Paintbrush

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Paintbrush
Paintbrushes.jpg
Paintbrushes
Classification Brush
Uses Painting

A paintbrush is a brush used to apply paint or ink. A paintbrush is usually made by clamping bristles to a handle with a ferrule. They are available in various sizes, shapes, and materials. Thicker ones are used for filling in, and thinner ones are used for details. They may be subdivided into decorators' brushes used for painting and decorating and artists' brushes use for visual art.

Contents

History

Paintbrushes were used by man as early as the Paleolithic era in around 2.5 million years ago in order to apply pigment. [1]

Old painting kits, estimated to be around 100,000 years old, were discovered in a cave in what is now modern South Africa. [2]

Ancient Egyptian paintbrushes were made of split palm leaves and used by ancestors to beautify their surroundings. The oldest brushes ever found were also made of animal hair.

Parts

Brush parts Parts of a Paintbrush.png
Brush parts

Trade

Brushes for use in non-artistic trade painting are geared to applying an even coat of paint to relatively large areas. Following are the globally recognized handles of trade painter's brushes: [4]

Brush handle styles Brush Handles.jpg
Brush handle styles

Decorating

Decorators' brushes Decorators'paintbiushes.jpg
Decorators' brushes

The sizes of brushes used for painting and decorating.

Decorating sizes

Decorators' brush sizes are given in millimeters (mm) or inches (in), which refers to the width of the head. Common sizes are:

Decorating shapes

Decorating bristles

Bristles may be natural or synthetic. If the filaments are synthetic, they may be made of polyester, nylon or a blend of nylon and polyester. Filaments can be hollow or solid and can be tapered or untapered. Brushes with tapered filaments give a smoother finish.

Synthetic filaments last longer than natural bristles. Natural bristles are preferred for oil-based paints and varnishes, while synthetic brushes are better for water-based paints as the bristles do not expand when wetted.

A decorator judges the quality of a brush based on several factors: filament retention, paint pickup, steadiness of paint release, brush marks, drag and precision painting. A chiseled brush permits the painter to cut into tighter corners and paint more precisely.

Brush handles may be made of wood or plastic while ferrules are metal (usually nickel-plated steel).

Art

Short handled brushes are usually used for flat or slightly tilted work surfaces such as watercolor painting and ink painting, while long handled brushes are held horizontally while working on a vertical canvas such as for oil paint or acrylic paint. [5] :51

Art shapes

The styles of brush tip seen most commonly are: [6] [3] [5] :52–59

Types of brushes Brushtypes.jpg
Types of brushes
Brushes used in one stroke painting Painting brushes.jpg
Brushes used in one stroke painting

Some other styles of brush include:

Art sizes

Artists' brushes are usually given numbered sizes, although there is no exact standard for their physical dimensions. From smallest to largest, the sizes are: 20/0, 12/0, 10/0, 7/0, 6/0, 5/0, 4/0 (also written 0000), 000, 00, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30, 2 inch, 4 inch, 6 inch, and 8 inch. Brushes as fine as 30/0 are manufactured by major companies, but are not a common size. Sizes 000 to 20 are most common. [3] [5] :51

Art bristles

Closeup of an oil paintbrush Paintbrush closeup.jpg
Closeup of an oil paintbrush

Bristles may be natural—either soft hair or hog bristle—or synthetic. [5] :50 Types include:

Turpentine or thinners used in oil painting can destroy some types of synthetic brushes. However, innovations in synthetic bristle technology have produced solvent resistant synthetic bristles suitable for use in all media. Natural hair, squirrel, badger or sable are used by watercolorists due to their superior ability to absorb and hold water.

Soft hair brushes
The best of these are made from kolinsky sable, other red sables, or miniver (Russian squirrel winter coat; tail) hair. Sabeline is ox hair dyed red to look like red sable and sometimes blended with it. Camel hair is a generic term for a cheaper and lower quality alternative, usually ox. It can be other species, or a blend of species, but never includes camel. Pony, goat, mongoose and badger hair are also used.
Hog bristle
Often called China bristle or Chungking bristle. This is stiffer and stronger than soft hair. It may be bleached or unbleached.
Synthetic bristles
These are made of special multi-diameter extruded nylon filament, Taklon or polyester. These are becoming ever more popular with the development of new water based paints.

Art handles

Artists' brush handles are commonly wooden but can also be made of molded plastic. Many mass-produced handles are made of unfinished raw wood; better quality handles are of seasoned hardwood. The wood is sealed and lacquered to give the handle a high-gloss, waterproof finish that reduces soiling and swelling. Many brush companies offer long or short brush handle sizes.

Metal ferrules may be of aluminum, nickel, copper, or nickel-plated steel. Quill ferrules are also found: these give a different "feel" to the brush, and are staple of French-style aquarel wash brushes.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acrylic paint</span> Water resistant paint type meant for canvases

Acrylic paint is a fast-drying paint made of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion and plasticizers, silicone oils, defoamers, stabilizers, or metal soaps. Most acrylic paints are water-based, but become water-resistant when dry. Depending on how much the paint is diluted with water, or modified with acrylic gels, mediums, or pastes, the finished acrylic painting can resemble a watercolor, a gouache, or an oil painting, or it may have its own unique characteristics not attainable with other media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oil painting</span> Process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil

Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel or copper for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of the world. The advantages of oil for painting images include "greater flexibility, richer and denser colour, the use of layers, and a wider range from light to dark". But the process is slower, especially when one layer of paint needs to be allowed to dry before another is applied.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toothbrush</span> Oral hygiene tool

A toothbrush is an oral hygiene tool used to clean the teeth, gums, and tongue. It consists of a head of tightly clustered bristles, atop of which toothpaste can be applied, mounted on a handle which facilitates the cleaning of hard-to-reach areas of the mouth. They should be used in conjunction with something to clean between the teeth where the bristles of the toothbrush cannot reach - for example floss, tape or interdental brushes.

A brush is a common tool with bristles, wire or other filaments. It generally consists of a handle or block to which filaments are affixed in either a parallel or perpendicular orientation, depending on the way the brush is to be gripped during use. The material of both the block and bristles or filaments is chosen to withstand hazards of its intended use, such as corrosive chemicals, heat or abrasion. It is used for cleaning, grooming hair, make up, painting, surface finishing and for many other purposes. It is one of the most basic and versatile tools in use today, and the average household may contain several dozen varieties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Percussion mallet</span> Object used to strike or beat a percussion instrument

A percussion mallet or beater is an object used to strike or beat a percussion instrument to produce its sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hairbrush</span> Brush for hair care

A hairbrush is a brush with rigid or light and soft spokes used in hair care for smoothing, styling, and detangling human hair, or for grooming an animal's fur. It can also be used for styling in combination with a curling iron or hair dryer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristle</span>

A bristle is a stiff hair or feather, either on an animal, such as a pig, a plant, or on a tool such as a brush or broom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kolinsky sable-hair brush</span> Type of paint brush

A kolinsky sable-hair brush is a fine artists' paintbrush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Figure painting (hobby)</span> Aspect of culture

Figure painting, or miniature painting, is the hobby of painting miniature figures and/or model figures, either as a standalone activity or as a part of another activity that uses models, such as role-playing games, wargames, or military modeling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horsehair</span> Long, coarse hair growing on the manes and tails of horses

Horsehair is the long hair growing on the manes and tails of horses. It is used for various purposes, including upholstery, brushes, the bows of musical instruments, a hard-wearing fabric called haircloth, and for horsehair plaster, a wallcovering material formerly used in the construction industry and now found only in older buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaving brush</span> Tool to make and apply shaving soap or cream

A shaving brush or shave brush is a small brush with a handle parallel to the bristles used to make lather from shaving soap or shaving cream and apply it to the face when shaving. Shave brushes are often decorative; antique handles are often made from materials such as ivory or even gold, though the bristle load may be composed of any number of natural or synthetic materials. The shave brush is used most often today by "wet shavers" in tandem with a single- or double-edged safety razor or a straight razor. However, this is not always the case, as shavers of all varieties may employ the tool.

The filbert paintbrush is a paintbrush used in artwork. It has a thick ferrule and hairs that are, on average, medium to long hairs in the shape of an oval. Filberts are particularly effective in blending work, usually of a figurative nature. Many artists agree that natural fibers work best for filberts, because the hairs stick together better when wet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prolene</span> Brand of polypropylene for sutures and meshes

Prolene is a brand of synthetic polypropylene used in monofilament nonabsorbable sutures and meshes. The suture is indicated for skin closure and general soft tissue approximation and ligation. Its advantages include minimal tissue reactivity and durability. Disadvantages include fragility, high plasticity, high expense, and difficulty of use compared to standard nylon sutures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drybrush</span> Painting technique

Drybrush is a painting technique in which a paint brush that is relatively dry, but still holds paint, is used to create a drawing or painting. Load is applied to a dry support such as paper or primed canvas. The resulting brush strokes have a characteristic scratchy and textured look that lacks the smooth appearance that washes or blended paint commonly have. This technique can be used to achieve a blurred or soft appearance.

Acrylic painting techniques are different styles of manipulating and working with polymer-based acrylic paints. Acrylics differ from oil paints in that they have shorter drying times and are soluble in water. These types of paint eliminate the need for turpentine and gesso, and can be applied directly onto canvas. Aside from painting with concentrated color paints, acrylics can also be watered down to a consistency that can be poured or used for glazes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palette (painting)</span> Flat surface for mixing paints

A palette is a surface on which a painter arranges and mixes paints. A palette is made of materials such as wood, paper, glass, ceramic or plastic, and can vary greatly in size and shape. Watercolor palettes are generally made of plastic or porcelain in a rectangular or wheel format, and have built in wells and mixing areas for colors. For acrylic painting, "stay wet" palettes exist, which prevent the paints from drying out and becoming inert.

Taklon is the common name for a synthetic fiber used in artist-quality paint, makeup, shaving and pin stripe brushes. It is a smooth, soft, and somewhat fragile polyester derivative devoid of any protein component or allergen elements and is therefore used in the cosmetic industries as a "green," "vegan," "allergy free" or synthetic alternative to animal hair brushes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Makeup brush</span> Brush used for applying makeup or face paint

A makeup brush is a tool with bristles, used for the application of makeup or face painting. The bristles may be made out of natural or synthetic materials, while the handle is usually made out of plastic or wood. When cosmetics are applied using the appropriate brush, they blend better onto the skin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kabuki brush</span> Makeup brush

A kabuki brush, sometimes called mushroom brush, is a makeup brush with dense bristles and a short handle. The brush head is usually rounded, though it can also be flat. Traditionally, the bristles are made of natural materials like animal hair, such as from horses or goats, but most modern brushes have synthetic bristles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camel-hair brush</span>

A camel-hair brush is a type of paintbrush with soft bristles made from natural hairs, usually squirrel. Actual camel hair is not a suitable material, although historically camel was used for ancient Chinese ink brushes. It is a widely used brush in art, but is considered inferior to the more expensive sable and ox-hair brushes. In some niche applications, such as pinstriping, camel hair is an ideal brush. Camel-hair brushes have numerous uses outside of art, particularly dusting where a soft brush is needed for delicate objects or skin.

References

  1. "Brush | Acrylic, Oil & Watercolor Painting | Britannica". www.britannica.com. September 19, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  2. "Stone Age painting kits found in cave | Anthropology | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Boddy-Evans, Marion (October 31, 2019). "An Introduction to Art Paintbrushes". The Spruce Crafts .
  4. "Choose The Best Paint Brush". Monarch Painting. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Walter Foster Creative Team (2017). Artist's Toolbox: Painting Tools & Materials - A Practical Guide to Paints, Brushes, Palettes and More. Quarto Publishing. ISBN   9781633222823.
  6. "Brushes by Shape". Dick Blick . Retrieved September 1, 2021.