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Using a Paint Brush to Gain the Exact Desired Effect For Your Painting

Painting requires special tools to be completed properly and efficiently. Without the use of a good quality paint brush, the overall quality of your painting will suffer. Of course, there is also a matter of personal tastes, for example, if you feel more comfortable using a short handle brush as opposed to a long handle brush. In addition, depending on the technique you are using or the effect you are going for, you may need to make use of an oval mop brush, or an angled rose petal brush. The possibilities are seemingly endless. It’s important that you have all the necessary styles of brushes before you get started with your project.

There are essentially two types of brush material – natural and synthetic.

Natural Brushes

Natural paint brushes use real animal hair as their bristles. For those that like to dabble in oils and watercolors, natural paint brushes are more appropriate and useful. They are not usually recommended to be used with acrylic paints since the chemicals in these types of paints ruin the natural oils found in the bristles. Often, these natural bristles are made up of at least a couple of different types of hair, such as camel, soft bristles or hard bristles.

Synthetic Brushes

Synthetic paint brushes are made from polyester, often referred to as Taklon. These brushes are more affordable than their natural counterparts, and are most useful with acrylic and watercolors. Oil paints need to be washed off brushes with turpentine, which will ruin the bristles of synthetic brushes. Synthetic brushes tend to be more versatile than natural brushes for a variety of mediums and surfaces because they are less porous than natural brushes. These brushes are generally quite strong and are built to last.

Brush Shapes

There are few different brush shapes, depending on what you are painting and the precise dimensions and angles required. Depending on the type of painting you are creating, you may only need the use of two or three brush shapes. For a more involved and complex painting, you may need to involve many or most of the brush shapes available. Just make sure to have these on hand before you begin your masterpiece.

Here are a few of the shapes of brushes available on the market:

Round or Pointed Tip: These brush shapes are good for thin to thick lines, where the line begins thin, and then widens as more pressure is applied to the brush. Artists use these round or pointed brushes while doing detailed work, sketching, outlining or washes.

Pointed Round: This brush is narrower that the round/pointed brush, and is used more for fine details due to the ultra fine tip. It’s also used for delicate areas, as well as retouching any particular areas of the painting.

Flat: These brushes have a square end, and are good for creating bold strokes and lines, filling large spaces and washes. In contrast, you can create fine lines with the edges of these brushes, as well as stripes and straight edges.

Bright: These brushes are flat and have curved edges that go inward at the tip. These brushes are used for creating short, controlled strokes using thick color.

Filbert: This shape is oval and flat, and is used for blending and creating soft edges.

Angular: These are flat with angled hairs, and are used for filling in corners and curved strokes.

Fan: These flat, spread out hairs are in the shape of a fan, and are used for a variety of strokes.

Breakdown content provided by VisibilityMAX.

Buying the Perfect Paint Brush

Most artists need a wide range of different types of brushes specific to their methods of painting. You’ll want to be able to shop with a retail supplier that will have a wide range of products to choose from, making it a one-stop-shop for all your art supply needs. RexArt.com has been in the art supply business for over 6 decades, and continues to make only the finest quality paint brushes and other art materials available to their customers.

The Loew Cornell Arttec 500 Series Bristle Supreme Brushes come in a variety of different shapes depending on the expression you wish to portray on your canvas. They are made of bleached white Chungking hog bristles, and maintain amazing shape retention. These brushes are available at RexArt.com, and range in price from $3 to $13.

The Robert Simmons Expression Brushes also come in a variety of brush shapes to allow the artist to create the exact lines, washes, fills and highlights you require for your painting. The balanced handle provides a comfortable grip that reduces fatigue in the hand after painting for hours. These are available at RexArt.com, and are priced between $3 to $12.

My Take

Selecting the perfect paint brush for your requirements is essential, considering the fact that these brushes really do become an extension of yourself as you put what’s in your mind and heart on canvas. In order to translate what your imagination holds into a physical image, you need to use only the best and most comfortable brushes you can get. RexArt.com offers a wide selection of such paint brushes to help you create a painting that is a realization of your creativity and imagination combined.