Over the course of this article we will cover what type of brush is recommended for watercolours, gouache, oils and acrylics. We have created this beginner's guide to help you find the right paint brush for your creative needs and painting style; hopefully saving you money and time. Not all brushes are made equal and nor can the same brush be suitable for all types of paint, so we have started by outlining what brush is best suited to what medium. You will have lots of choices for you to select the right synthetic bristles or natural hair bristles depending on your style and personal preference and medium. We hope after reading these guidelines you will come to understand how many brushes you actually need and the functions they serve. You may be surprised to find that a good set of brushes will provide you with all your technical needs and that many different marks can be made with the same brush!
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This refers to the end of the brush which transfers the paint onto the substrate surface. The type of bristle used may be different for each of your brushes, if you are a vegan artist you should look for completely synthetic brushes which are readily available on the market. There are lots of brushes made out of animal hair and this should be identified in the description on the packaging.
Animal hair used for watercolour painting brushes are usually Squirrel, Sable, Weasel, and Mink. Kolinsky Sable is regarded as the best bristle for watercolours and are considered to be high quality brushes but are probably the most expensive. Synthetic brushes have been made to mimic the quality of animal hair and are used by both professionals and students.
Animal hair used for oil painting brushes include; Hog, Goat, Badger, Pony, Sheep and Ox. Again synthetic brushes have been developed to mimic the various qualities of these animal hairs and are believed to be just as effective.
Acrylic paint brushes are mostly nylon or synthetic and are animal friendly, however some oil brushes will work for heavier applications of acrylic paint also. Specifically Acrylic brushes are designed to deliver medium to heavy viscosity paints.
The end of the bristles are referred to by the toe or tip. The middle of the brush which carries the water and pigment, or oil and pigment is called the belly of the brush. The belly of the brush is basically a reservoir holding the right amount of pigment to deposit through the tip of the brush, depending on how much pressure you use on application.
The ferrule is a metal band that holds the bristles of the brush in place, the flat section at the top of the ferrule nearest the bristles is sometimes referred to as the heel and joins them to the handle. The end of the Ferrule which holds the brush onto the handle is often crimped for extra strength. Ferrules can be made out of stainless steel, brass, copper, aluminium, nickel, and sometimes plastic.
The handle comes in all lengths and shapes. Often made from wood or moulded plastic. The length of the handle usually indicates what medium you are using and what style. For oil painters a long handle is favoured to enable ease of movement whilst standing at an easel, especially when long arm movements are required for creating long lines during live model painting or plein air painting at an easel. A short handled brush would be needed for detailed and intricate work close to the canvas or paper. A wide handle would be needed if the brush was used for varnishing and bold strokes were needed.
Traditionally watercolour painting will require soft bristles that will hold plenty of pigment and water in its belly and will spring back into shape. They should glide onto the paper and deposit a good amount of wet paint smoothly and consistently. Watercolour painting brushes are designed to have a soft hair bristle so they are ideal for painting large areas with floods of pigment or alternatively they can be extremely sensitive to applying very fine details. Fortunately you do have a large selection of synthetic brushes, blended (a mix of animal and synthetic) and animal bristles at your disposal, most of them claiming to do just that. Also most watercolor painting brushes are extremely versatile and will serve both watercolour and gouache painting, although it is better to have dedicated brushes for each medium you use.
When starting out, you should aim to buy at least 3 round brushes, small, medium and large. These brushes will serve a multitude of purposes. Round brushes should hold their shape and come to a fine point. Then aim for a medium size flat brush, medium size filbert brush and possibly a mop brush. You can always buy extra brushes to build your tool box when you become more accustomed to brush types and their functions. There are lots of specialist brushes listed below to help you decide what else you need.
An artist&#;s paintbrush is a vital tool in their kit. It enables you to put paint on canvas and turn your creative thoughts and ideas into visual masterpieces.
A paintbrush becomes an extension of one&#;s hand so it&#;s important to find a comfortable fit for you and the right one for the job.
When face-to-face with that brush display in a shop, and seeing the vast amount of variety available it can be a little daunting and difficult to know where to begin.
A one-size-fits-all approach doesn&#;t apply when it comes to painting brushes so we&#;re here to help you get all the info before finding your snug fit and making that brush display a little less overwhelming.
The Anatomy of a Brush
Let&#;s get back to basics to kick things off and run you through the fine physique of a paintbrush.
The anatomy of a brush is made up of 4 main parts: The bristles, the ferrule, the crimp and the handle. Here&#;s a simple breakdown of each body part and the purpose it serves:
Different Brush Shapes
Like our little bodies, brushes come in a range of different shapes and sizes and each is suited to different mediums and jobs. Here&#;s a quick guideline to reference when choosing the right shape for you:
Different Bristle Types
Now that we&#;ve got our brush jargon and shapes down pat, let&#;s run through the different types of bristles you can get and what they&#;re best used for.
Synthetic/Taklon
A common name for a synthetic fibre brush, Taklon is an alternative to animal hair.
Taklon is a great way to go if you&#;re a little more environmentally conscious as it is considered the greener and more vegan option.
Its sustainable ways, however, do not hinder its ability; it is designed to mimic the look, feels and function of natural bristle brushes.
It does an excellent job at faking it and we sure think it&#;s made it!
Taklon is a great all-rounder and works well with a bunch of different paints like watercolour, inks, acrylic and oil.
Depending on your paint choice, Taklon bristles do differ slightly. Taklon for acrylics like our range of Mont Marte Artist Acrylic Taklon brushes and Mont Marte Abstract Taklon brushes have soft bristles for seamless paint application, perfect for detailed work or background painting.
*Click Here to watch how Art Shed Tom paints this acrylic portrait using the Mont Marte Abstract Expression Brushes
Taklon for oil on the other hand, like our Mont Marte Artist Oil Taklon brushes, have thicker and more coarse bristles that are great for oil application as they hold and deliver buttery or thick paint well.
If you want to learn more, please visit our website Bent Head Paint Brushes.
When it comes to working with Taklon for watercolour, it joins forces with natural pony hair bristles in our Mont Marte Artist Watercolour brushes.
The dense fibres of the pony hair bristles create a large belly that enables you to pick up a lot of paint and water whilst the Taklon bristles keep the brush soft creating smooth and even strokes.
At the top tier of our synthetic range is the ever-popular Winsor & Newton Cotman brush collection.
These stunning brushes feature fibres of differing thicknesses to achieve the best results. The thicker fibres give the brush strength and spring whilst the thinner fibres improve colour-carrying capacity.
These smooth and densely-packed fibres are suited best to watercolour works and retain their shape and point for years to come.
Other Synthetic Brush Lines:Unipro Natural and Synthetic Blend Craft Brush, Unipro Smooth Coat Brush, Mont Marte Studio Series Paint Brush Set
Hog Bristle
As the name suggests, our next contender is a natural fibre bristle from the hog.
The naturally stiff and dense hairs of the hog bristle lend themselves to working with thick buttery paints like oils.
The end of each bristle is naturally split into two or three at the tip called flags. These flags allow for greater paint retention and a smoother paint application.
The stiffness of the hog bristles is also great for techniques like impasto as you can lay the paint down in thick, textured layers.
Hog bristles are also suitable for dense acrylics when you want to apply generous amounts of paint to achieve texture.
Our Monte Marte Artist Hog Bristle brushes are an excellent example of this heavy-duty, built-to-last brush. Go the whole hog with the Mont Marte 11-piece Hog Oil Brush Wallet. The perfect oil painting intro set for the travelling artist!
Other Hog brush lines: Mont Marte Silver Series Stencil Brushes, Mont Marte Gallery Series Brush Set, Mont Marte Long Handle Gesso, Mont Marte Studio Series Brush Set, Mont Marte Artist Chungking
Sable Brushes
Sable brushes are made from natural animal hairs usually from soft-haired animals such as weasels or minks.
The soft and gentle ways of the Sable brush are best suited to fluid watercolour works as the densely-packed bristles hold great amounts of paint and water in their belly and the smooth bristles make for even brush strokes.
The ultra-fine bristles are soft and springy and will retain their shape and point even after years of use.
Goat Hair
Used traditionally in Japanese art, goat hair brushes are soft without spring making them ideal for soft blending of watercolours, creating washes, varnishing and adding glazes streak free.
Our Mont Marte Pine Wood Goat brushes come in a range of different sizes to pick whichever floats your goat!
Brush Care Tips
After you&#;ve found your perfect brush matches it&#;s important to look after them because like us, for a longer and better quality of life, brushes need to stay in shape too.
They say a bad workman blames their tools; we think a great artist worships theirs. So, if you show your brushes a little TLC they will serve you well for many years to come.
Here are our top tips for keeping your brushes looking and performing at their best:
A paintbrush is like an artist&#;s magic wand so finding the right fit is very personal, however, we hope with our intel and tips we have made the process a little less daunting. If you&#;d like a little more help or understanding you can visit us in-store; our friendly team are always happy to help!
As always, art is about enjoyment so get experimenting and have some fun with it. If you create anything from our blog tutorials don&#;t forget to upload photos of your masterpieces to social media and tag us, we love seeing what you guys create.
If you have any topics you&#;d like to learn more about drop us a line with some blog suggestions.
Plus, don&#;t forget you can watch video tutorials on our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/artshedonline.
Happy creating!
Contact us to discuss your requirements of Large Paint Roller. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.