There are two main categories of brushes: Soft-hair brushes and harder bristle brushes. ( Simon Jennings, The Complete ArtistвЂ™s Manual, 2014, P.96) The best brushes have a seamless ferrule made of nickel plated brass, which is strong and resistant to corrosion. The brush should also point or edge well вЂ“ when loaded with water, it should return to its original shape at the flick of a wrist. Paintbrush made by Rosemary & Co.ДЄ good brush should have a generous вЂњbellyвЂќ capable of holding plenty of color, yet releasing paint slowly and evenly. The characteristic handle shape, with the wood thickening just below the ferrule, is designed to keep the wet hairs of separate brushes from touching when you are holding more than one brush. The width of the handle is proportional to the size of the brush head, which means that the handle of a bigger paintbrush is thicker. The size, series, type, and brand of the brush are embossed on the handle. The long handle brushes allow an artist to work at a greater distance from the canvas or panel. There are short handle brushes and long handle brushes. Handle: Most paintbrush handles are made of wood, but some are made of acrylics. The ferrule is crimped firmly onto the handle. Most ferrules are made of nickel plated brass, which ensures that they resist corrosion and splitting. The ferrule also connects the bristles to the handle. I will explain these bristles in depth, further in the article.ДЇerrule: The ferrule holds the bristles together and shapes them into different types of brushes, such as: rounds, filberts, brights, flats, riggers, fan blender, etc. There are many different types of bristles, such as: hog, sable, squirrel, synthetic, etc. What itвЂ™s made of is extremely important, as it will determine how you apply and manipulate the paint. This is the part of the paintbrush that we actually paint with. A paintbrush is made up of three parts: the bristles (hair), the ferrule, and the handle.Д«ristle: The bristles are the hair of the brush. Before we go further into understanding the different types of paintbrushes and its purposes, we need to understand its body.

Copyright owned by The British Museum 2019.ДЄ paintbrush is a very simple tool in its construct, however, it is one of the most powerful tools an artist can wield. They are on display at The British Museum. The image below is of Ancient Egyptian paintbrushes, formed from sticks bound together and frayed at one end stained with red paint. (Ray Smith, The ArtistвЂ™s Handbook, 1987, P.119) The hair is straightened by steaming under pressure, and dragged out according to the length required. In the case of sable hair, this involves cutting the hair in strips close to the skin, removing the tip and the base of the hair, and combing out the soft wool at the base, leaving only the strong guard-hairs. Nowadays, brush manufacturers buy hair that has been bundled and dressed by specialist suppliers. The metal ferrule meant that the shape of the brush could itself be modified to from flat brushes. This method was practiced until the 1800s, when metal ferrules (the metal band that secures the join between hairs and handle) became widespread.

The tip of a stick was inserted into each bundle and the brush bound down half the length of the bristles.

This was then untied and bound into smaller bundles of the required sizes. A smooth, tapered chestnut or maple stick, about 9 inches long, was inserted into the quill to form the handle.Д«ristle brushes were made by tying a pound of white hog bristles to a stick, which was then used to whitewash walls until the bristles were supple. The hairs were tied, inserted into the quill, and pulled through to the required length for the tip. For soft-hair brushes, bunches of hairs were selected from cooked minever (rabbit) tails to fit various quills ranging from those of a vulture to those of a dove. Italian artist Cennino Cennini, writing in the 1400вЂ™s, gives detailed instructions for making brushes. Other brushes were made by binding twigs of varying thickness. However, in ancient Egypt reed brushes were made by crushing one end of reed, separating the individual fibers, and binding the reed tightly at the point of separation of the fibers. Since primitive times, brushes have typically been made from animal bristle hairs bound to a stick, or soft hairs set in a quill.

The paintbrush