High
quality finely balanced brushes are the most important tools of an
artist's trade. Filberts are a compromise between flat and round
brushes, being shaped to a slight curve at the tip to produce soft,
tapered strokes. The curved tip allows to control the brush well, and is
useful for fusing and softening edges. Filberts are one of the most
useful brushes one can own, in fact with several different sizes, a
painter can do just about anything. They are particularly useful in
traditional figurative work as their shape allows the paint to be
applied smoothly with very little brush strokes.
Filberts come in three sizes. The standard size is the middle, but they
also come in short and long versions. The short length lends itself to
controlled work, while the long filberts tend to be a more bold and very
free style of painting. A range of general-purpose, these brushes are
suitable for craft work and for use with oils and acrylics. The long
filbert paint brush can also be useful for drawing-in the initial under
painting. It's also good for blending. design requirements, together
with many of those for glass painting, ceramic design and general craft
work. Apart from general painting, blocking in and impasto development,
filbert paint brush are ideal for scumbling and glazing and are usually
recommended for portrait work.
Brushes
used for acrylics have long handles that allow the artist to work at a
distance from the canvas. Acrylic paints are more caustic than oils, so
acrylic brushes are designed with synthetics and bristle. Acrylic
brushes are usable in other mediums, particularly oils, while brushes
designed specifically for oil painting and watercolors are unsuitable
for acrylics. Artists can very effectively use glazing and layering
techniques when using acrylic brushes.
Both natural and synthetic bristles can be used with acrylics,
depending on the artist's preference. But, acrylics, being alkaline in
nature, can be hard on natural hair brushes. Those made with high
quality synthetics have excellent durability and offers excellent
stiffness, snap and hair shape retention for maximum control. The
brushes must be kept clean. If acrylic paint dries in a brush it is very
hard to get out without using strong solvents that might damage the
brush. Brushes are cleaned promptly by washing them with warm water and
mild soap when finished painting.
