You also have a choice between synthetic and natural brushes. Generally speaking, natural bristles are best for oil paint, while synthetic is best for acrylic and watercolor paint.
Use a natural brush for oil-based paints and primers. Use a synthetic brush for latex paints. Synthetic painter’s brushes are almost always made out of nylon.
Blot the bristles with a dry cloth after you dip them to keep them from dripping with water or mineral spirits. You don’t want them to be soaked, just a little damp. Artist and painter brushes are loaded the same way. There’s no real difference between them when it comes to loading them with paint.
Remember to mix the paint before using it if you’re using an interior paint that comes in a can or large bucket. The pigments tend to separate in these paints while they’re sitting on the shelf.
If you don’t do this, your brush may drip while you’re moving it. Your first brush stroke will also be saturated in paint and it won’t match the rest of the brush stroke.
You have to apply a fair bit of pressure to cover a large surface area in paint. If you hold the brush by the handle, your wrist will get sore pretty quickly.
In painting, a “cut” refers to a straight line where 2 colors meet. When you paint the edges of a wall around the trim, it is called “cutting in. ”
If the bristles aren’t flat against the surface of the wall, your line won’t be even. Part of it will look too thin and part of the line will look too rich and thick.
It’s actually pretty hard to get a straight line if you only move your wrist. Moving your entire arm ensures that your brush doesn’t shake as you move it.
This is the most common grip, but it’s fine if you find another grip that’s more comfortable for you. There is no right or wrong way to hold a brush if you’re making art! Some artists prefer to hold the end of the brush and lay their index finger on top to control the brush.
It’s much easier to balance the brush in your hand and control it if you hold it near the center of gravity in the middle of the brush. The reason you can’t do this with a pencil or pen is because you need to apply pressure when you use a writing tool. You don’t really need to do that with a brush, though!
You can totally change the distance of the bristles if you want to intentionally change the thickness of the line mid-stroke!
This is the best way to build up clouds, grass, tree trunks, or textured backgrounds.
The one exception here is if you used oil-based primer. This stuff is extremely hard to clean and you’re better off using a cheap disposable brush if you’re working with oil-based primer.
Oil paint is typically harder to remove than acrylic or latex paint. You may need to do this 2-3 times to really get your brush clean.
Don’t worry about staining your sink. Latex, acrylic, and watercolor are all water-based paints and will wash off so long as you don’t let the paint dry.
