Brushes
Round, flat, fan, mop, brush-pen
The applicator is half the painting. A great brush makes a beginner look intermediate. A bad brush can make a master look amateur.
Brush shapes
Five core shapes do almost everything.
Round: all-purpose. Pointed tip, full belly. 90% of watercolor and most fine painting.
Flat: straight edge, good for sharp edges, washes, blocking in shapes.
Filbert: rounded flat. Most versatile single brush.
Fan: for soft blending, texture (grass, hair, foliage).
Mop: huge round brush for large washes and clouds.
Round (sizes 2, 6, 12)
The trio that covers most needs. Fine, medium, large.
Flat (1”)
Big washes, sharp edges, color blocks.
Filbert (medium)
Half-flat, half-round. The single most versatile brush in oil + acrylic.
Brush hair
Synthetic vs natural.
Synthetic: nylon or polyester. Cheaper, durable, easy to clean. Modern synthetics rival natural for most watercolor work.
Sable (natural): the gold standard for watercolor. Holds water, has spring, comes to a fine point. Expensive ($20-100 per brush). Lasts decades with care.
Hog bristle: stiff, for oil and heavy-body acrylic. Cheap.
Squirrel: for very soft watercolor mop brushes.
Synthetic
Cheap, durable, beginner-friendly. Princeton Heritage, Da Vinci Cosmotop — great synthetics.
Kolinsky sable
Premium watercolor. Holds water, fine point. $30-80 each. Long-term investment.
Hog bristle
Oil and heavy acrylic. Stiff, holds shape, cheap.
Care
A brush will outlast many paintings.
Wash brushes thoroughly with mild soap (Murphy’s Oil Soap for natural, dish soap for synthetic) after every session. Reshape the tip with your fingers. Dry flat or hair-down. Never store a wet brush hair-up (water rots the ferrule).
One $40 brush, cared for properly, will outlast ten $10 brushes that get destroyed by neglect.
Wash after every session
Mild soap. Rinse until water runs clean.
Reshape the tip
With your fingers while wet. Brush remembers the shape it dries in.
Store flat or hair-down
Never hair-up. Water rots the ferrule and ruins the brush.