Brushes Not Sold by the Fuller Brush Man, but you wish they were

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Brushes Not Sold by the Fuller Brush Man, but you wish they were

Posted on 10/7/2019 12:25:51 PM - 2 Comments
Topics: Q&A Series | Talks/Instruction

Brushes Not Sold by the Fuller Brush Man, But You Wish They Were

Buying Brushes Today Is Akin to Buying a Pig in a Poke.

Tools of any trade are make-it-or-break-it investments. I'd like to know your thoughts about brushes, starting with your preferred brush maker, and proceeding through your favorite shape and bristle types.

Sidney Oliver

Mail-order is a wonderful invention if you know exactly what you want, but it's nothing but a crapshoot when it comes to buying art supplies and buying brushes online might be the biggest gamble of them all.

The quickest advice I can give is to go to the biggest, not necessarily the nearest, but the biggest art supply store and buy one each of various brands of brushes recommended by a salesperson. Just like anything else in life, one's preference is personal and without trying different brushes, how will you know your preference?

Expensive doesn't always mean a brush is the best brush for you.

I have a lot of watercolor brushes and I keep going back to Cheap Joe's Golden Fleece brushes, which are synthetic. They hold a point. If you are shopping for a watercolor brush in an art supply store, don't hesitate to ask for a cup of water. Dip your potential brush in the water to make sure the point will hold.

I keep brushes for a long time and even use the brushes that are imperfect.

Check the price tag on this one.

The end was sawed off and painted with red fingernail polish to keep the end from becoming split during a 2001 9-week painting excursion to England.

Those long-handled brushes took up too much space in my painting equipment.

I tend to use more bristle brushes now than my previous preference for sable. When using sable, my favorite brushes were Winsor Newton Monarch brushes.

After decades of use, this is how they look now. I still keep them. At times, they come in handy.

As for shapes, I use all kinds-round, flat, bright, and, my favorite, filberts.

Above are some of my favorite brands of brushes.

I realized a year or two ago that I really needed some very large brushes and there was no way I wanted to purchase them online without getting a feel for them. This proved to be an impossible task as I was forced to drive from 1-3 hours to find a large enough art supply store. I never was satisfied. I think the largest brushes must be an online item only.

Without trying to sound esoteric here, visiting an actual art supply store does amazing things for an artist's soul. It's not the same feeling clicking on a button on your laptop while sitting on a sofa in your house.

This was a requested topic and I'm not sure I covered any or all of the bases on brushes. Feel free to ask some questions in the comments section.

Enjoy the process!

Ruthie Windsor-Mann

This post is part of a series of Q & As between Ruthie Windsor-Mann and Sidney Oliver.

We invite the reader to join in with other questions in the comments section. This needs to be interactive in order to work.

All photographs are by Ruthie Windsor-Mann unless otherwise credited.

Comments

2 Responses to Brushes Not Sold by the Fuller Brush Man, but you wish they were

Do you ever trim brushes to a shape you want? If so, how do you do this? I hate throwing anything away (which is obvious if you visit my studio!), but maybe I should just throw out those worn out brushes. I would much prefer to recycle or fix them somehow.

Posted by Ann Baumgardner · via ruthiewindsormann.com · 79 months ago

Ann, I've never trimmed brushes, but I don't know why you couldn't as long as you realize trimming might make a mess. It's a risk. I tend to not throw them out. I always find a use for those that have lost their shape. The bristles might go in odd directions, but that can create some excitement on the canvas.

Posted by Ruthie Windsor Mann · via ruthiewindsormann.com · 79 months ago