Artists and their brushes

Although as artists we are seduced by colour, it is important to be as equally attentive to our brush choices. Fundamental to the creation of our paintings and integral to our style, finding the right brush often makes all the difference.  

This article examines the different types of brush available for different media with insights and advice from professional artists, each of whom has developed their own distinctive use for their brushes; often as individual as the art they create.  

Synthetic & Natural hair

Artists’ brushes are made from stiff or soft hairs, and these are formed from either natural hair brushes or synthetic fibres.  Generally, soft brushes are used for thinner, fluid colour which spreads more easily or for more detailed work because they form a good point.  Being more robust, stiff brushes are best suited to thicker, heavier colour with more colour carrying capacity. These different hair types either come from natural sources or can be synthetically produced.

Natural hair is available in both stiff and soft varieties, with individual characteristics which make each one unique. The quality of natural hair brushes is known to be superb, especially in the case of Kolinsky sable brushes which continue to retain their spring over time.  Synthetic hair, made from polyester, can be soft or stiff for both fluid media and thicker colour.

For more information about brushes read our article about what makes a quality artists’ brush.

Brushes for use with Oil & Acrylic painting

When choosing a brush to use with oil colour and heavier applications of acrylic colour, consider a brush with hair that is able to move thick, viscous colour e.g. hog hair or a stiff synthetic equivalent. If using thinners to alter the colour properties for a more fluid consistency or for a greater focus on detail, brushes with softer hair can be used.

Hog hair is the most commonly used hair for oil painting brushes. It is a stiff natural hair, stout enough to pick up oil or acrylic colour straight from the tube.  Hog hair is strong and durable. The best quality hogs also wear down gradually, maintaining their shape but getting smaller, so the initial investment will pay dividends.  

Stiff synthetic brushes made for oil and acrylic paintings also offer good flow control and a well-defined tip or edge for detail and blending work.  An additional benefit is that they are resistant to damage from acrylic resin and won’t soften in water.

For more information on brushes for oil and acrylic colour read our article about what makes a quality artists’ brush.

Artists on brushes – Oil & Acrylic Artists

The following oil and acrylic artists have each developed their own personal uses for their brushes to suit their creative needs and have kindly shared their insights.

Nigel Wright is a professional oil painter, mentored by Roy de Maistre (1894-1968), who has sold paintings to various collectors, publishers and outlets such as Harrods. Having worked for ten years at the Prints & Drawings and Oriental Departments at the British Museum, he now paints full-time.  

My own practice is to use hog brushes for large areas, such as skies, but sable for the more complex and involved parts of a picture - the reason being that this gives me greater control when dealing with specific forms. Sables can also offer great flexibility in terms of texture in the more confined areas. Of course, sables are very appropriate for handling detail and obtaining clarity and precision of contour - but within specific forms they can be used in all sorts of ways to achieve surprising textural effects through, for example, scumbling with various degrees of fluidity of the paint, and for exploiting the different qualities of different pigments: the grainy transparency of Transparent White in rendering flesh and certain textiles, for example. I use sables even in producing large pictures. I cannot achieve the effects I want with hog alone or with synthetics alone. There is no doubt that sable offers the artist real power in fixing and projecting imagery.
 
I also use softeners from time to time, especially when merging tones in skies, even though the initial paint has been laid down with broad hog brushes. I will use softeners specifically manufactured as such, but I will also use watercolour mops for oil use on occasion. Another fundamentally useful 'brush' is of course the human finger! - or a finger wrapped in rag and used to work a modifying tone or colour into a dry under-layer - making sure to wash one's hands thoroughly afterwards.
 
Brushes can become old and reliable friends, each with their own peculiar personality which can be exploited in full. The secret of course is to look after them well, keeping them clean and treating them as the valuable things which they are.

Anna Gardiner is a professional oil painter based in London.  Anna studied at the Chelsea School of Art and received her Diploma at the Royal Academy Schools in 1994. She has been represented by the gallery Art First since 1994 where she has had regular solo exhibitions. Amongst her many prestigious awards, Anna was a prizewinner for the 2009 Lynn Painter Stainers Prize which champions representational painting and the skill of draughtsmanship. www.artfirst.co.uk/anna_gardiner/paintings.html

For me, flat hog hair brushes combine well with a palette knife as I’m working with edges in my painting. I buy several of the same brush I like in one go because I don’t want to pick up something I’m not used to. I use Winsor & Newton Series 7 to have a quality brush when I’m painting out and about.

Kate Brinkworth is a professional oil painter who graduated with a first class honours from Nottingham Trent University in 2000. Since then she has exhibited internationally and won numerous awards including the Westgate Prize (2004). Kate’s work stems from her curiosity in films, particularly those directed by Alfred Hitchcock and her unique photorealist images demonstrate her expert technical understanding of both film and photography. www.katebrinkworth.com

I use oil paint fairly thinly, with a lot of oil to make it stay fluid and to dry shiny.  In reality I use oil paint in a similar way to how you use watercolour. I choose Winsor & Newton Monarch brushes as they work well with the oil, not deteriorating as quickly as other makes. The Monarch brushes have a nice soft quality and good spring unlike some oil brushes which are too stiff.
 
Iain Andrews is a professional acrylic artist based in Manchester who has exhibited in galleries in London (notably Saatchi) and across Europe. He also works as an Art Psychotherapist.  Iain’s paintings are akin to the tradition of great religious paintings. They attempt to provoke spiritual contemplation and meditation whilst also using sensuous painterly marks in a style that borders figuration and abstraction.

My tutor recently reminded me of the importance of changing your brushes regularly, by showing me a jar of worn out brushes he kept as spares. Like most people I guess, I can fall prey to trying to get as much use out of them as I can, and this can sometimes mean that I neglect to replace ones that are past their best. The right brush can make all the difference between a mark that is passable and one that oozes personality and character. One only has to look at oriental calligraphy to see the beauty of what can be achieved with the right kind of tools.

I have recently got hold of a large Chinese horsehair calligraphy brush - and initial experiments with it have been interesting - it has a unusual weight about it once fully loaded with pigment and takes some getting used to but produces some lovely marks that are hard to replicate in any other way. I recently acquired a very wide, thin flat brush, very useful for dragging paint across the surface. There are stories about Soutine using over 30 brushes in a single picture, throwing them down around him as he worked. He used signwriters brushes, a long thin bristled brush that responds well to the varying pressure of the hand using it. I sense that this aspect of making paintings is not something that is taught much at art schools anymore because it is bit too much like craftsmanship, but it is something that every painter needs to be at least aware of.

Neil Douglas graduated from Wolverhampton University in 2000 and since then has exhibited his work in both the UK and USA.  Neil’s work attempts to combine influences from traditional painters with a modern use of photography as a research tool. Neil’s recent paintings represent his fascination with America and his meticulous photorealist style expertly recreates the complex visual details of all things American.

Although I work in a highly realistic style I prefer the canvas surface to consist of a variety of different brush-strokes and mark making.  I work heavily into the canvas to the point that upon completion a canvas will need to be re-stretchered; as a result I need to use brushes that are going to be durable. I work between the Winsor & Newton Azanta and University ranges as both are fairly inexpensive for the quality given, both hold paint well and keep shape well.

Brushes for use with Water Colour Painting

When choosing a brush for use with water colour, gouache and fluid colour, there are three key characteristics that the brush should offer; a great point which can be held to create edges and fine detail, perfect ‘snap’ or spring enabling the brush to spring back into shape during use and even flow control, the colour should flow evenly and consistently from the point of the brush. As with other media, water colour brushes can be made from both natural hair and synthetic fibres.

Sable is the best known natural hair for water colour application and the highest quality comes from the Kolinsky sable from Siberia. The finest Kolinsky is a soft, golden-brown colour that darkens at the tip and, looked after properly, can last a lifetime. Other types of natural hair used to make water colour brushes include squirrel and goat.  Both of these make good mop brushes because they are naturally soft and have good colour carrying capacity.

There is a good selection of water colour brushes available made from superior synthetic filaments. One advantage of these brushes is their affordability. In addition, synthetic fibres can also prove to have excellent colour carrying capacity and much improved spring, thanks to the possibility of combining different filament thicknesses in the same brush (such as Winsor & Newton Cotman brushes).

For more information on brushes for water colour read our article about what makes a quality artists’ brush.

Artists on brushes – Water Colour/Fluid Media Artists

Paul Antonio trained as a Calligrapher, Gilder and Heraldic Artist and also studied Manuscript History and Egyptian Hieroglyphs. He currently runs a calligraphy studio in Clapham, London where he designs an array of script based artwork from wedding invitations to making copies of historical documents for television and film. www.paulantonioscribe.com

For anyone using a brush the nature of what you are aiming to execute is the deciding factor in which brush to use. For mixing colour, be it Winsor & Newton watercolour or gouache, or pigments that I grind from scratch, any of the hog hair brushes are great for this as the sturdiness of the bristles give for good crushing and blending with water giving a smooth finish. For fine painting and heraldic illustration my brush of choice is; for sketching, a Kolinsky Sable Series 7 size 00 and for fine painting it would have to be Series 7 size 1. I was introduced to these at Art School and have loved them ever since.

For flat brush lettering no one can rival the Cotman brushes be it the 666 or the 555. For big, sumptuous flat brush calligraphy the Cotman Wash Brush is exceptional. The only problem with it is you can see the bristles moving and so forget what you are doing because how sensuously they move. Truly a sight to behold!

Pointed brush work is easily executed with the watercolour rigger and the Cotman 333.

These brushes work in perfect concert with Winsor & Newton watercolours and Gouache ranges.

Martin Impey has been a freelance illustrator for nearly 20 years. He has worked on a huge variety of exciting projects from children's books, toys and games, art licensing, magazine editorials, TV commercials, packaging, animation and much more. www.martinimpey.com

As a freelance illustrator and artist, I have used Winsor & Newton Series 7 brushes for some 20 years now and find them without comparison. Occasionally I test other makes and styles of brushes, but are soon reminded just why I rely on the constant quality of these brushes. From the finest of detail to the loaded broad stroke washes demanded in painting with watercolour, this particular Series has never lets me down!

When choosing a brush, it is important to consider what type of hair and shapes are available and the fact that brushes are specifically designed to suit different media and techniques. As all of these artists have demonstrated, however, ultimately you need to find the brush/es that suit you and your individual creative needs, even if this entails using them for something completely different and less conventional.

For more information on all of our brush ranges, see our Brush Section.