Brushes
are an important tool for expressing skill. One stroke brushes have been
tried and tested by many artists, both professional and pleasure
painters, all have found them excellent value, easy to use and
outstanding performance. Some of the main requirements of these brushes
are that; they are made from a hard wearing filament that is soft and
flexible; and have a longer length of hair between the ferrule and tip.
The one stroke brush has a distinctly rectangular tuft shape with
flexible, soft hairs; the tuft can smoothly release a longer stroke of
paint and produces a more calligraphic range of brush marks.
The usual filament used is Sable, but the mix of sable and synthetic
makes them hard wearing and strong enough to carry the weight of the oil
paint. One of the reasons for the longer length of filament is to
facilitate the loading of the brush. The dried paint forces the
filaments apart, this in turn prevents the brush coming back to it's
normal shape, be it round or flat. The weight and length of the handle
are chosen to give the correct balance to the brush, making it
comfortable and easy to use. One stroke brush have been crafted and
designed to fulfill the requirements for 'one-stroke' painting with
oils, although they are suitable for use with other media.
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.
