Brushes, ContinuedBrush bristlesOnce collected and bound by hand, bristles were made from the hair of thetail of a kolinsky . Bristles are now made from hog, sable, squirrel, ox, goat,and camel hair, and synthetic materials such as nylon. Hog hair bristles areoften used for oil painting. Sables are most responsive when used with watersoluble pigments and ink washes. You can use sable brushes with oil andacrylic pigments; but, the heavier bodied pigments inhibit the natural springin the brush. Squirrel, ox, and camel hair bristles and synthetic bristles aresuited to a variety of pigments. These bristles have less spring and stand upwell to paint and solvents. Oriental brushes used for calligraphic work andsumi-e are made of goat hair.Bristle lengthThe length of brush bristles affects how easily you can apply paint with abrush. Short bristles tend to dig and shovel paint around the surface.Bristles that are too short or that have been trimmed from longer bristles areno longer good for painting. Long bristled brushes do not allow exactplacement of pigment to a surface because of the flexibility of the bristles.Correct bristle length allows accurate placement and smooth covering ofpigments.Brush shapeThe four common brush shapes are the fan, round, flat, and bright.Figure 1-16 shows the common shapes of paint brushes.Figure 1-16.—Brushshapes.Continued on next page1-27
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