Interestingly enough, in this months issue of The  Artists  Magazine there is an enjoyable article on several artists who started to paint once they reached sixty.

It is always important to remember that it is never too late to begin a new chapter in your life!

Well,  I am wondering with all the new resolutions being made, if any of them include perhaps more painting?  It does not matter for me,  I don’t ever have to make that a resolution because I find it hard to stay out of my studio!!  Mine should probably be doing more house work,,,,Yuk!!!   I certainly hope that those of you who want to paint more are able to do it.

Another path for those of you who have painted a lot and are getting rather bored with it,  it is probably time to try something new.  Just trying new surfaces,  new textures and or a new medium may be just what it takes to get excited again.  I am going to be playing in water mixable oils ( just playing, mind you).   At this point, I am certainly not ready to give up love of tradional oils but for purposes of travel, it may make sense for me to make them work.  I am thinking a combination of acrylic and water mixable oils.  There is a lot to learn and not many avenues for information so it shall be fun experimenting!!

I do not paint and I prefer my students not to paint on canvas panels.    They are extremely rough and do not allow for any spring back.  Also, over time, they will warp.   I find canvas that is rough destroys brushes extremely fast.  Also, for my style of painting,  it is much more difficult to achieve a smooth finish.  Once again, though, it is a personal choice.  If you are purchasing the cheaper two-pack of canvas from the hobby stores be aware they are rough.

For my portrait method,  I first coat any canvas that I purchase with two coats of tinted gesso.  You can achieve smoothness this way.

There are many sources of good quality canvas out there.  My suggestion is that if you do a lot of painting, it would be beneficial to order or purchase a case lot.  It usually is only six at a time.

Please note my classes are all posted on my website now and am currently taking new students!!

First of all,  when you purchase a brush,  it quite often comes with a protective sleeve on it.  When removed,  do not attempt to put it back on.  This will bend, break and fray the tiny hairs.  Just throw the sleeves away!

Next,  a new brush will contain sizing,  making them stiff.  This allows them to hold their shape and prevent damage while on a store shelf.  This sizing must be removed before any painting is done.   Gently soak the brush in warm water and use a gentle soap.   This should remove all the sizing and your brush should be soft.

I don’t generally clean my brushes until I am finished painting for the day.  Throughout the day,  I just wipe them carefully by pulling them gently through a paper towel.  Do not rub your good brushes on a paper towel to clean;  this will break off tiny hairs.  Also, if possible,  use a good quality paper towel such as Viva.  It is soft and smooth, and will help preserve your brushes longer.

At the end of the day,  rinse your brush in “used”  thinner.  Then rinse again in clean thinner.  Next,  apply a brush cleaner appropriate for oils (Art Gel, Pink Soap, or Murphy’s  Oil Soap)  and work out all the remaining paint.   Next, I use Baby Oil and, using a soft paper towel, I  squeeze the bristles to reshape them..  There should be no color that appears when squeezing the bristles  or your brush is still dirty.  I leave baby oil in my brush,  shape the bristles back to the chisel edge,  and put away.

By cleaning your brushes this way, they will last you for a long time.  However, they do eventually wear out and must be replaced.  Keep that in mind that when you begin to feel it is time for a new brush, trust your instincts, you are probably right!!   Pull out a new one and experience the wonderful feeling of a Brand New Brush!!

Having said this, I would like to explain the brushes I use.  Now, this is not to say this is what every oil painter uses. We all differ but I would hazard a guess that most use high quality and high density brushes.  I generally use a flat, or a bright.  These words describe the length, width and thickness of the bristle.  This is usually labeled on the handle of the brush. A bright is shorter and thicker than a flat but flats work just fine.  Also, for general painting I will use a badger or a mongoose hair brush.  Now here is where I do differ from a lot of oil painters because they will most often use hog bristle.  I have moved away from that type of brush because I prefer a smoother finished product but if students bring those to class I let them use them.  Then I have them try mine and 99% of them switch.

For my portraiture, I use a synthetic sable as my portraits are very smooth.  Also, something I had to consider was the amount of painting I do and the number of brushes I wear out.  I go through alot of  brushes,  therefore I use the best brush for the price and I find synthetic sables are fabulous. We need several different sizes from large to small as paintings differ and we must strive to use the size of brush equal to the size of area to paint.  For example, don’t use an little #4 flat to cover a huge background;  get out the big bad boy and get it done.  Also, the bigger the brush for the area, the fewer brush strokes with be used and seen.  A  couple of Liner brushes should be included and they are thin long haired brushes used for branches of trees, squiggly lines or very tiny areas.  When these start to fray open, it is time to buy new ones.  These are not expensive brushes and therefore easy to part with for new ones.

Finally,  I would suggest if you are new to oil painting, contact the teacher for a list of brushes needed before you go out and buy all the wrong items.  I see this all the time and know it is frustrating for you the new painter and for the teacher who really justs wants you to achieve success!