Paint brushes and such…..

[Amstaff]

So, Im now on my 4th PYO piece, and as I learn more I realize I could use some better brushes. I like the ones with tiny tips, so I can really take my time with details. But Im finding my smaller brushes just dont seem to stay stiff as I would like, and get more flexible during painting, causing me some frustration.

The current brand Im using is Artist’s Loft. I have been searching for other brands online, but have not had much success. I also find it hard to really know what Im getting just from a picture and size, as most sites dont go into specific details on the brush. I like being able to touch and handle the brushes Im going to purchase.

I have read on the forum here that people like Kalish brushes. I checked their website and it appears they dont ship to Canada. I was curious if anyone has any recommendations for good quality brushes that one can get easily in Canada? I do plan on checking DeSerres once I can get to the store, since its in a part of the city I find hard to get to on my own.

Also, can anyone explain the size numbers on the brushes? I have some here that are a 0, an 18/0, a 5/0 etc… what do these numbers measure exactly? The diameter of the brush or the length? If I understood these numbers better it may help me be able to order online someday. I suppose I could try to google the answer to this… but figured it cant hurt to ask either 🙂

Oh, and one last thing, has anyone ever tried using paint markers on a PYO, like for details or designs/images added to the PYO? There were a few I had looked at the other day, that I was tempted to buy. Some were made by liquitex, such as these ones : http://www.liquitex.com/us/Shop/Paints/Sets/Fine_6_Set.aspx . I was thinking adding on scenes and/or designs would be so much easier to do with markers! LOL !!

[Amstaff]

Oh, I should also add on these details about the markers :

“Professional Level Paint
Spectrum: 50 Colors
Properties: Highly Pigmented, Water-based Acrylic
Finish: Satin
Nibs: 2mm chisel nib (line width 2-4mm) and 15mm nib (line width 8-15mm). Replacement nibs are available”

http://www.liquitex.com/paintmarkers/

[96037 – Weasels on Easels]

royal and langnickel, and i never tried them myslf, but some one did try copic markers once and they said the piment was sucked up by thw stone real fast and it took alot of layers.

Recently married to the ever lovable BiPolarBear (little John)
www.weaselsoneasels.com | www.facebook.com/weaselsoneasels

As seen on This is Life with Lisa Ling on CNN (2018) !
Always open for pyo commissions, repairs and fine artwork! Email me for current prices! awier(@)weaselsoneasels.com

[Amstaff]

Ok thanks 😉 And I was thinking of the markers for details OVER other paint, so maybe then it would work ok?

[Amstaff]

Are these the Royal brushes you mean? : http://www.stockade.ca/Brushes_c_30890-1-3.html

[96037 – Weasels on Easels]

no they are not

http://www.royalbrush.com/art/consumer/index.php

http://www.royalbrushstore.com/c/brushes

i dont have an answer on the markers. if you try, let me know, cause i am curious too

Recently married to the ever lovable BiPolarBear (little John)
www.weaselsoneasels.com | www.facebook.com/weaselsoneasels

As seen on This is Life with Lisa Ling on CNN (2018) !
Always open for pyo commissions, repairs and fine artwork! Email me for current prices! awier(@)weaselsoneasels.com

[KaytanaPhoenix]

My itty bitty brushes are both Royal & Langnickel in the “Espresso” line (This is my 20/0 round – The only brand I can find in any stores near me this small) and I have a bunch of Masters Touch brushes, these are my 10/0 shaders and my Tight spot detailer and a few of my larger ones… Mind you, “larger” for me is still quite small – I use a larger brush for adding solid base coats, beyond that the biggest brush to touch a Windstone with me is a size 2 shader.. *usually* a 0 is still too large for my taste…
Both of these I get at Hobby Lobby… now, I don’t know about how well they’ll hold up vs other brands… I haven’t gotten brave and moved on to more expensive brands cause I tend to destroy my brushes, lol…

I recently bought a Simply Simmons size 2 chisel blender from Michaels, but I haven’t tried it yet…

[Amstaff]

I originally bought some larger brushes, when I first got my supplies for starting PYO’s. Most of these have never been used, as like you, I use mostly small brushes on my Windstones 🙂

Thanks for the tips, seems like Royal and Langnickle are popular 🙂

[KaytanaPhoenix]

I originally bought some larger brushes, when I first got my supplies for starting PYO’s. Most of these have never been used, as like you, I use mostly small brushes on my Windstones 🙂

Thanks for the tips, seems like Royal and Langnickle are popular 🙂

I did the same thing, hehe, I have brushes from 3 years ago that I haven’t touched, lol 🙂
The biggest thing about the Masters Touch brushes is after a bit of use, the ends start to curl, a small amount of reading up and this seems to be a thing with them, but I’m also paying around $4-$6 a brush, which is a nice price for a brush, and if I’m just needing one specific brush and nothing else, I use Hobby Lobby’s 40% off coupon and get an even better deal! even if it only lasts me through a single PYO, it’s easy to justify 🙂 I also use a lot of my old beaten to death brushes (the somewhat larger ones like the size 2 shaders) for brush on varnish, I don’t have a great setup to spray coat so all of my pieces currently are brush on varnish, varnish absolutely destroys my brushes, so I don’t mind at all using the ones with curled edges and whatnot for this purpose, then I’m not destroying a brand new brush..
and a shader style brush with a curl starting on one edge, is super handy when you’re trying to paint up to an edge of a scale, lol! so I even use the brushes failings as an advantage when I can…

[Author]

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