A Variety of Brushes
Every artist is, at one time, a beginner inexperienced in handling new media. Using a paintbrush for the first time is both exciting and daunting. The artist learns that manipulating his brush controls the delivery of paint upon the art surface. Various brushes effect different results depending on shape, size, material and the painting techniques with which they are used.
Student artists devote many hours to learning and practicing brush painting techniques. Skill comes with experimentation and experience.
Choosing the Right Brush
Choosing the appropriate brush for the task makes a dramatic difference in painting. Tiny nose-hair brushes are ideal for the smallest detail work. Wide brushes work well for background painting and large wash areas.
Use a round brush for defining shape and detailing. Paint a straight edge with a flat brush, or use it to lay in large areas of color. Hand letterers also favor flat brushes. The filbert brush offers a compromise between the flat and round brush. Filberts are good for making bold strokes and are also useful for precision painting. Watercolorists use mop brushes to wet large areas of paper with water for wet-on-wet painting techniques. Mops are also good for blotting and blending color.
Blend or glaze oil paints with delicate fan brushes. Fans are also good for painting grass, wood grain and hair highlights.
In the past, synthetic brushes were recommended mostly for acrylic painting because they were easier to clean than natural bristle brushes. Today's synthetic brush bristles have been perfected to perform as well as the finest brushes made of sable. Synthetic brushes are less expensive than natural hair brushes. If well cared for, they can last for many years.
Holding the Brush
In general, hold the brush close to the ferrule (metal piece between the handle and the bristles) when you need more tight control as in detailing or when painting with watercolors.
Hold the brush above the ferrule to draw in loose sketches, lay in shadows or paint large areas. Distancing yourself from the canvas promotes greater freedom of movement and releases inhibitions and stiffness. Hold the brush higher on the handle when you first start a painting to prevent the painting from getting too fussy and tight.
Brush Stroke Techniques
Learn to use any brush by becoming familiar with it. Discover what you can do with the brush by practicing common strokes. Then, invent some of your own.
Here are a few common brush painting techniques to get you started:
Broad strokes, thin strokes, long strokes and short strokes: Load the paintbrush with color and glide it smoothly across the paper or canvas. Notice how the brush feels when it is depleted of paint. Practice strokes of different lengths. Connect them to form shapes. Draw the thinnest stroke your brush can make and draw the broadest stroke your brush can make.
Variable stroke: Use the natural shape of the brush to draw a thick-to-thin tapered stroke.
Vary the pressure of the strokes as you practice to gain more confidence and control in painting with these brush techniques:
Wavy stroke: Practice making wavy lines of various thicknesses, trying not to run out of paint.
Rolling stroke: Use your wrist to roll the brush on its side back and forth across the paper or canvas.
Starved stroke-Drag the brush across the canvas in a single stroke until it runs completely out of paint.
Scrubbing: Load the brush and scrub the bristles up and down. Notice how the texture of the stroke changes as the brush begins to run out of paint.
Stippling: Dip the tip of the brush in paint and make dots on the canvas to form a shape. Shade the shape by making the dots closer together.
Dry brush: Practice different kinds of strokes with an almost dry brush.
