My Brushes

For some time I have been itching to share with you all about the current brushes that I use when painting detailed oil paintings.

I have a big collection of brushes that I bought as time went by. Some of the brushes I bought as part of a set of brushes and I must tell you that many of these tend to be useless to me. It is interesting that we tend to stick to some brushes.

I like brushes that do not separate on the ends. I just hate it when you buy a brush that has a proper point and after a while, the brush starts to split on the point. I guess it happens when paint collects in the fibers close to the handle and then is not cleaned out when you clean your brushes.

I now make sure that I wash each brush with clear spirits after use every day and then I wash them with soap. This ensures that I do not get paint that dries up in the bristles.

I started using Liquin some time ago and I can hardly paint without it these days. It always gives me a silky consistency when I mix my paint with it and it helps to dry my paint faster with a slightly glossy surface. It is absolute magic. And then I discovered a South African product, see photo. It does exactly the same thing but at half the price.

I love a brush with a long point for all the fine lines that I need to do. I take some liquin and mix that with my oil paint until the brush is loaded. I then angle my brush and just slide it along.

This ensures a long straight line. After application, you will feel a slight raised bump when dry. This means that the brush strokes on the painting will be seen.

As you can see above, I place my paints on a sheet of glass. At the end of the day, I use a pallet knife to scrape off the paint that I did not use and then I clean the surface with a baby wipe. The baby wipes work so well.

I believe that each brushstroke must be seen. That is why I am so in love with the impressionist. They said that painting is just an impression of what you see. And that this impression can change depending on the time of day. Light in the morning looks different from the same light in the afternoon. A person like Monet painted the same scene many times and at different times of the day to prove this fact. When you place two colors next to each other the color change of the colors you are looking at.

Above are my favorite brushes that I am using right now. Share your favorite brushes with me in the comments, please.