Artist Tip Taking care of artist brushes
Artist Tips by Ron Gribble

[ Follow us on Facebook and Pinterest ]
www.schoolpaints.com
www.rongribble.com
Last post we discussed brush-cleaning devise that I use,
This post I want to stay with brushes.
Generally speaking, good oil painting brushes are not
expensive, but it takes only a minute to prolong their useful life.
I try to remember after each painting session (not so easy
when I am on location) to clean my brushes with clean soapy warm water, as
follows.
Wipe the brush across a wet piece of soap until a good
quantity of the soap is worked into the bristles.
Grip the ends of the bristles with one hand and with the
other hand move the brush so that the bristles are splayed out and the soap can
work right up to the ferrule.
Now Place the brush into a sink, and squeeze the soap back
out by pressing the ferrule end of the bristle against the hard surface until
you squeeze out the dirty soapy water. Rinse with warm water

Repeat this until the soapy water that you squeeze out is no
longer dirty.
Lastly repeat step one only, then gently mould the bristles
nice and straight leaving a good amount of soap in the bristles. The flat can
have a chisel edge moulded by squeezing gently between thumb and first finger.
Leave to dry, with the soap "training" and
protecting the bristles. You will be able to transport these now without them
bending over if they press against anything. The soap, when dry, can be broken
out again, when you want to use the brush.
In Conclusion, think of your brushes as the instruments of
your trade. Would a surgeon use a dirty scalpel? You must be confident of the
brush mark that will get from a particular brush. If it has dry paint up the
ferrule, You will not get what you expect, ant the result is loss of control,
on the canvas.
I hope this helps
Regards
Ron Gribble [ Follow us on Facebook and Pinterest ]
www.schoolpaints.com
www.rongribble.com
Comments
Post a comment