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Studio Art
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Oil painting is a messy business. You will find that most of the materials
involved in oil painting are expendable; paint, rags, solvents, mediums.
In fact, you may even ruin some clothes in the process. Just about the
only tools worth protecting are your paintbrushes. Most artists find their
brushes invaluable, as they eventually begin to hold dear a favorite brush
or two. Moreover, brushes tend to be expensive, and being the only indispensable
tools in oil painting it is imperative you choose good quality brushes
and take excellent care of them.
Real or Synthetic?... As with everything relevant to oil painting, there
is a large variety of brushes available in order to suit many different
needs. Your first choice will be an easy one, real hair or synthetic.
Brushes made of real hair are more expensive, but worth it in the long
run as they last longer and perform better. The most commonly used types
of hair for oil paintbrushes are hog hair and sable. Hog brushes are thought
to be ideal for oils because of the thicker nature of the paint and the
roughness of the canvas. However, some prefer sable brushes for the smooth
texture it allows, and synthetic brushes are arguably just as good for
those people who tend to abuse their brushes.
Quality... Once you've chosen what type of bristles you prefer, you should
start to identify the well-made brushes and avoid the poorly crafted ones.
Cheap brushes can be recognized with only one stamp on the ferrule, or
metal at the base of the bristles. Be sure to choose brushes with at least
two stamps, otherwise the bristles will fall out over time. Loose bristles
are especially frustrating when they drag themselves into the paint as
you are applying it to the canvas.
Shapes and Sizes... Now is the fun part, choosing shapes and sizes. Different
head shapes facilitate different marks while painting. There are so many
to choose from, some indigenous to the manufacturer, but the most common
and universal shapes are; rounds, flats, brights, fans, liners, and shaders.
Below is a description of each:
A. Rounds are pointed at the tip and useful for detail work, touching
in small areas, and applying well thinned paint.
B. Flats are rectangular in profile with a chisel edge, useful for applying
thick creamy paint for strong stroke definition and impasto work.
C. Brights or Filberts are broader than rounds and curve gently to a
point. They are useful for strong tapering strokes.
D. Fans are broad and thin, shaped like a fan, and are useful for creating
feathering and other textured effects with the paint.
E. Liners are thin and narrowly pointed, and are ideal for script lining
and detailed work.
F. Shaders are a cross between a flat and a filbert, made to allow for
easy seamless shading of colours on the painting.
Size is relative to the surface area you will be painting, and is mostly
subjective. Many artists live by the belief that you should use the largest
brush that would most effectively cover the area you are currently working
on. In other words, do not use a tiny size #1 liner brush for a vast area
of color. Unless there is a special effect (like pointillism) you would
like to achieve, it is ideal to keep your brushstrokes well proportioned
to the surface area. A good rule of thumb is to pick up a good variety
of sizes of the same brush, until you are sure you need a specific size.
The Handle... You will also notice that paintbrushes come with different
size handles from very long to very short. The longer handles allow the
artist to paint at a reasonable distance from the picture. Although it
is mostly your own preference at stake, you may notice a longer handle
will work better in certain situations than a shorter one. I've found
that shorter handles are great for detail work requiring a steady hand,
and longer ones better for expressionistic painting.
Caring for your Brushes... Brushes will last many years if cared for
the right way. Most importantly, you must clean them correctly after every
painting session. First wipe off excess colour with a rag. Rinse the brush
in solvent like mineral spirits or Turpenoid, and then wash with warm
water and dishwashing liquid until all the colour has rinsed out completely.
Finally, shape the bristles to the original shape, dry the handle, and
stand the brush head side up to dry.
There are brush conditioners and other cleaning products available that
boast sensitivity to the bristles. I find that an effective household
remedy to soften bristles is to moisturize the bristles with generic hand
cream while reshaping the brush after cleaning.
Friends for a Lifetime... Even though I have been in the past an offender
of abusing my paintbrushes, it is true that your brushes can become trustworthy
friends in your painting for up to a lifetime. If anything, be sure to
never leave your paintbrushes sitting in a jar of solvents, and always
clean them after use. If you're like me in that you might go through a
favorite brush or two a little too quickly, be sure to keep notes of which
ones suit you best; the manufacturer, size, shape, material. In the long
run you'll appreciate the time and effort needed to care for your precious
little painting tools.
Reprinted with the kind permission of the author
Copyright Susan Wenz-Denise, 2001. Please do not copy in any manner,
print or electronic, without permission from the author.
About the Author: Susan
Wenz-Denise is a fine artist with a BFA degree in Studio Art, and a minor
concentration in Art History. She attended the College of New Rochelle
in New Rochelle. NY for Studio Art where her painting skills were refined
and her conceptual sensitivities matured. Since graduating she has exhibited
a series of her work in two NYC galleries and is now working on a new
series of oil paintings. She plans to begin exhibiting again by Autumn
2001. She is also a contributing editor at Suite
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