Brushes
 

Administrator's Note: The following is a partial copy of another post which was going into a new topic.
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I've got a question: do you really feel that higher quality brushes last long enough to make them worth the investment? Will a $10 brush really last more than three times longer than a $3.30 brush if cared for in the same way?

Thanks!

I would really like to know the answer to that myself. I've bought every kind of brush imaginable, and my conclusion is that it's all in how you take care of them. Turp destroys any good quality hair. The synthetic hairs seem to hold up better, but they are also stiffer. Even though I work in oils I like the softer brushes. I wish someone would give us an easy answer to this dilemma!

I find that in brushes, you mostly get what you pay for. I get expensive brushes and use Silicoil as a final wash at the end of each painting session. This product keeps my brushes in good shape.

Karen,

I have never heard of Siliciol. Would I find it in an art suppy store? I use a common brush restorer to clean my brushes and follow up with two rinses in turpentine. Good brushes don't seem to mind turpentine and show wear long before I have seen any ill effects from the solvents.

I also stopped washing in soap and water and sometimes wrap brushes in paper or vinyl to keep them from drying between sessions and see no damage or build up of old paint.
What is your life expectancy for brushes that you use on a daily basis?

Thanks

I find Silicoil in art supply stores. You buy the liquid along with a glass jar with a lid. The glass jar has a coil on the botton that is verrrrry kind to brushes and gets them clean. Be sure to swish your brushes in turps to get the Silicoil off before you begin to paint.

Brushes don't last very long with me. I simply wear them out on each painting I do. Sometimes I start with a #4 round sable and it becomes a #00 by the time I finish! I don't use soap and water any more....I don't think it is necessary with the Silicoil cleaner. I have a lot of old wornout, spent and sprung brushes around that I use for various things...like mini-blender brushes.

Also, when I did use soap and water, I used shampoo instead of brush soap....after all, it is hair that you are washing. (No conditioner of course :) )

Karin, your brushes sound like mine. Do you think it's because we use smaller brushes? I am about to buy some new ones, do you have a favorite brand? I am desperate to find at least one brush I can keep for more than one painting! I am going to try using the silicoil. Thanks for the tip. I think my main problem is I'm neglectful of good care.

Hmmmmm.....favorite brand of brush? That's a tough one. I try to go to an art store to select them by hand. When I order brushes through a catalog, I sometimes get a loose ferrule, damaged hairs, or some such annoyance.

I like sable hair brushes and sometimes I even get short-handled ones. I usually like Langnickel brushes, but sometimes I get a dud with this brand too.

I wish I had better answers for you. I am always looking for decent filberts (all sizes) and small rounds. I have a painter friend who swears by Monarch (synthetic by Windsor-Newton) because they are so inexpensive compared to sable....and because they wear out so quickly, it is less painful to toss out a cheap - rather than a pricey - used brush.

Every now and then I find an odd-ball brand that I like at Pearl Paint but I can't ever seem to find the same thing when I return to stock up...dang. The endless search for a good brush can certainly be frustrating...

I am amazed to hear that several of you can destroy a sable brush through the course of one painting. My style is such that I don't have to blend a lot and even when I do my bristle brushes can do the job. Do you use these sable brushes to lay in large areas also? My best investment has been 3" bristle and I use it as much as I can to block in and often use it in the finished work for size contrast.

I would guess that you are using a smoother canvas than I. I tried a good quality sized portrait canvas recently and found that my brush strokes tended to slip and slide.

Jim,

I agree with you on "portrait canvas". Not only is it many times more expensive than regular canvas, it's like painting on glass; the paint just won't stay put!

Great to draw on though ...

Putting in my plug regarding brushes..I do dislike portrait canvas as well, prefer medium texture linen. Typically, I go through hog bristle brushes pretty quickly because of it. Well, for the past 2 years, I have had the same set of Silver Brush Brand, Grand Prix brushes. I spent the extra dollar and don't regret it in the least. They still look brand new! I highly recommend them. I ordered them through ASOPA and used the member discount. (Not sure if they still offer it..)

I don't use many hog bristles as I prefer the soft brushes.

Silver brushes and other brands were available at the Portrait Society of America's Conference in Chicago last year (PSOA). I believe that the show price was 50% off on nearly everything...I stocked up on different brands. And they are indeed all excellent brushes.

I understand that Silver brushes, and a lot of other vendors (with bargains), will be at the PSOA Conference in Philadelphia this year too - April 4-7.

Besides the programs they offer, these portrait shows, ASOPA and especially PSOA are good places to stock up on art supplies.

I understand that ASOPA will be having vendors this year at their New York show on May 2-4. Utrecht will be a big featured vendor.

Thank you, Michele, for your question and thanks to all those who responded. I can't tell you how much your information has helped! I have been simply drawing up to this point and am just starting in an oil portrait painting class. We will spend the next two classes simply sketching on the canvas, so I have two weeks to pick out some brushes. I looked in the store today, and the brushes were (of course!) out of order, and a mess. All the choices were mind boggling. I'm tempted to go with Winsor-Newton, because they haven't steered me wrong yet. Although I've done very little painting so far, I have had bristles come out of brushes and get dried into the paint, and it's maddening. I'm not wealthy, but I do think that in brushes, I'll get what I pay for.

Love at first sight
 

Years ago I was teaching a class- rotating around the room using the artists' brushes and palettes when one of my students handed me a #8 Raphael long filbert. It had a black handle and actual copper ferrule. They are beautiful. I paint with lots of bruhes - these I buy just to look upon.

A revelation
 

I took a class recently from Milt Kobayashi, not a portrait painter or even PRETENDS to be, but a tip I frequently forget of his, is to store them in vegetable oil. Like good old Wesson oil. It keeps the stray pigment suspended and plumps up the bristles making them very soft and flexible for buttering paint on a canvas.

He does not clean in turps, he pretty much wipes between color changes and uses the paint on the tip and surface of think large filberts. His painterly effect LOOKS brave but it actually very delicate and gentle, but it does depend on very flexible brushes. My two cents.

Hi Debra,

That's what subjects and friends of Sargent used to say about his brushstrokes. Milt who?

Milt Kobayashi - I rather like his work:
http://www.gshoalcreek.com/artists/kobayashi.htm

I found him with google image search - a really useful tool for us artists: http://images.google.com/

Type in your name (+ painter) and see what happens...

Kobayashi

I looked at Milt Kobayashi's work (Thanks Karin) and found a striking similarity to Malcolm Liepke, the well known illustrator and painter. I have been familiar with the work of the latter for many years but don't want to assume he was first with this distinctive style. http://www.herndonfineart.com/images...tinrapture.jpg

Does anyone know more than I? (Please excuse the hasty editing of this old scan/print of a Liepke illustration)

ooops!
 

I opened a can of worms.
Milt and Skip were roomates or co-conspirators in their youth.
here is Milt's next show
dj*