30-something artist trying to find time to create a little (or hopefully a lot) every day.
30-something - getting close to 40-something; full-time mom, part-time art student at RISD; trying to live simply & cut down on the clutter/excesses of life (esp. toys!); constantly trying to enrich my life & become a better and more interesting person. Oh, and this bug is a spitting ground beetle, scientific name: calosoma auropunctatum, that I painted in a class at RISD. I love bugs.
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With getting ready to move house, I haven't done much sketching. Any free time I have in my art room, I spend on these color mixing charts with my new paints. I'm getting very frustrated, though, with my sable brushes. These things weren't cheap, but they won't keep their shape. It doesn't seem to matter how often I clean them. Should a good sable brush do this?
posted by Kira @ 9:20 PM
7 Comments:
Kira, I have had the same problem and finally stumbled upon a product at Hobby Lobby called Mona Lisa Brush Shaper. Made by Mona Lisa Products, 800.272.3804. It is a non-toxic brush restoration product. I have had a bit of success with it. I don't know why the brushes do that....I am a relatively new water colorist and you are right, it is very disappointing. Expensive too.
Best wishes,
cindy
I should think that they would hold their shape better than that. I have some synthetic brushes I've had for 20 years that don't do that.
I talked with a drybrush watercolorist a few months ago - he does a lot of illustration for advertising - and he said that he can go through one Kolinsky sable per illustration (he does them big - 20 x 30 or so). He uses cold press paper. So perhaps that is just the life expectancy for a very delicate brush!
When I am done painting with my brushes, I let them sit in water with a couple drops of fabric softener mixed in, then let them air dry after shaking them off. They keep their shape (and they smell good!).
I'd swirl a brush in water but I don't think I'd let it sit.
Here's a very good primer on brush care which might help with your future ones, but not necessarily this one:
http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/brush2.html
I've been using Sumi brushes lately and I like that they usually have a loop at the end of the brush that allows them to be hanged. This way the brush dries gravity side down and always had nice tip.
I've been using Sumi brushes lately and I like that they usually have a loop at the end of the brush that allows them to be hanged. This way the brush dries gravity side down and always had nice tip.
Not sure what size brush you are talking about...but I had always used Windsor-Newton brushes with great results. For washes we used #3 and when through would "snap" it which would usually point the brushl, then wet your fingers with saliva and really point it up and when it dried it would stay pointed. Actually you can use the latter on any size brush...Phil
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