All About Brushes

To begin to understand the subtle differences in brushes we need to begin with their anatomy. Though fairly basic, the differences in length, shape, and width are what define the brush's purpose.

Handles
Brush handles can be made of wood or plastic. Higher quality brushes are made from hardwood and well lacquered to prevent water damage. When purchasing any wooden handled brush, the handle should be sealed. Cheap brushes may have raw wood handles.

Why are some handles long while others are short?
Long handled brushes (anywhere from 9 to 14 inches, give or take) are generally intended for oil painting, allowing the artist the ability to work at a distance. This is especially convenient for artists who like to work on a larger scale. Shorter handled brushes may be labeled "watercolor/acrylic" but the modern oil painter can also use these. Knowing that you like to focus in on detail and work close to your canvas, regardless of medium, will narrow down your search for the perfect brush to the shorter handles. I am partial to these brushes for face and body painting as well.

Ferrule
Ferrules are the metal joint between bristles and handle, most commonly nickel-plated steel. A well-crimped ferrule prevents water from seeping into the wood of the handle. It is not crooked and does not wobble. A poorly crimped ferrule will make the brush harder to control. Strokes will be less predictable and it may leave stray bristles behind in your paint. Not cool.

Tuft
The tuft (Bristles), will have a point (tip) and a belly (body). The most basic brush shapes, in my opinion, are rounds and flats. Rounds have a pointed tip which lends itself well to detail work. Riggers and Script Liners are the specialized relatives of the rounds. Their tips are elongated for even finer detail work.

To reiterate-
Soft natural fiber bristles are meant for smoother applications like watercolors, powders, and blending thinner medium.

Stiff natural bristles are perfect for pushing paint into textured surfaces and leaving textured strokes.

Synthetics are excellent choices for the environmentally and allergen conscious as well as those on a budget. These fibers are also available in smooth or stiff varieties.

(Right: Script Liner.)

If you forget your brushes in a container or store them bristle down (please don't do that), you will notice that all of our lovely rounds now have bed head.

All is not lost!

I have used cold cream in the past with a fair amount of success. More experienced painters have recommended hair gel to me.

If your bristles are falling out, it may be time to lay your brush to rest.

If my handle falls off and I can't glue or tape the darn thing back together, its time for that brush to go.

If you are a makeup artist, keeping up appearances may make your clientele more comfortable. ;)

I was taught to never leave brushes sitting in solvent and to never keep so much solvent in your container that it reaches above the brushes' ferrule. This always made sense to me. I imagine the solvent can eat away at the epoxy that holds the bristles together or eat the wooden handles.