Different Types of Paint Brushes and Their Uses
Painting is a fun experience - the freedom of expression painting provides is a very powerful experience. Much of painting has to do with creativity and imagination but to get the best expression out of your paintings, you need to know your tools - for example, your brushes. There are various types and each has a different use. Let’s dive in.
Acrylic Wash Brush
The acrylic wash brush is often very distinctive from other brushes because of its size. When you buy a set of paintbrushes, the acrylic wash brush is often the biggest of the set. Due to its dimensions, they are perfect when you want to cover large parts of a canvas quickly. You can use the brush dry. Dip your wash brush in water to achieve maximum coverage.
Aside from its unique size, the wash brush is thicker than other brushes. With this characteristic, the wash brush can pick up just a bit more water and paint. If you’re working on a canvas and want a little excess paint or water, the acrylic wash brush is the perfect brush for this task.
Angled Brush
These are also known as slanted brushes because of its angled or “slanted” tip. For most painters, the angled brush is their go-to brush when working on mixed media art journal pages. Its slanted tips come in handy when creating lines and shapes that vary in thickness and coverage.
In addition to this, the slanted brush gives you comfort when painting on a canvas mounted on a tripod. If you learned to paint sitting down, using the angled brush to paint on an upright canvas will give you some leeway.
Flat Brush
At first sight, the flat brush can be easily confused with the wash brush. However, upon closer inspection, you’d see that the flat brush isn’t as thick nor are the bristles as round on the edges as that of a wash brush.
The flat brush works perfectly on surfaces that are not suitable for the wash brush. Using the flat brush on a canvas that isn’t as wide gives you great coverage and control.
Fan Brush
As the name suggests, this brush has a fan-shaped tip. The fan brush is perfect for blending background and skies, as well as adding delicate highlights to darker areas. It also gives great results when painting natural landscapes such as trees, grass, and shrubbery.
Besides using it for painting natural scenery and landscapes, you can use the fan brush to create different textures and designs. For instance, if you tap the brush, it creates a different effect from when you create simple long brush strokes.
Round Brush
The round brush has a soft rounded edge, and it’s smaller than the flat and angled brushes. Its handle is narrower than that of other brushes, so when holding it, it feels like you’re holding a pencil. The round brush gives you total control, making it perfect for adding more detail to your painting.