How do I choose the right paint brush for art technique?
Painting Techniques: what brushes to use
Painting techniques encompass a wide range of methods used for artistic expression. To discuss them in detail, we must first distinguish between TECHNIQUE and PAINTING STYLES.
TECHNIQUE refers to the relationship between artistic execution and materials, and how they are used with the most suitable tools.
PAINTING STYLE, on the other hand, deals with the relationship between technique and a particular mode of expression, often linked to specific historical periods and schools of thought. These two terms are fundamentally interconnected, with one describing the execution process and the other the expressive mode of the artist.
A simple example could be the technique of oil painting in the Caravaggesque style (from the school of Caravaggio).
For the educational purpose of these contents, we will discuss painting techniques by dividing them according to the use of materials and tools.
History of Painting Techniques and Suitable Tools
To explore painting techniques, we must first understand the relationship between materials and image, technique and figuration.
To explore painting techniques, we must first understand the relationship between materials and image, technique and figuration. Guided by treatises, recipe books, and pamphlets written since ancient times on art and its execution, we can shed light on many processes used by various painters, as well as how they measured, prepared, and used the painting materials.
This invaluable documentation is unfortunately fragmented, but today it can be enriched with technical data revealed through chemical and physical investigations of artworks preserved with artistic diagnostics.
In the past, people were more inclined to be interested in techniques, primarily because the process was entirely artisanal: there was no developed industry, and painters had to grind their pigments, make their own boards and canvases, purify their oils, melt varnishes and glues, and even craft suitable brushes!
The passion for perfecting their materials and the curiosity to learn about techniques used in other countries to maintain colors, transparent varnishes, or vibrant hues, as well as the competitiveness to win commissions from patrons, drove painting techniques to excellence.
Much credit also goes to the guilds, which did not allow the use of inferior and perishable materials, and to the masters of workshops who did not tolerate liberties from their apprentices in the preparation of the components used.
The commissions from the Papacy and the Lords of the time ensured that the executions were meticulous and the art perfect.
The technical discoveries, derived from the reading and interpretation of classical texts, insights, and experiments, formed the basis of "workshop secrets," which their holders generally divulged reluctantly. As G.B. Armenini noted in the 16th century, "the wise manner of painting was the privilege of the few and jealously guarded."
Apart from some documented cases, like those of Cennino Cennini and others, art history is full of anecdotes about the jealousy surrounding the craft. In reality, most painters of the past did not have perfect materials in the objective sense but created "tailor-made" materials by combining dedication, mastery of combinations, and love for the craft.
Without diminishing the importance of artistic talent, technical knowledge allows to extract the maximum from painting materials. It can simplify the strokes and effects for beginners and enhance the performance of those who have already established their art.
Brushes, for example, are a fundamental tool for transforming a thought into an image created with painting materials, and they vary so much in characteristics and performance that they need to be "classified" according to the painting technique intended to be used.
A Brief History of Painting Techniques
We can begin with the creation of the first frescoes
Painting techniques: fresco
From Cimabue to Giotto's innovations, the fresco painting technique was the most used for decorating chapels and churches commissioned by the Papacy.
From Cimabue to Giotto's innovations, the fresco painting technique was the most used for decorating chapels and churches commissioned by the Papacy.
LThe plaster, applied in a thin layer, is decorated while still wet with natural pigments diluted in water: the color is thus absorbed by the drying base and becomes permanent.
The work must be done one meter at a time to finish before the surface dries.
The extreme roughness and porosity of the plaster, called "malta bastarda," require working with rigid and pointed tools to leave marks in the wet material.
The brushes suitable for the fresco painting technique are made of bristle, rigid and absorbent, allowing work on the rough surface without excessive abrasion of the tips.
Painting techniques: gilding
During the same period, the application of pure gold leaf decorated ex libris, chapels, and altarpieces: .
During the same period, the application of pure gold leaf decorated ex libris, chapels, and altarpieces: this painting technique, called gilding, creates perfectly coated surfaces with thin sheets of gold, bright and captivating.
The gold leaf, just a few microns thick, now also made from less expensive metals like brass for art and decoration, is lifted with squirrel hair brushes, extremely soft and made electrostatic by lightly rubbing on a velvet cushion.
For a perfect application of gold leaf, the base must be treated with various preparations: the first is the "grounding," preparing a base with Bologna chalk and rabbit glue.
The medium-thick application is usually done with soft brushes, typically made of ox hair, leaving no noticeable traces in the paint material; this allows for a less intense smoothing.
Next, a colored base is applied to enhance the tones of the metal: "Bolo," based on clay powders and animal glues, adheres for a few hours and allows the gold leaf to adhere perfectly to the surface.
Alternatively, a "Mission" adhesive, which remains sticky for hours depending on its chemical composition and the support being decorated, can be used to allow the decorator to apply the gold leaf.
Painting techniques: tempera
With Leonardo da Vinci and his experiments, different painting techniques began to emerge.
The great artist developed variants of tempera, already used in the Middle Ages, mixing egg whites to make it more transparent and elastic.
The brushes for applying egg tempera are soft and elastic, generally made from sable hair.
The only drawback of this painting technique is the extreme perishability of the organic material in the egg white, making it difficult to preserve over the centuries.
Painting techniques: oil painting
Botticelli's "fat temperas," mixing tempera and oils, were the precursors to another newly developed painting technique, the most durable ever: oil painting!
The brilliance of color, the relief of light areas, and the transparency of shadows painted on a shiny priming are the distinctive features of 15th-century painting, from Leonardo to Titian, Caravaggio, Michelangelo, and Raphael, to the Flemish painting.
Canvas painting emerged, using linen and cotton fabrics prepared with Bologna chalk and rabbit glue; painting became "portable" and began traveling with the artists themselves.
Applicable on almost any surface, provided the base is prepared with chalk, oil painting is based on the careful mixing of pigments with linseed or safflower oil.
The result is a thick, soft, and shiny color that dries slowly and can be worked on for many days: perfectly dilutable in other oils or solvents, it can be applied thickly, densely, or very fluidly, always remaining exceptionally vivid and brilliant.
The brushes suitable for oil painting vary depending on the color's density and the desired effects: the initial layers with semi-thick color "filling" can be done with natural or synthetic pig bristle brushes and the synthetic "Prugna" filament; the rigidity of these fibers allows for pulling the oily color, creating incredible tones and perfect shading within the color's material.
For the final details and glazes, where the color is more diluted, the best brushes are natural sable hair, squirrel, and their synthetic variants: the typical softness of these fibers combined with good elasticity aids in application and detail.
Painting techniques: watercolor
Speaking of fluidity and dilution, one cannot overlook the watercolor painting technique: bright and transparent, seemingly simple, watercolor is the descendant of fresco wall paintings: finely ground pigments, gum arabic as a binder, and water.
The significant historical difference is the spread of cotton paper production; as mentioned, the artist begins to leave the studio to depict the world, carrying paper blocks, pencils, watercolors, and brushes. We must not forget the wonderful sketchbooks illustrated by Goethe and Darwin, the precursors of travel photo reports!
Art becomes spontaneous, capturing the moment of a landscape, a portrait, a plant, or an animal: what better technique to carry, drying immediately and paintable in a handy sketchbook with minimal means?
The most suitable brushes for watercolor are extremely soft, absorbent, and slow-releasing water: natural hairs like squirrel, sable, and their synthetic variants have all these essential characteristics. And they leave no marks on the soft paper sheet.
Painting techniques: acrylic
The youngest painting technique, the latest to emerge, is acrylic painting: born in the mid-20th century from the experiments of American Pop Art.
This paint consists of pigments and a polymeric acrylic binder, which only industrial development could invent.
Physically similar to glue, acrylic resin is a polymer that dries very quickly in the air, creating an elastic and rubbery film that is practically irreversible once dry.
Suitable for all surfaces without primer applications, it can be removed from non-absorbent supports through scraping but is practically eternal on all absorbent supports; acrylic colors can be solvent-based or water-based, and art has made the latter the most used colors in the world.
Often overlooked by oil painting artists due to its quick drying time and slightly plastic appearance, acrylics have significantly contributed to developing contemporary painting techniques and crafts.
The multitude of auxiliaries for this type of paint makes it applicable in completely opposite ways: from extreme dilutions similar to watercolor, but irreversible, with the addition of acrylic resin emulsions, to muralism for extreme outdoor resistance, to thick applications with the addition of gels and acrylic pastes and retarders.
technique: with extreme dilutions and absorbent and smooth supports, one should choose soft and elastic brushes, such as ox hair, sable, and synthetic variants like the gold synthetic fiber.
If, however, one wishes to use them straight from the tube or jar, with a viscous consistency, the ideal is to paint with elastic brushes capable of moving the color material: natural or synthetic hog bristle brushes, the dark red violet synthetic fibre, and synthetic fibers like "Polly" and "Novasynt" provide surprising results.
The support on which the painting is created is another variable to consider when choosing the brush to use: if the support is porous and abrasive, one can choose stiffer and more wear-resistant fibers, whereas if the support is smooth or properly treated, the brush can also be softer.
What are the most suitable brushes for the different painting techniques?
A small explanatory memorandum on the different painting techniques can be useful in choosing the best tool for approaching them.
Acquerello: soft, absorbent, and with slow water release.
It is recommended to use natural brushes made of Kolinsky sable, such as series 102/C, series 105, series 106, series 111 with a short handle; series 107 with an extremely pointed tip; series 107/v e series 168 in squirrel hair; series in ox hair series 71/c, series 72/C, series 75 e series 76 a with a short handle.
For synthetic fibers, it is recommended to use Extra Gold synthetic fiber brushes in series with short handles, synthetic Mangusta fiber brushes from the Unico 800, Unico 801 and Unico 802; HIDRO® fiber in the series Unico Infinito 850, Unico Infinito 855 and Unico Infinito 856; MKS® fiber, Synthetic Kolinsky sable in series 620, series 621, series 622 and series 107/S and synthetic squirrel brushes in series 700 Silvia Molinari.
Fresco: pennelli resistenti e tenaci, di media assorbenza
durable and resilient, with medium absorbency. It is recommended to use brushes in: natural white bristle with a long handle in series 50, series 51, series 52.
Oil and Acrylic: resilient and durable, with good elasticity and medium absorbency.
It is recommended to use brushes in: natural ox hair in series 70, series 71, series 72 e series 79 with a long handle; sable series 100, series 101, series 102 and series 109 with a long handle; natural white bristle with a long handle in series 50, series 51, series 52.
If synthetic fiber is preferred, use synthetic flamed fiber brushes from the Unico line Unico 820, Unico 821 and Unico 822 imitating ox hair, Extra Gold synthetic fiber series 13, series 15 and series 86 with a long handle, series 900, series 901, series 902 for beginners, and Plum synthetic fiber in long-handled series 2, series 4 and series 6.
Ceramics: soft and absorbent.
It is recommended to use squirrel brushes in series 69/C, series 69/M, series 69/L with a quill handle, natural ox hair in series 77 and series 78 with a reservoir tip, natural sable in series series 106, series 109/C.
. In synthetic fibers, both HIDRO® fiber, very absorbent and soft, and MKS® synthetic Kolinsky sable imitation brushes can be used.
Restoration: it is recommended to use ox hair, sable, or white bristle brushes depending on the technique to be used.
Mastic colors, for example, often used by restorers of painted canvases, can be applied with natural red sable brushes in series 11 and series 112 or MKS® synthetic fiber, resistant to aggressive solvents.
Mural painting, rough and porous surfaces: wear-resistant, elastic, and durable.
It is recommended to use natural white bristle brushes with a long handle in series 50, series 51, series 52.
In synthetic fibers Unico Silver 810, Unico 811 and Unico 812 are optimal for long strokes; ; Plum synthetic fiber series 1, series 3, series 6/C and series 310.
Micropainting, miniatures, and modeling: durable, thin, and precise.
It is recommended to use Gold synthetic brushes series 20 and series 21; Plum synthetic series 600, series 601 Top Graphic and in the Top Graphic series the Precise series 605.
Gilding: it is recommended to use squirrel bristle brushes in series 202 or series 201/V and possibly ox hair brushes.
Hobbies: elastic and durable, suitable for different surfaces.
It is recommended to use synthetic fiber brushes like series 7, series 8, series 9, series 10 and series 11 n Gold synthetic with special shapes; brushes suitable for all techniques like series 900, series 901, series 902; synthetic white fiber series 32, series 33, series 92 and series 98
Writing and Calligraphy: with high hold and long strokes.
Preferred brushes are those with longer outliers, also known as writing brushes, in series 109/T in sable hair; in series 79 in ox hair.
In synthetic fibers, the Unico mangusta 800, Unico 801; in Gold synthetic series 14 e series 16; in Plum fiber in the series Top Graphic 600 e Top Graphic 601. Special strokes and long, full lines for Japanese writing can be achieved with HIDRO® fiber brushes in the series Pinstriping 780 and Pinstriping 781 and UNICO INFINITO 850.
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