How to pick the right artist paintbrush | Everything about brushes

Do you get overwhelmed when what to purchase a new brush? Fondling all the different styles while wondering what potential they might unleash. Well, wonder no more. Here is a free primer on brushes and their use.

And just look what you will learn
- All the different types of hair and what they can do in paint
- All the different shapes and what they're used for
- How to buy the right brush for your use and save money
- How to clean and care for and extend their life

Swinton's Art:

[adventurepainter]

This is a wealth of knowledge. Much appreciation for you & your energy

[KrstnaSchroeder]

I have been looking for a video just like this for months!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!

[stevenallan]

Very informative and practical information thanks

[drinkmilktea]

So much great info in one place, thanks

[ivi]

What an amazing video! I got the answers I’ve been looking for in terms of brushes that would leave a thick mark. Makes so much sense now that the stiffer the brush the more thick the mark would be and the softer the more blending. 😮 I m going to get a few stiff brushes then bec I love texture and more of impressionistic look. Also 26:45 is such a good tip bec that was me painting just up and down. And the tip about broken colors. Wow so much amazing info. Thank you so much for your expertise

[teehee]

Thank you for this video. I'm self taught and always looking to discover and learn new things. This video is a gem!

[sylvied]

Thank you so so much for sharing this invaluable knowledge. This is a superbe gift of knowledge which I might have never been aware about brushes. Having watched your interview and videos, I like your independence and self-taught career path not having been nourished in the past by the conventional teaching. I can identify with a lot of your statements about it. English is not my mother tongue, so I hope It is comprehensible. 0:02 Sylvie

[SomethingImpromptu]

Very good, helpful introductory advice & info. The only point I’ve got to respectfully disagree about:

Maybe it’s different in oil painting (I’d say it definitely applies a bit less to acrylic than watercolor IME), but in watercolor in particular, I agree much more with some other teachers I’ve listened to who encourage people not to throw away their old, damaged brushes! I mean, definitely don’t expect to use a mangled old brush the same way you’d use a fresh, perfect round or flat. They end up being more like effects brushes (like unusual rakes or stipplers or what have you)— but, especially if you aren’t already buying a bunch of those effects brushes, there are a lot of uses in watercolor for an old, busted brush. You can get some crazy textures out of them… You can even make some weird brushes, like (I wish I could give credit to the artist who I saw create these on YouTube, but I have no idea what her channel was called) “octopus brushes, ” where you take an old, used up watercolor brush (it needs to be one with long bristles, like a sword or long dagger brush), & you can actually soak the bristles in masking fluid (certainly don’t ever do this to a new, good brush, because you’ll ruin it), & then shape the bristles into maybe 3-6 long tentacle-like tendrils, bent outwards in arcing shapes, & when it dries & cures solidly that way, you can then use those tendrils to get all kinds of crazy textural effects that aren’t quite like anything I’ve ever seen anyone get any other way— if you’d otherwise be trashing it then why not?? Likewise, if it’s a short flat brush or something, & it ends up too ragged & disfigured to repair, why not use it for grasses, or animal fur? Sure, if ALL the bristles fall out, it’s probably done. And sure, you should definitely keep a stock of good, functional brushes in the types/sizes that you need for actual, standard strokes (using a broken down old raggedy brush to try to do what a good brush is meant to do will not work, so that’s fair advice)… But I don’t see why you should actually throw them away & send them to the landfill unless there’s definitely NO potential use left in them. If they’re just not in good condition for their standard use anymore, then sure, separate them out into a different holder/box/drawer, replace them as needed… But maybe one day you’re painting a landscape & you’re like “Ahh, if only I had a very atypical effect brush that could give this foliage a unique texture—“ and then that busted old brush might be exactly what you need. Unless you really need to minimize clutter & there’s just not room for you to store this stuff anymore (if that’s a big problem for you, then okay, there are more important things than having a brush for every occasion, but otherwise), why not give it new life as a different kind of brush instead of buying every type of effect brush when many of them are basically just mangled rounds/flats/rakes anyway? I think it’s a good practice.

And if you’re into DIY stuff, you never know what an old brush handle or whatever might be good for; similar to the octopus brush idea, I’m sure there are other mods you could do to a damaged old brush if neither you nor anybody else is going to be able to use it for its original purpose. Just taking a tool with some good parts still in tact & sending it to pile up with the excess of junk already in the ocean or on a barge somewhere is probably the worst case scenario, so if it can’t be recycled then it seems like all upside (again, unless you’re struggling with hoarding or something, & every paint brush’s worth of space you can free up is really important, in which case do what you’ve got to do). But if you have a studio space & don’t own an excessive number of brushes anyway then don’t just trash a brush the minute it isn’t serving it’s original function perfectly.

[nettienoodle]

Excellent info, I learnt so much in the past hour.

[barbarapedersen]

Thanks Doug, appreciate all the information you share. Great info

[susanrichardson]

Thanks! As always I enjoyed your video with all the great info and tips!

[StephenDoyle-ohhy]

Putting chapters inti the video would make it so much easier to navigate. Lots of information in it though

[adventurepainter]

I saw in a video by Quang Ho (& have adopted this practice), leave dirty brushes in linseed, then give a quick turp rinse prior to painting.
This is so easy. I haven’t destroyed a brush since.

I have since switched to d-limonene (citrus oil solvent) for cleaning & preliminary wash layers of oil painting.
Seems safe, is even sold as a dietary supplement, smells like citrus, & plays wonderfully with the paint & on the painting surface.

Do you have any experience with citrus oil solvents?

[linemillotte]

Hi, I teach, and I tell thé same to my students, thank you 🙏😊💯

[romainberenguier]

Thank you! I hoped to get an answer to my biggest question about bristle brushes: does the hair of very good quality bristle brush like chunkin ones spilt in all directions after being cleaned with soap and water?

[kayser]

Are watercolor brushes natheral bristle or synthetic. Thank you

[ryan_of_marshall]

I don't wanna be that guy but there are only 360* in a circle, 365 is days-ish in a year...

[reginaldforthright]

This is too informative. Shouldn’t these secrets be written in an ancient tome kept in a locked storeroom at the end of a spiral stair in a dank tower dungeon and only accessible with a writ of approval from an ancient order of scholastic monks?

[barrybark]

never heard so much nonsense-restoring duff brushes in sugar water so he can put them out for sale sounds like hes a crook too

[placestogoandplacestosee]

Unfortunately animals get killed or suffer for paint brushes. Please stop animal cruelty .