Basic Brushes 2

Basic Mantra: Brushes do what they look like.

Brush Choice
Select a brush that is suited to the effect you want to achieve.
You can designate certain brushes for certain tasks.
But you can also use a single brushes to do most things.

Size: Select a brush that is the right size for what you are painting. Small brushes for small shapes or areas. Large brushes for large areas. (But it may be different for advance painters).

Soft Hair or Bristle? Soft for delicate blends. Use Bristle for most general painting.

Manufacturer confusion: For example, a size # 6 brush by one manufacturer may be a #2 to another manufacturer. So make your selection by the factual dimensions of the head of the brush.

Real vs synthetic: The quality of synthetic soft hair and bristle brushes has gotten really good. Choose either. 

Brush pricing: You don’t need an expensive brush to do a great painting.

Brands: I tend to use a lot of Princeton brushes, but I actually go by how the head feels, not by the manufacture.

Practice: Buy a new brush every now and then to see what it will do. Because you can’t really know what a brush does until you use it.

Brush Care: Some brushes you can be hard on (Chip), others you want to handle with care (Liner). Clean with Gamsol after use. For deeper cleaning, use Dawn soap. Put a few drops in the base of a sink. Stir the brush into it. Then rinse thoroughly.

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