In the visual arts, tools are of great importance. And this is not only paints, it is also paper, pencils, erasers, nags, shading and, of course, brushes. They are different and have their own unique features depending on the material and shape. According to the materials there are column brushes, squirrel, bristle (from artificial or natural bristles), synthetic, from ponies. And also from goat hair, badger, wolf, marten, sable, hare, ear hair, bear hair, Egyptian mongoose or ferret, but they are used less often.
Core Brushes: Overview
The most popular material for brushes is the hair from the tail of the column. A column is a cross between a marten, a mink and a ferret. There are not very many columns left in nature, and only those who live in Siberia, Korea or China are suitable for making brushes. There are column brushes of 4 basic forms: round (and variations), flat, oval and fan. Different forms are designed for different techniques and techniques. Most often, round brushes are found in stores. This form is suitable for working with materials of different nature: opaque or transparent.
Column art brushes are very popular due to their versatility. With their help, you can work with almost any material - from watercolors to oil. The hairs of such brushes are flexible and resilient, absorb water well, but are stiff enough to work with covering materials.
Features of working with brushes from a column
When working with watercolor paints with column brushes, it should be noted that their tip is not so well assembled at the tip, and it will not work to draw a thin line with a more or less thick brush. You will have to use brushes of different thicknesses to fill large spots and draw details. Compared to protein squirrels, it is more suitable for a more “graphic” watercolor technique, such as hatching and glaze.
In oil painting, columns are most often used to draw small details or create small sketches. To work with large planes, brushes made from tougher materials, such as bristles or synthetics, are used. For gouache and acrylic columns fits very well. It allows you to work in different techniques and provides a more variable line than synthetics.
According to reviews, the disadvantages of this material for brushes include the fact that column brushes are short-lived. The hairs quickly wear out and break, and the brush becomes thinner and shaggy at the base. In addition, column brushes are slightly more expensive than brushes from other popular materials.
Squirrel brushes: comparison
The material for such brushes is squirrel tail hair. There are only round shapes. They are mainly used for watercolors or other water-based materials, such as liquid sauce, sepia or sanguine, mascara or ink. A distinctive feature of the squirrel brushes is that they perfectly retain water, and their hairs do not separate when they come into contact with paper, so even with a relatively thick brush you can draw a thin line and small details. There is no need to use different brushes for filling spots and drawing small things.
Compared to the column, the hairs in squirrel hands are thin and flexible, do not break and do not come out when used correctly. The brushes themselves are too delicate to work with coating materials and can begin to break off when working with solvents or with too intense friction.
Bristle brushes: comparison
The exact opposite of squirrel. The main form of bristle brushes is flat and variants of this form, for example oval and fan. Bristle brushes are not collected in a single bundle, which allows you to collect more paint and apply it evenly. Unlike the bristle brush column, the hairs are very stiff and strong, not flexible, rather coarse. Such brushes are intended only for work with covering heavy materials, mainly with oil paints. They are not damaged by solvent and are suitable for priming canvas and surfaces. Such brushes are made from pork bristles, Chinese hog bristles or a synthetic copy. Most often have an elongated handle.
Synthetic brushes
Synthetic brushes are designed to work with opaque materials, especially with gouache, tempera, oil and acrylic paints. They are made mainly of nylon, come in different shapes and sizes. Synthetic brushes hold their shape well, but do not absorb water well, so they rarely work with watercolor paints.
These brushes are similar in properties to core ones, but they hold water worse and are tougher on their own. The hairs of synthetic brushes are flexible and elastic, do not break, are not subject to destruction by sunlight, thinner, pinene, white spirit, paints and other liquids dangerous to other brushes. Synthetics are sensitive to temperature and friction, from which it can crack at the tip. Synthetic brushes usually have a fairly low price.
How to care for brushes
Column brushes must be used as carefully as possible, and then gently and thoroughly rinsed.
Squirrel brushes need to be washed well under running water, paying attention to places at the base, after which you need to give the wet brush the necessary shape and leave to dry.
The synthetics are extremely unpretentious in cleaning, but at the roots the paint is often difficult to wash. If the synthetic brush is disheveled at the ends, you need to dip it in boiling water for a few seconds.
Bristle brushes should not be strongly deformed during operation and pressed on them, as hard hair can come out of the base and fall out.
Brushes that come in contact with oil wear out faster. After working with oil paints, any brushes must be rinsed first in vegetable oil, then in a solvent, then in soapy water, and then rinsed with clean water. If the oil paint has dried on the brush, then first you need to soak the brush in a solvent, and then repeat the procedure described in the previous paragraph.
With proper care and gentle storage, the brushes will last their owner for a long time. Before you start working with paints, you should carefully select a brush, its appearance, size and shape, based on the desired properties.