Brushes & Knives

Brushes are possibly the most important investment an artist can make, because the quality of the brush used has almost as much power to damage or beautify a work as the orchestrating artist. When making an initial investment in brushes it’s wise to choose a set. Having several varied sizes and shapes of brushes provides the artist with as many options as possible to create the vision within his/her mind’s eye.

Brushes are numbered in size ranging from multiple zero which contain very little hair to double digits containing small fistfuls.

Unfortunately, there is little consistency between brush manufacturers as to what these sizes are, so a number 10 in one brand can be a different size to a number 10 in another brand.

Parts of a Paint Brush

The handle of a brush is most often made from wood that’s painted and/or varnished, but it can also be made from plastic or bamboo. The length is variable, from really short (such as those in a travel paint boxes) to really long (ideal for big canvases). What’s more important than length is that the brush feels balanced in your hand. You’re going to be using it a lot, so it needs to be comfortable to hold.

The Ferrule, is the part that holds the handle and hairs together and in shape. It’s usually made from metal, but not exclusively. Mop brushes, for instance, can have a ferrule made of plastic and wire. A decent-quality ferrule won’t rust or come loose.

The bristles are the hair of the brush. Paint brushes are made from stiff or soft hairs, which can be either natural hairs or synthetic fibers. Soft brushes are ideal for thin paint which spreads easily, such as watercolor paint, and for detailed work as they can form a sharp point which allows for precision painting. Robust, hard brushes are ideal for pushing around thick paint, and for creating brush marks in the paint, such as when painting in oils using the impasto technique.

Crimp is the part of the ferrule that secures it to the handle.

Types of Brushes

Round: pointed tip, for detail work

Flat: for even spread of paint

Bright: shorter than flats. Flat brushes with short stiff bristles, good for driving paint into the weave of a canvas in thinner paint applications, as well as thicker painting styles like impasto work.

Filbert: flat brushes with domed ends. They allow good coverage and the ability to perform some detail work.

Fan: for blending broad areas of paint.

Angle: like the filbert, these are versatile and can be applied in both general painting application as well as some detail work.

Mop: a larger format brush with a rounded edge for broad soft paint application as well as for getting thinner glazes over existing drying layers of paint without damaging lower layers.

Rigger: round brushes with longish hairs, traditionally used for painting the rigging in pictures of ships. They are useful for fine lines and are versatile for both oils and watercolors.

Tips for choosing a good paint brush

Stiffer brushes will leave visible marks on the painting, with more textural results. Softer brushes will give you smoother brushstrokes, with more blending.

For oils you need thicker bristles to move the dense and heavy paint around. For watercolours you need a softer brush because the medium is very fluid. Acrylic paints are softer than oils but thicker than watercolours, so your brushes can be somewhere in the middle.

Palette Knives

A palette knife is a tool used for mixing or applying paint, with a flexible steel blade. It is primarily used for mixing paint colours, paste, etc., or for marbling, decorative endpapers, etc. The “palette” in the name is a reference to an artist’s palette which is used for mixing oil paint and acrylic paints.

Drop by today and check out our amazing selection of Brushes & Knives! Northmount Plaza, 3400 14 Street NW – Calgary Alberta

Brushes & Knives

Parts of a Paint Brush

Types of Brushes

Tips for choosing a good paint brush

Palette Knives

Destination Art

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