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Classification | Brush |
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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.
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.
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]
The sizes of brushes used for painting and decorating.
Decorators' brush sizes are given in millimeters (mm) or inches (in), which refers to the width of the head. Common sizes are:
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).
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
The styles of brush tip seen most commonly are: [6] [3] [5] : 52–59
Some other styles of brush include:
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
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.
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 watercolour brushes.
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.
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 color, 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.
A toothbrush is a special type of brush 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.
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.
A Chinese writing brush is a paintbrush used as a writing tool in Chinese calligraphy as well as in Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese which all have roots in Chinese calligraphy. They are also used in Chinese painting and other brush painting styles. The ink brush was invented in China around 300 B.C. Together with the inkstone, inkstick and Xuan paper, these four writing implements form the Four Treasures of the Study.
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.
A kolinsky sable-hair brush is a fine artists' paintbrush.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. Since this type of paint dries quickly you will need to work somewhat quickly if you do not want your paint to dry out. There are benefits to adding water before it dries out completely because you can reactivate the paint. These types of paint eliminate the need for turpentine and gesso, and can be applied directly onto canvas. Although they do not need gesso it can be beneficial to give your canvas a few coats of gesso to improve the life of the painting and have a smoother surface to work with. Having various paint brushes and a multi color palette is helpful in finding a technique that works for you. Aside from painting with concentrated color paints, acrylics can also be watered down to a consistency that can be poured or used for glazes.
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.
A cue stick is an item of sporting equipment essential to the games of pool, snooker and carom billiards. It is used to strike a ball, usually the cue ball. Cues are tapered sticks, typically about 57–59 inches long and usually between 16 and 21 ounces (450–600 g), with professionals gravitating toward a 19-ounce (540 g) average. Cues for carom tend toward the shorter range, though cue length is primarily a factor of player height and arm length. Most cues are made of wood, but occasionally the wood is covered or bonded with other materials including graphite, carbon fiber or fiberglass. An obsolete term for a cue, used from the 16th to early 19th centuries, is billiard stick.
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.
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.
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.