Brushes

[Eric the Shed]

To all the brilliant painters out there

I was wondering if you might be able to answer a couple of simple question?

Which brushes do you use for your figure painting?

Which brush brands would you recommend – these are two very different questions

How do you clean your brushes after use?

How do you store your brushes?


Over the years I have tried, bought and thrown away countless brands and makes. I just can’t seem to settle on a brand that delivers.

Equally I wash mine by rinsing heavily in water each use – should i use soap, white spirit?

Your ideas welcome....

[dampfpanzerwagon]

I have been using Rosemary & Co brushes for the last couple of years.

Q1 I prefer the Series 401 Sable Blend as they keep their point better than a pure sable and are a little more forgiving, in other words they can be abused.

I also prefer the long handle option rather than the standard length (personal preference).

Q2 See above.

Q3 Lots of water (I add some washing up liquid to the water).

Q4 Upright in a glass jar.

About once a year I give all my brushes a thought clean and use hair conditioner to treat the bristles.

I hope this helps.

www.rosemaryandco.com

Tony

[Eric the Shed]

Cheers Tony

[Hammers]

This thread...

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=13016.0

..has a pretty comprehensible discussions on pros and cons of various brands.

Most people seem to be in agreement that Kolinsky sable brushes, sizes 00 to 2 sees you through most jobs.

Opinions varies whether of Winsor & Newton Series 7  or Rosemary brand brushes are the preferred choice. The argument for the latter seems to be the prize.

The degree of maintenance and care spent brushes varies between painters, with Captain Blood being a particularly shameful example of negligence towards his brushes. Several painters suggest the occasional use of artist soap to restore brushes to their original vigour.

Personally I am rather partial to the Series 7 short shaft as they gives you better control when painting fine detail.

[Hammers]

By the way, I store my brushes (of which I have hundreds in various states and shapes) in five specially designated mug.

One for my prime W&N series 7's sizes 00 to 2, both long and short shaft. I use these for water based non metallics. I wash and shape these carefully after each session. Since I am rather clumsy I keep the plastic tube protection tips on them when I don't use them.

I have a similar mug with a set of worn series 7 for metallics. I use these separately because I don't want metal flakes in my other paints.

I have a separate set of W&N series 7 for oils and enamels along with some flats and basecoat brushes which I use with the same kind of paints.

In the fourth mug I keep flats and large brushes, sizes 3 and up, along with spatulas and other odd applicators and shapers.

Then there is the proletarian brushed, the worn-outs, hog bristled, cheap Chinese manufacurted or otherwise suspicious shabby looking rejects which are useful to have around at times but which you are likely to throw away after a couple of uses.

[Hammers]

By the way, I use separate pots of water for dilution, washing acrylic paints and washing metalic paints. I use a tiny drop of surface tension release in the dilution cup.

[Mitch K]

Another callout for Rosemary brushes from me.

I use them and would recommend them.

I clean as I go along in a pot of cold water, then at the end of a session with warm water and soap. A go through with hair conditioner once in a while.

I store them with the protector tubes on in a plastic box.

I keep separate water pots for washing and diluting, and always use metallics last.

Hope this helps.

M

[Blue in vt]

The best brushes I've used are Windsor and newton series 7

What I'm using now are the rosemary and co.  Love them...and the price is right even with the shipping to the US.  If the bristles were a tad shorter the would be as good as W&N IMHO.

Cheers,

Blue

[Bugsda]

If the bristles were a tad shorter the would be as good as W&N IMHO.

Cheers,

Blue

Rosemary does short haired sables,they're nearly as good as W&N 7s, series 323 I think.
I didn't like the long hairs either 

[moonshado]

As well as using Rosemary, I also use brushes that I, family or friends buy in Thailand. They are whichever cheap and cheerful Thai brand is available in the art department of the nearest department store. Some of them loose their point immediately, others will last a month or so, most last me 2 to 3 months. the odd one will keep its point forever and only gets binned when there are so few bristles left it no longer will hold a viable amount of paint. The best thing about them is they cost 7 baht, which not so long ago equated to 10 pence but with present exchange rates is now the huge sum of 16 pence

[Eric the Shed]

Cheers for this guys

Can anybody recommend a good source for the rosemary brushes

[Bugsda]

http://www.rosemaryandco.com/index.php?route=common/home

[fastolfrus]

I would vote for Rosemary too.

If you actually meet her she is mainly into painting watercolours etc but is quite familiar with miniatures and acrylics, and quite helpful.
She recomended using a little bit of conditioner - any brand will do - once every few months (depends how often you use the brush, also might be more frequent for hot weather or central heating). Her description was, rinse the brush well, put a tiny drop of conditioner on your fingertip and drag the brush through it a few times, leave it half a minute and rinse again.

[infelix]

My vote also goes to Rosemary & Co, the quality is really good and they are cheap as hell. The W&N 7s are better but not enough to justify the difference in price for me at least. I was lucky and managed to find a W&N gift set after Christmas for a very good price but otherwise I would have gotten more from Rosemary & Co, which reminds me, I need to order some more

And don't cheap out on brush soap, it will greatly expand the life range of your brushes plus some brush conditioner/brush restorer can be a good investment as well.