Shaping brushes

Brushes, Continued Shaping brushes After cleaning, you should shape the bristles of the brush into their original shape. If you do not, the bristles will dry curled and the brush will no longer work well. With your fingers, gently shape the brush so that each bristle holds together and forms a tip. Place brushes in a drying or storing rack. Storage Store brushes in a clean condition and never allow a brush to dry or rest on its bristles. Place brushes bristles up in a glass or in a mug. Use a brush holder to store brushes when they are not in use or after cleaning. Do not allow pressure on brush bristles to curl the bristle. Store brushes in an enclosed area to minimize airborne contaminants and dust. Figure 1-17 shows correctly stored brushes. Figure 1-17.—Correctly stored brushes. Storing oil brushes If you use both water- and oil-based pigments, dedicate a set of brushes for oil-based pigment only. Once you use a set of brushes in oil pigment, they may retain residue oils that could ruin watercolor. Brushes used in watercolor, then used for oil-based pigment, may release water droplets that sit on the oil paint surface and retard drying. After cleaning oil-dedicated brushes and before storing them, add a drop of oil to the bristles. This keeps the bristles pliable and lessens the effects of harsh cleaning solvents. 1-30