Best Acrylic Paint Brushes for Beginners Draw With

This short article on choosing acrylic brushes is designed to cut through all of the confusion that comes about when you browse in an art store or certainly when you look online for what to pick. There are dozens of manufacturers out there, usually with several different ranges and all at different prices.

The upshot is that you have literally hundreds of possibilities. But which is right for you?

Well, this guide shows you a good starter selection for acrylic paint brushes (at least in my experience), which will help to build your confidence and skill levels by mastering a few key pieces of equipment, rather than fiddling with many.

We all tend to use brushes just because they're in the paintbox and haven't been used for a while, even though they may not be right for the job we have in mind.

So this isn't intended as a comprehensive thesis on all the brushes available - we'd need a fair few web pages to do that!

It's designed to quickly and succinctly point you in the right direction to getting a small but versatile brush and knife collection which you can start using right away with real confidence - and without spending a fortune on items you don't really need right now!

Brush Types

Here are the brushes I recommend, along with some photos, to give you a clear idea of their shape.

Round Brushes

Round brushes are universally popular and give you a whole variety of different marks.

^{Photo credit: Ken Bromleys & www.artsupplies.co.uk}

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Filbert Brushes

Filbert brushes, as you can see below, are basically a flat brush with a tapered, rounded end. Also capable of a variety of marks, they are also especially useful for blending.

^{Photo credit: Ken Bromleys & www.artsupplies.co.uk}

By the way, the size numbers on round and filbert brushes vary considerably between manufacturers so don't obsess over the numbers I've mentioned in the list below.

Flat Brushes

Flat brushes are somewhat easier to judge, as their size is simply measured across the end of the flattened part of the ferrule (the metal fixing) from where the hairs emerge.

^{Photo credit: Ken Bromleys & www.artsupplies.co.uk}

Rigger Brushes

The rigger brush is a very thin, round, quite long-haired brush, ideal for drawing equally thin lines, such as ship's rigging, from where it got its name.

^{Photo credit: Ken Bromleys & www.artsupplies.co.uk}

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Recommended Starter List

• 1.5 inch DIY brush - the kind of brush you'd paint a door frame with. Go for a better quality one at the DIY store as the really cheap ones shed a lot of hairs.
• 1 inch and 0.5 inch Flat brush
• Number 4 and number 8 Filbert brush
• Number 8 Round brush
• Number 1 Rigger brush

An assorted set of painting/palette knives (a really cheap set is fine, to begin with - the plastic varieties cost very little) is also a good investment.

^{Photo credit: Ken Bromleys & www.artsupplies.co.uk}

These are invaluable for mixing larger quantities of paint on the palette, but really come into their own when you want to create some heavy impasto effects in your picture.

Spreading thick, juicy paint around the paper or canvas with a painting knife can be a very therapeutic, tactile experience!

Bristle (Hogshair) or Synthetic (Nylon)?

Go for synthetic (nylon). They're more resilient and as good as bristle brushes for most tasks. You can use the same set of brushes for acrylic and oil painting, to begin with, as long as you clean them thoroughly.

Just be careful though when using some natural hair brushes such as hogshair with acrylics.

A lot of artists, including me, lay brushes side-on into something like a takeaway food tray, with the bristles sitting in a small amount of water. Keeping them flat like this avoids the bristles bending as they would if stored upright in a jar.

It also keeps the hairs moist and prevents them from drying out and becoming hardened and unusable during a painting session.

However, I find leaving a hogshair brush in water for long periods like this tends to make the bristles go soggy and limp. Over time, this can ruin the brush. Synthetic fibres don't suffer as much from this problem, as the water can't penetrate the filaments.

Acrylic paint is notoriously harsh on natural hair brushes, so for goodness sake, don't use your best watercolour sables!

Although many synthetics provide a smoother brushstroke than hogshair, there are now many ranges around which closely replicate the coarser, natural hair brush-stroke.

Brands to Look Out For

Pro-Arte Acrylix Series  - www.proarte.co.uk

Winsor & Newton Galeria range - www.winsornewton.co.uk

Da Vinci Junior range - www.davinci-defet.com

Liquitex Basics range - www.liquitex.com

Princeton Series 5200 range - www.princetonbrush.com

Daler-Rowney System 3 range - www.daler-rowney.com       

Suggested Retailers

We've included the names of some retailers who we have used in the past, all of whom have a comprehensive selection of art materials and equipment. There are of course many others and don't overlook your local art store, where getting 'hands on ' with the materials before you buy is often worth the visit alone.

USA:

• Amazon.com
• Dickblick.com
• Cheapjoes.com
• Jerrysartarama.com

UK & Europe:

• Artsupplies.co.uk
• Amazon.co.uk
• Amazon.de
• Cassart.co.uk
• jacksonart.co.uk

Australia

• Amazon.com.au

Canada

• Amazon.ca

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This article is one of a series of guides on acrylic painting materials for newcomers. Other guides cover acrylic surfaces, acrylic paints and essential accessories. Go to the acrylic painting materials page here.

Best Acrylic Paint Brushes for Beginners Draw With

Source: https://www.arttutor.com/blog/201808/guide-acrylic-painting-brushes

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