Longevity of more expensive brushes

[Debra Jones]

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.