Based in Skipton, a small town on the border of the beautiful Yorkshire dales, Pro Arte have utilised an old woollen spinning mill to create the perfect manufacturing facility for a skilled team of brush makers to hand make their brushes. The process combines new manufacturing techniques alongside timeless methods, with all the brushes being handmade, hand checked, and quality controlled to ensure that they are always of the highest standard and the perfect tools for any artist to use. 

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Here we look at their manufacturing processes and see how brushes transform from raw materials to artist quality tools.

Mixing and bundling

All brushes begin with their hair. Individual mix specifications have been given for every range to optimise their performance, combining different fibres help give each brush their wide belly that’s able to carry the colour, while also pulling to a sharp point for more detailed work. To do this, a machine is used to lay the hair over and over until there is an even mix throughout. 

Once the required specification has been mixed, the hair is taken off the machine and grouped together in bundles. This allows the hair to be stored and transported safely, but it also means that the hair can be cut down to the required length. 

Head Making

Once it’s been mixed, the hair then goes to a skilled team of brush makers that fill the ferrules with the right amount of hair. Each brush range and size have specified lengths that they are pulled to, so getting the right amount of hair is important. If there is too much hair, it won’t pull to length and the tightness will splay hairs, but too little hair makes the length out too long. 

More traditional paintbrushes that use natural hair such as sable and squirrel are made using a cannon, this is a small metal cup that helps to flatten the hair before it’s tied using a strong thread. Once the hair has been grouped, they are shaped by hand to each shape to ensure that they pull together to a fine point.

Synthetic brushes are made in a very similar way, but they are not tied as their properties make them very slippery. Instead, a larger amount is selected to help them stay in place in the ferrule.

Gluing

After the heads of the brushes have been made, the hair must be set into place to stop any fibres falling out. This is very important as it keeps the brush head in shape and stops hairs shedding out and onto paintings.

An epoxy adhesive is used to help bind the hairs together, with the viscosity of the glue being crucial, too thick and the glue doesn’t penetrate the hairs, too runny and the glue runs through too deep to ruin the hairs. 

Printing

Every paintbrush needs to be given their identity, this includes the brushes series number, name, size and barcode number. Two different printing methods are used: Hot foil printing that is more traditional and stamps the information into the brush, and ink pad printing that uses a rubber to transfer ink onto the handle.

Clenching

As wood and metal are two incompatible materials, it’s important to ensure that they fit perfectly before they are fixed together. Ferrules and handles have been developed to be tapered and fit together as close as possible.

When combining the two, a glue is used to fill any gaps and give some more strength to the joint. The brush is then clenched where two crimps are used to firmly fix the two together as well as giving the brush a much more finished look.

Finishing

Once a batch of brushes have been made, all the components are then finished. This makes them more presentable and protects the hairs ready for transport. Any marks that are on the brush are polished and the hairs are dipped in a gum Arabic before being shaped. Each brush is then given a plastic cap to stop the hair being damaged. 

Learn more about the Pro Arte manufacturing team and process on the Pro Arte website or view our range of Pro Arte brushes.