Paintbrushes & Easels

Paintbrushes | Knifes | Easels

You will find in the shops various qualities of brushes. For the oil-base paint, the best is made with silks of pig, in martrette (mixture of marten and ox ear), in hairs of mongoose or red marten. According to your needs and your means, here are some advice for using them :

• The round brushes are useful for the details
• The flat brushes for the backgrounds, the flat tints and the square touches
• The convex worn brushes are recommended for the softer approaches of the subject: ranges, molten.

We recommend synthetic fibers for the acrylic painting.

Silks of pig

The silk of pig brushes are generally made with the hair of the male and are rather stiff. The brushes exist in various sizes : number 2 to 24 (French classification) or number 0.00 to 10 (international classification). Certain marks manufacture some even larger. Concerning flat brushes, it is necessary to get a number 4, a 6 and a 10. Always use the broadest brushes to paint larger surfaces. They are not so much expensive and you must have at least four of them. Once again, buy good ones.

¶   If you buy some with long hairs, be sure you get flexible silks on the edges. It is very significant! Never buy some that are cut right because they will widen and you will face some troubles. Cambered silks are excellent for this kind of brushes.

Since the silk of pig brushes are stiffer than those in hairs of marten, you can extend with them more pale color on the canvas and more easily cover a large surface. Because of that, some artists prefer to use them to paint alla prima, i.e. to have as of the first blow of brush an idea of the final result. Generally, one uses the silk of pig brushes in the works intended to emphasize the effects of matter (pastes in thickness).

Natural Fine Hairs: Marten, Martrette, Mongoose

The brushes in hairs of marten are soft and flexible. If you like to paint with this kind of brushes, buy a number 6 or a 8. The price is so high that you will hesitate to buy some more.

While painting alla prima with flat brushes in hairs of marten, you will perhaps obtain a smooth and covering surface. Indeed, they seem better for the glacis but are much more expensive than those made of silks of pig.

¶   You should use a round brush for any delicate work and with a large smoothness.

In fact, it is necessary for you to get several round brushes in hairs of marten going from the number 3 to 6. They wear quickly out and are not too expensive. Here, the size does not have much importance. However, the small sizes do not correspond to the needs for the majority of the artists and, above the number 6, use as well a small brush made of silk of pig.

¶   Always buy the best brushes possible. You can cut the budget in the quality of the canvas or painting, but always work with brushes of the first quality.

Knifes | Paintbrushes | Easels

There is nothing better than a knife to mix your colors together on the palette. There are different sizes. Of course, the more paint you have to mix, the bigger the knife should be.

Easels | Paintbrushes | Knifes

The easels

There are several kinds of easels. Its use generally depends on the size of the canvas you will paint, the place where you will work and also on your purse…

Here are some easels you can find in shops :

If you think to work at home or outside, you will need a portable easel. There are some excellent ones in aluminum.

However, a portable easel is not as practical as a fix one design to be very stable. If you have an easel and you have enough money to invest in a new one, do not hesitate to buy a fix one. But be careful, if you have to select your investments, choose to buy some very good brushes before thinking about an easel. You will manage your paintings with a less expensive easel but not with cheap brushes.