![]() Reliably, they don’t leak when traveling and painting in plein air. ![]() I find that if my brushes start losing their shape, I can apply a very thin coat of hand soap to my fingers and run them over the hairs, restoring the shape of the brush. I then rinse each brush free of soap and set them out to dry overnight. Once I’ve finished that initial cleaning, I go to my utility sink and give each brush a thorough, additional cleaning with a very mild hand soap. I then wipe out the excess solvent from the brushes. Then I will swish them in mineral spirits for, at most, 10 seconds. When I do clean my brushes at the end of the day, I first begin by wiping out as much paint from them as I can - always being careful to wipe with the direction of the hairs. I only wipe the brushes during the painting process and leave the actual cleaning of them until the end of a day’s painting session. ![]() To avoid this, I’ll switch to a clean, fresh brush for every major value change and color that falls outside of ninety degrees on the color wheel. Leaving your brushes sitting in thinner over the course of a painting will chemically burn the hairs and drastically shorten the lifespan of the brush. VOCs in particular are very hard on brushes. My first rule in the care of my brushes is to never, under any circumstances, leave them in a cleaning solvent such as mineral spirits. If the artist is diligent about the care of their brushes, they can expect to get a lot of paintings out of them. With this in mind, our choice of brushes should be carefully considered and our care for them tailored toward extending their life for as long as possible - who wants to unnecessarily be buying replacement brushes because one didn’t give them the proper care? Not me. ![]() An artist’s style is not only the extent to which he or she can draw, but is also the product of the tools they choose and the creative ways in which they decide to make use of them. When I was in college, my commercial illustration instructor once said “Style is really just the extent to which an artist can draw.” To a degree I believe that’s true, but over the years of my professional career, I’ve come to find that statement a bit too narrow. Their physical attributes and how an artist employs them in their paintings plays an enormous roll in helping to define the visual style of the artist’s work. Caring for Your Brushes: A Cheapskate’s GuideĪs far as I’m concerned, brushes for the painter are a very personal tool. Let’s talk a little about something you might find fairly mundane paint brushes, brush care, cleaning a brush washer, and maybe a bit more interesting, how I choose my brushes and utilize them in my work. ![]()
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