Brushes. Synthetic or Natural? Well to be
totally honest, I don’t really care, or I just
haven’t given much thought to it in the first place.
I really should’ve done this at the beginning, because brushes are the main
component to painting, without it, I honestly don’t know
what you’re going to paint with. Which brings up a good question. What on
earth should I use this brush for, I personally don’t know. Despite my passion for painting I’ve never really thought much about which brushes are supposed to
be used for what.
And for that, I’m going to bestow the knowledge of brushes upon you, by once again using the book, Basic Watercolor Techniques, by the authors; Rachel Wolf and Grey Albert, “There are two principal shapes: flats (which have a square
chisel-point ends) and rounds (which are round and end in a point) … and a rigger” (Albert and Wolf 2). I
looked back at my brushes, and yippee to me, I have been using the correct ones
for watercolor. Though the term rigger confused me, until I learned that it was
simply just a brush with longer bristles.
 |
| Watercolor Brush |
 |
| Oil Painting Brush |
(It’s
actually used for oil painting….)
I also used
brushes that were the most convenient to me, though it seems I need to work on
that; “The flats are used for angular shapes, and particularly for
sharp, crisp corners. The rounds make curved shapes and details are painted
last with smaller brushes” (Albert and Wolf 3). Though
I can honestly see the reason behind it, would I really use a flat brush to paint a circle or a
round brush to paint a square? Sure it could work, if I tried hard enough, but
would I really spend extra effort on something that if I used the right
brushes, it would be easier on myself. The answer to that is a no.
 |
| Circle (Angular Brush) |
 |
| Square (Round Brush) |
Do you think the outcome would
change if the materials you used were different?
Albert, Greg, and Rachel Wolf. Basic Watercolor Techniques. Cincinnati,
Ohio: North Light Books, 1991. Print.
Hi Olivia! Great blog post, and very informative! I personally don't use paints or watercolors as my preferred medium (I typically prefer pencils, pens, or something where I have more control over the medium), so this was quite interesting to read.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question, I absolutely think that the outcome would change if the utilized materials were different. It's like cooking: you could cook food the same way, but if the ingredient quality is different, the outcome will be different as well. While it's certainly possible to achieve sharp angles with a round brush, I think that using an angular brush instead would allow you to have cleaner edges with less effort.
Of course, this is all speculative. Many different factors play into the outcome, such as the artist's skill level, the medium they're using, the canvas they're painting on, the quality of the paint, etc. However, I believe to get the best outcome you should use the best tools for the job.
For example, as you mentioned, a hard-bristle brush would not be good for watercolor painting. Watercolor paint is a gentle medium, and to use a harsh brush wouldn't be good. Additionally, it might damage the canvas as well. When I watercolored a few weeks ago, the brush actually pulled up parts of the board I was painting on because the board was too wet, and the layers started to peel away, so the end product wasn't as good. I feel that had I used a hard brush, it would've pulled up much more of the board.
Overall, a very informative and interesting blog post! As a Commercial Arts student who only uses the mediums my teacher introduces in class, this was quite an informative learning experience. Great job!
Hi Emily! Thank you for the compliment! I'm more of a brush-type of person, but I also do prefer to experiment with other tools to decide what I'm best at. Brushes are something that I'm honestly still working on, since like you said, it's harder to control.
DeleteI do whole heartily agree with your answer and I'm honestly surprised that I've managed to do art without the right tools (Painting an exception). It's like I’ve forgotten the main function for it, besides its most obvious one, such as to draw or paint. These mediums were made to be used for a specific type of job.
You also brought up a very good point, that there are many factors that come into play, and I also agree with you on that thought. Even if an object was specifically made to be used that way, it could also be used differently too. Nothing's impossible (I know it’s pretty cliché thing to say) and it is shown throughout the society that nothing is set exactly the way it is.
I also had fun reading your comment. It's good to read someone's opinion, even if we both agree on the same thing. Thanks again for the informative reply.
Hi Olivia! First of all I loved this post! It was packed full of information and I loved the concept behind it!
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question, I think the outcome would most definitely change depending on the materials because not all material are the same pigment, thickness, and texture. Since all of those things differ the brushes would spread them all differently.
All in all, I loved the concept behind this and will have to keep this in mind when creating my own paintings. :)
Hi Alana!
DeleteThank you so much, I'm happy that you found my post helpful in regards to your painting.
You brought up a good point that not all out materials are made out of the same block and I would think that the makers of such tools are also thinking thoroughly on what kind of materials should be put into their product before it's made.
Overall, thank you for the comment!
to answer your question, yes i think the outcome would be different. With a synthetic brush, typically, i run into the problem of the little hair falling off and getting stuck in my painting. But with natural brushes i tend not to run into this problem
ReplyDelete