What to look for when buying paint brushes
There are dozens of types and styles of brushes, I use and recommend Round brushes, and one large flat for doing large washes.
The difference between oil and watercolour brushes is the length of the handle, oil brushes are twice as long. Brushes come in natural hair synthetic or a mix of both
Size ranges from 000 to 24 Don’t go smaller than a size 6 and a good large will be around a size 12
Synthetic brushes are made up of nylon or polyester filaments, sometimes under the name Taklon.
Synthetic brushes are much cheaper than a good natural hair brush, they don’t hold as much water, and they will lose their sharp points fairly quickly which can be restored by stick the bristles in boiling water and reshaping the point with your fingers
There’s no need to spend more than fifteen dollars, if possible, buy single brushes instead of a whole set, you will only use a few of those brushes anyway.
If the bristles come out while you paint, you picked up a cheap brush, try another brand next time.
Synthetic natural hair brushes are just that. I would avoid them.
Natural hair brushes come in all forms
Squirrel, Ox, Hog, Camel, Pony, Goat, and sable
Ignore the first 5, Sable is what you hear about, marten weasel, it doesn’t have to be kolinsky to be great, I recommend any brush from Rosemary & Co.
There’s a few rules when it comes to brushes,
Never leave the brush in the water, because it will crack the handle, and frankly be, uncomfortable to handle.
For the same reason as above, be careful how you store your brushes and not to set it on a puddle
When you first get your new brush, be sure to rinse the sizing out first
Never cut the bristles on a brush, when you lose the tip, buy a good paint brush soap and that will bring it back to new if it’s a great quality brush.
