, but are slightly less soft. Mongoose hair is responsive and firm, yet delicate to the touch.

Mongoose brushes are excellent in cases when Hog brushes are too rough and Sable is not stiff enough to move thicker paint over the painting surface. Mongoose is priced between Sable and Hog.

You can choose either Sable brushes or Mongoose for your painting process, or you can have both.

Hog Brushes

Good Paint Brushes For Artists

Hog Brushes are less expensive than Mongoose brushes and has a completely different nature. This type of brush can be used for many purposes, but with limitations. They are perfect for Sketching.

These brushes are suitable for Impasto – brush marks, in the paint, make artwork more vivid. You need to superimpose paint with the brushes carefully, otherwise it’s easy to “plow up” newly applied lower paint.

Stiff and hard Hog Brushes are especially created for such techniques as Scumbling and Drybrush. They are just irreplaceable for the task.

Bristles of the brush wear out relatively fast, especially when used vigorously, and leave small particles of bristles on the surface of the painting. That’s perfectly fine while painting, but for Varnishing it’s better to choose a safe option, like a Synthetic brush.

Bristle brushes are multi-tasking, you can even glaze with them; but test them in glazes yourself. Not everyone will be satisfied with using such a rigid brush during glazing.

When choosing a Hog Brush, be sure that the bristles have natural split-ends. If brushes are suspiciously cheap, they are usually trimmed and are usually only suitable for sketching or unimportant works.

This is how cheap, cropped Hog brushes look and here you see a completely different quality. When it comes to brushes with natural split-ends, they are shaped perfectly.

You can reuse old brushes by trimming them and giving them the desired shape. Such reused brushes can be used for the purpose of Scumbling. Such brushes are even better than new brushes with long bristles.

For priming with Gesso – employ broad bristle brushes, rich in hair, and make sure they are flat-shaped like those used for wall painting; the wider and thicker the brush is, the smoother the Gesso is applied and distributed over a canvas.

Synthetic Brushes

Synthetic Brushes are on the same level as Sable and Mongoose brushes when used in glazing technique. They are equally soft and flexible, however whatever one may say, synthetic is synthetic and you will sense a non-natural feeling during your work, especially if you are used to natural Sable and Mongoose brushes.

What may impress you is the price, which is tangibly lower than the price of Sable and Mongoose.

Medium sized, flat, synthetic brushes are ideal for final Varnishing – neat flexible hairs help spread the varnish evenly on the painting surface. Buy a few Synthetic Brushes, especially for Varnishing, and stick a label to make them distinct from others and keep them exclusively for Varnishing purposes. Varnishing brushes shouldn’t contain oil paint particles.

Synthetic brushes can be used as disposable brushes, for any dirty work, numerous sketches, and for covering a canvas with fast and expressive brush movements. Underpainting can be done with these brushes, the upper layers of a painting can be continued by using other brush types.

Which paintbrushes do I need to start painting with acrylics?

The kind of paintbrush that you use can make all the difference in how well your painting turns out. Some brushes are more suited to particular techniques than others. So, how do you know which paintbrushes to choose?

Types Of Art Paint Brushes

First, familiarize yourself with the 8 different kinds of paintbrushes recommended for use with acrylics. This Acrylic Paint Brush Guide will explain what each type of brush is used for. Narrow down which paintbrushes you will need based on the size and style of painting you would like to do.

In general, if you're just starting out with acrylics and you're on a tight budget, I'd recommend getting one round and one flat brush. That's enough to accomplish most of what you need with acrylics. Two brushes is really all you need to get started with acrylics. Then if you decide you like it, you can go out and buy more artist paint brushes!

If you're buying paintbrushes for the first time, I suggest going to your local art supply store and seeing them in person first. This will allow you the opportunity to see the wide variety for yourself. Then, once you've fallen in love with certain artist paint brushes, you'll know exactly what to get if you want to buy them online.

At the store, you can pick up the artist paint brushes and run your fingers along the bristles, getting a feel for the different types of hairs. Some bristles stay firmly in place, while others are floppy. Some are soft to the touch, while others are stiff and coarse. For acrylics, you'll usually want something that is between the softness of a watercolor brush and the coarseness of an oil painting brush.

To select a paintbrush, hold it in your hand and see how it feels. Check the bristles as described above. When you settle on a brush that 'feels right' to you, check to make sure that it doesn't have any stray or frayed hairs. If it does, put it back and get another one.

Should I get a paintbrush with natural hairs or synthetic hairs?

For acrylics, it's better to get artist paint brushes with synthetic hairs. These hairs are made from a polyester called Taklon. They will stay stiffer than natural hairs when they are wet. In addition, the chemicals in acrylic paint can have an adverse affect on artist paint brushes with natural hairs, and in some cases, they can become ruined. If that's not enough to convince you, just ask yourself: would you really want to paint with a brush whose hairs were plucked from the back end of a pig? (That's what hog bristles are!)

Do I need a brush with a long handle or a short handle?

The handles of acrylic paintbrushes can be long or short. The short ones are about the length of a pencil, so they feel quite natural in one's hand. The long ones can be as long as a 12-inch ruler, making it a bit awkward for those who aren't used to it.

The main difference between the two is that long-handled brushes are intended for easel work, when you want to stand away from the painting, rather than close-up. The length of the handle allows you more distance from the painting surface. In contrast, short handles allow for easier close-up work. I usually prefer short handles, because I prefer to work up close. Choose your own brushes based on your own work preference!

What size paint brush should I get?

Now what about sizes? Brushes come in an assortment of sizes, from teeny tiny to super large. For total beginners, I suggest getting a medium or average size brush - somewhere in the middle. Don't overwhelm yourself with a huge monster of a paintbrush, and don't strain yourself with a microscopic paintbrush!

Settling on the right one will depend on your personal artistic needs. Just use common sense when buying your brushes, and you'll be fine.

Paint brush sizes vary from brand to brand, meaning that a size 0 round in one brand may differ from a size 0 round in another brand. Because there is no industry standard regulating the brush sizes, if you decide to switch brands and you want the same size as your previous brush, it's best to handle brushes in person so you'll know exactly what you're getting.

What brands of paintbrushes do you recommend for beginners?

I'll tell you a little secret: I don't buy expensive brushes. All my artwork is created with brushes that cost less than $5. Some of them, less than $2. With proper care, they can last several months. When one gets frayed, I simply set it aside to use on abstract artwork. I almost never throw away paintbrushes! They will always find some use, somewhere, somehow.

The Recommended Products below are there to help you browse for art supplies, and if you make a purchase we get a small commission that supports this site and keeps it FREE! Thanks in advance.

Princeton and Loew Cornell are two of my favorite paintbrush brands. They are inexpensive yet good quality.

Da Vinci brushes are more expensive, but worth the cost. These paintbrushes have bristles that are extra stiff and rugged, allowing them to hold and absorb more paint. This makes them an excellent choice for thick, impasto-style painting.

Art is Fun Paintbrush Guide

Page 1........ describes the different types of brushes for acrylics and what each paintbrush can do.

Page 2........ answers all the questions that a beginning artist will have about paintbrushes.

Page 3........ explains how to safely care for your paintbrushes and keep them happy.

Page 4........ demonstrates the best way to clean, store and transport your paintbrushes.

read more...

Find out what acrylic painting supplies you should get if you want to get started with acrylic paintings. If you're a total beginner to painting with acrylics, learn what paints are best for you!

Return to the Acrylic Table of Contents page, where you'll find all kind of info and tutorials about painting with acrylics!