Choosing Your Paint Brushes and Caring for Them

Posted July 25, 2010 By admin and has no comments yet.
Choosing the right paintbrush

Choosing the right paintbrush

The paint brush is an important tool because it is through the paint brush that the painter expresses his or her emotions.

Typically, oil painters need two kinds of brushes. One is stiff and the other is soft. A painter usually has a range of sizes for both types of brushes.

The stiff brushes are used for most of the painting tasks and it comes in three shapes: the round, the flat and the filbert. For art beginners, filbert is a shape that is rounded at the base and tapers to a point at the tip. Stiff brushes are made of hog bristles but there are also synthetic bristles available that can make acceptable results. Brushes made with natural fibres are usually more expensive, but will generally give you a better result too.

The soft brushes are used for painting the finer details. I think the best soft brushes are the ones made of sable. Since sable brushes are expensive, there are substitutes available. But the brush strokes made using these replacements are not as good as the ones made by the sable-made soft brush. Basically you get what you pay for.

There is also a kind of brush made of either sable or hog hair. It is called a fan-head brush and it is needed to seamlessly blend paint on the canvas.

It is important to get paint brushes that you like working with because chances are they will stay with you for a while. For this reason, it is important also to know how to care for them so they can last a long time.

Caring for your paint brushes

1. NEVER use your paint brushes to mix paint. Use painting knives to mix paint.

2. NEVER stand your paint brushes pointing down, especially for the soft brushes. This may permanently bend or damage those expensive hair or bristles.

3. Use the right amount of paint on the brush. Too much paint will clog the ferrules, the part that holds the hair or bristles together. If the ferrules get clogged, you have to clean it and cannot avoid parting the hairs. If this is done too often, the brush ultimately become useless.

4. Clean your paint brushes as soon as you have finished using them.  You may use turpentine with soap and water. For soft brushes, these can be dipped in milk and allowed to dry for a couple of days.

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Basics of Painting with Oil Paints

Posted July 5, 2010 By admin
Some tools you need for Oil Painting

Some tools you need for Oil Painting

Oil paintings are nice to look at, but also fun to do. If you have ever thought about maybe painting with oil, then here are some basics to get you started.

First of all, think about where you might do your oil painting. You need an area that is well ventilated, both for the smell and for the work to dry. Preferably you can find a semi outdoor area. If you have to work outside, then make sure you can secure everything quickly in case of wind or rain. You should also be wary of flying insects if you are working outdoors.

Once you have get yourself organized in your new work area, the first thing to do is to lay down your drop cloth, tarp and a plastic bag. Secure the drop cloth by masking taping the edges to prevent it from bunching up. Then set up your oil paintings work area on the drop cloth so it is important that you have enough room to work in comfortably. If you are going to work on your oil paintings with a table easel set up on a table, you’ll want to cover the floor below the table top and the place where you will stand or sit.

Dress in your old clothes or wear an apron and gloves. You’ll also need a container that has paint thinner and a container that holds a combination of two parts paint thinner and one part walnut oil. These containers should be about three inches high and two inches around. Each should be filled to the half way mark. You’ll need a comfortable set up with an easy reach for your paint palette and knife, your brushes, the two containers, as well as paint rags and tubes.

Then you can set up the paints you’ll use for your oil paintings. If you have a variety of colors, you don’t need all of them squeezed out onto your paint palette. Start with just two or three colors. It might be easiest to start with primary colors like cadmium red, yellow and blue. A dime size spot of each color would be sufficient to start with. Space them as far from each other on the palette as possible, as if you are putting dots on the three points of a triangle. In the center of this paint triangle squeeze a nickel-size spot of Titanium white oil paint. When you are ready you can mix the paint as required with your knife.

Congratulations, you are now ready to paint!

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