More About Our USA Made Artist & Detail Brushes

Different Brush Hair for Different Purposes

There are two types of brush hairs used in oil painting: bristle hairs from pigs and sable hair from the weasel like-sable. Bristle brushes are used to begin a painting because large areas are tackled first. An entire painting can be painted using only bristle brushes but if you want finer detail in smaller areas, you should switch to sable brushes. Sable brushes are used for detail work. (Sable brushes made for watercolors usually lack the spring needed for painting with oils.)

Long Handles Balance the Brushes

Oil painting brushes are made with longer handles than watercolor brushes or house painting brushes. These other brushes are ideally used in a vertical position with the painting surface horizontal. Liquid goes downhill, so the short handles shift the balance toward the front of the brush so the paint will flow better. Oil painting brushes are used in a horizontal position with the painting surface vertical. The oil paint doesn’t flow. When you hold your oil painting brush horizontally the long handle serves to balance the brush in your hand.

Other Fill Materials Brushes Can Be Good

Other brushes can be made to imitate the qualities of bristles and sables at a lower cost. They include nylon, horsehair and mongoose hair. None are as good as sables and bristles but occasionally they come close.

Brushes Come in Different Shapes

Artist and detail brushes come in a variety of shapes and affect the stroke of the brush: Flats, Filberts, Brights and Rounds.

Flats

A FLAT brush has hairs arranged in a rectangular shape that is longer than it is wide. From the side it is narrow. The Flat is the most versatile of brushes. You can make a broad stroke, a narrow stroke and, with a little twist, a triangular stroke. This is also your primary blending brush.

Filberts

A FILBERT looks like a Flat with the corners rounded. The stroke is oval shaped or half circular. They are used when you want a softer edge or for smaller blends than you get with a Flat.

Brights

A BRIGHT (named after a fellow named Bright) is like a Flat, except that the hairs are shorter and the side view is narrower. A Bright is used when you want your brush strokes to show. They tend to put the paint on thickly and when worked too hard will remove as paint much as they apply. The bright, being short and therefore stiffer than a Flat, can also give you a little more control of your stroke.

Rounds

Although some people successfully use ROUNDS for their entire painting, they are less versatile than other brush shapes because little variation in the size and shape of the stroke is possible. Rounds are most often sable hair and are used for small details and line work.

Varnish Brushes

These soft sable-like brushes are used for varnish and retouching varnish. The brushes should be cleaned with turpentine, and then washed in soap and water.

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