Brush Care

Taking care of your paint brushes is a HUGE key in painting. If you don't take care of your brushes you can ruin you painting before you even realize it. If you don't clean your brushes properly you can leave paint residue behind on the bristles. If this happens and you want to work with yellow and you have blue still on your brush....lets just say you will get a greenish color on your canvas.

When you are painting have a jar of water handy. Brushes that you have used and are done with for the time being place them in the water. Now there doesn't have to be a lot of water in the jar. You just need enough to cover the bristles of the brushes. This will keep the paint from drying on the brush when they are not in use. If you are working with Acrylics keep in mind that Acrylics dry quickly so if you don't submerge your brush in water the paint will dry on the brush and this is quite hard to clean off. You would be better of throwing the brush away.

When you are done painting you will want to clean out your brushes right away. If they sit in water for too long like over night lets say...the metal piece that holds the bristles together might rust.

Now this is how you should wash your brushes for acrylics, oils cause a little more extensive cleaning rituals than for acrylics. Use cool water, warm water can cause the paint to dry and that is the opposite of what you want. You can use dish soap or a bar of soap. Lather soap onto your brushes by painting the bar with the brushs....or is you are using liquid soap put some in your hand and paint the brush in the palm of you hand. Use the cool water to rinse until the water runs clear. Repeat if needed. Dry off your brushes using a towel of some sort. By doing this you keep the metal on the brush from rusting and you can all see the condition of your brush. If the bristles are falling out and are colored from many uses of paint. If that is the case you might want to invest in some new brushes.

Storing your brushes properly is just as important as cleaning them. If you are storing them in an upright position you will want to store them so that the brush end is up and not smashed down on the surface. If you smash your brushes it can deform your brushes and you will lose the firmness and purpose of the that type of brush. If you are lying the brush down when storing them be sure to run the brushes all the same way and not to place anything heavy on them.

One thing to remember that the more you paint the more brushes you will go through. So I would invest in some nice paint brushes. Horse hair brushes can get a little pricey, but they are nicer and last longer. If you are really wanting to send some money you can buy a goat haired brush. The more money you send the longer the brush will last....but this also is depending on how you care for your brushes. So if you want your brushes to last...spend a little time and money and you will be just fine. Happy painting!