New Artist - 2016__

The basics

M

ost brushes

are made from

animal hair and

the quality of the

brush, its bounce and feel is

dependent on the quality of

the hair used. Natural mink hair

make sable brushes and pig hair

make hog brushes.

Are you matching the right

brush to the right medium?

By thinking which of the three

animals have a softer tail, you

will understand one of the most

important things about brushes

• that is, which one is best for
  which paint.

Animal or synthetic?

OSable (mink) is soft, holds

loads of water but has a great

spring making it ideal for

watercolour and also for fine

finishing with oils. It returns to

its natural point after use.

These are the most expensive

brushes due to the rarity of the

hair. Usually, it is available in a

short handle because you usually

work with watercolour on the flat.

OSquirrel is super soft, holds

a lot of water and has some

spring. Due to the longer length

of squirrel hair it’s great for big

watercolour washes. It returns

to its natural point when dipped

in water. This is priced much

more reasonably and is usually

available in a short handle.

OHog (pig) is a lot stiffer, holds

little moisture but has strength

and resilience. It’s great to stand

up to the thinners used in oil

painting and for moving thick

paint around the canvas.

Generally used with oils,

they tend to have long handles

allowing you to work upright at

an easel and stand away from

the painting.

OSynthetic are mostly a blend

of synthetic bristles and natural

hair (mink, squirrel or pig). This

enables the manufacturer to

produce a good priced, fine

tuned commercial brush perfect

for beginners. For painters who

object to using animal hair,

there are also pure synthetic

brushes available.

For watercolour painting

you’ll notice a big difference

between natural hair and

synthetic because synthetics

don’t hold enough water but

they can be useful for the larger

washes you want to create.

For acrylics and oils, synthetics

can be fantastic and are a good

alternative to pure natural hair.

They come in both long and

short handles depending on the

medium you want to work with.

What shape do I use?

ORounds are used for 90% of

watercolours because the fine

point allows precision work but

the belly of the brush holds

enough water that you can still

paint quite large areas.

OFlats are good for blocking

in and large areas of colour,

usually oils and acrylics, but

in watercolour there is an

equivalent called a one stroke.

OFilberts are just great for

oils and acrylic. They have a

feathered top so are ideal for

blending and can be used to

block in areas as well as detail

work. For detailed portraits I’d

use 90% filberts.

If I could only buy one brush for

each paint type, it would be a

round for a watercolour, flat for

acrylic and a filbert for oil.

Understanding brushes

Hog or mink, flat or round? Will Kemp gives the pros and cons.

Will Kemp is an award-winning professional artist

and teacher. He studied in Italy, ran his own art

gallery, taught in museums and schools, and now

runs his own online art school, where he shares his

professional secrets with aspiring artists.

Learn more at http://www.willkempartschool.com

The joy of natural brushes
especially sable are their
ability to hold a lot of
water in the ‘belly’ of
the brush.

Build up a small

collection of brushes

and experiment with

achieving different

textures and effects