KNOW YOUR BRUSHES:2

Acrylic brush - synthetic brushes, the mix of hair is specially made for use with acrylic colour.

Balance - the correct weight and shape of a handle in relationship to the weight of the brush head.

Belly - the mid-section and thickest part of the brush head, or the individual hair filament itself.  Sable filaments have excellent bellies, which result in well shaped round brushes.

Blunt - a hair which is missing its natural tip.  Finest quality brushes, do not contain blunts or trimmed hairs.

Bright - often Short flat, a chisel ended, square headed bristle brush.  Bright was a painter.

Bristle - hog hair.  Coarse, strong hair, suited to thick brushwork in oil, alkyd and acrylic painting.  Different qualities of hog brushes are available, the most expensive ones carry the most colour and retain their shape best when wet.

Camel - is a pseudonym for a mixture of miscellaneous hairs of low quality.

Crimp - the compressed section of the ferrule which holds the handle to the brush head.

Designers’ - an elongated round sable, most common for illustration work.

Egbert -  an extra long filbert.

Fan - a flat fan, used for blending, available in both bristle and soft hair.

Ferrule - the metal tube which supports the hair and joins it to the handle.

Filbert - flat brushes with oval shaped heads, available in both bristle and soft hair.

Flag - the natural, split tip of each bristle.  Flags carry more colour and are evident on the highest quality hog brushes.

Flat - usually Long flat; flat hog brushes with a chisel end.

Goat - makes good mop wash brushes.

Gummed - newly made brushes are pointed with gum in order to protect them in transit.

Interlocked - bristle brushes whose hairs curve inward towards the centre of the brush.

Kolinsky - the highest quality sable hair.

Length out - the length of hair, exposed from the ferrule to the tip.

Lettering - very thin, long, chisel ending sables, traditionally used for lines and letters in signwriting.

Liners - see Lettering.

Long flat - see Flat.

Mop - large, round, domed brushes, often goat or squirrel, used primarily to cover whole areas in water colour.

One Stroke - a flat soft hair brush which allows an area to be covered in one stroke, traditionally used in signwriting for block letters.

Ox - ear hair is used for flat wash brushes.

Pencil - see Spotter.

Polyester - Synthetic hair is made of polyester; different diameter filaments, varying tapers, different colours and different coatings result in as many possible variations in synthetic brushes as in those made from natural hair.

Pony - is a low cost cylindrical hair, ie. lacking a point, often used for childrens’ brushes.

Quill - bird quills were originally used for ferrules prior to the development of seamless metal ferrules.  Still used in some squirrel brushes.

Rigger - very thin, long round sable, traditionally used for painting rigging in marine pictures.

Round - available in both bristle and soft hair, the latter having different types of rounds. 

Sable - produces the best soft hair brushes, particularly for water colour.  The conical shape and scaled surface of each hair provide a brush with an unrivalled point, responsiveness and colour carrying capacity.  There are different qualities, the finest  being taper-dressed Kolinsky [Winsor & Newton Series 7].

Short flat - see Bright.

Snap - see Spring.

Solid-dressed - sable which is sorted in bundles of equal length prior to brushmaking.  Resultant brushes are not as responsive as taper-dressed sables.

Spotter - extra short and small sable rounds, used for retouching photographs and other high detail work.

Spring - the degree of resilience of the hair and its ability to return to a point.  Sable displays excellent spring.

Squirrel - hair makes good mop brushes but does not hold its belly or point well.

Stripers - see Lettering.

Taper-dressed - Kolinsky sable which is sorted into different lengths prior to brushmaking.  Resultant brushes have wider bellies and finer points.

Wash - large flat soft hair brushes, used primarily for flat washes in water colour.

KNOW YOUR PAINT BRUSHES:Types of Hair

Paint brushes are made from stiff or soft hairs, which be either natural hairs or synthetic fibers. Soft brushes are ideal for thin paint which spreads easily, and for detailed work as they form a sharp point which allows for precision painting. Robust, hard brushes are ideal for pushing around thick paint and for creating brush marks in the paint.

Is natural hair better than synthetic?
Modern synthetic brushes are excellent and have the advantage of being cheaper than natural hair.

Purists will tell you that no synthetic fiber can beat a Kolinsky sable, considered the ultimate of soft hairs because of its flexibility and strength, which give an artist great control. If you're at all squeamish about or ideologically opposed to the sources of natural hair, then synthetic brushes are the way to go.

What natural hairs are used in paint brushes?

• Sable: The ultimate soft brush is made from the hairs on the tail of a sable marten; these taper naturally, so when they're put into a brush they form a point. Sable brushes are expensive, but are renowned for their softness, flexibility, and fine point. Kolinsky sablefrom Siberia has traditionally been considered the best hair for watercolor brushes.
• Squirrel: Cheaper than sable, squirrel is a soft hair with little spring. Larger squirrel brushes work better than smaller ones because the mass of hairs together gives them support.
• Hog/bristle: The ultimate hard brush is made from the hairs on the back of a pig (hog), which are strong yet springy. The bristles have natural split-ends, which increases the amount of paint they hold. Used for oils and acrylics.

• Camel: Brushes labeled 'camel' hair are really made from other types of soft hair. Camel hair is unsuitable for brushes because it's too woolly.
• Ox: Long, strong and springy hair.
• Pony: Coarse hair that doesn't form a good point. Often used in cheaper brushes
• Goat: Lacks spring, but forms a good point. Used in calligraphy and Chinese Brush painting.