Based in Skipton in the UK, Pro Arte have been expertly crafting high-quality paint brushes for over 50 years. This family business was started in 1973 by Roy Thompson and is now run by his son Peter and grandson Johnny. Who better to ask for some tips on how we should look after our paint brushes. We recently caught up with Johnny to get his top tips on how to care for your brushes.

Paintbrushes can very quickly become expensive, if you have to replace them frequently. Plus we know that painting with a damaged brush can result in unwanted strokes and textures on your artwork. What are your top Brush cleaning tips to extend the lives of our brushes?

“Although watercolour brushes are generally the simplest to clean, their hairs are the softest and more prone to damage. This means that cleaning them needs to be more delicate. We would always advise you to knead your brush hairs to draw the paint out. This helps to stop paint staying in the ferrule and drying, as doing so will splay the brush hairs beyond repair. Once you’ve cleaned your brushes, reshape them with your fingers. As they dry, they will keep the shape of the brush- it’s much harder to bring dried hairs back to shape!

While the brushes are drying, lay them down flat on a surface to let the water run out of the hairs. Drying brushes upright will run the water down into the ferrule and once the water evaporates, any residual paint will dry and splay the hairs.”

Sometimes, despite our best efforts we can end up with a damaged brush, is there any way to fix them?

“No matter how well you clean and reshape your brushes after use, it’s only natural that they begin to splay over time with wear and tear. This can have a huge effect on your brush strokes and create plenty of unwanted marks. But before you throw your damaged paintbrushes away, there is a trick that can help bring them back to life!

Start by cleaning your brush and removing any old paint from the hair. Next you can reshape your brushes back into their original condition. To do this, bring a pot of water to the boil and hold the brush head underwater for 10-15 seconds- the more frayed the hair, the longer you need to hold it. You’ll then be able to pull the hairs back into shape with your fingers, or by rolling the brush on a cloth. Then, just let the paintbrush dry on its side and be careful not to knock the hair. 

Just be careful with natural hairs – these are much more sensitive to boiling water than synthetics. For these, I suggest just holding the tip of the hair in water rather than submerging the whole head, but the rest of the process is the same.

Remember, paint brush hairs are very delicate and constant use and reshaping will still affect the strength of the fibres, so there’s only a certain number of times that you’ll be able to reshape them before they are past the point of reviving!”

What is the best way to store our paint brushes to keep them at their best?

“This is undoubtedly as important as cleaning your brushes after every use. The way you store your brushes can have as much effect on damaging your hairs than the way they you clean them. As discussed earlier, all brushes should be left laid down to dry as this lets all of the moisture out of the brush. Once fully dry, that’s when they should be stored upright, making sure that they are away from anything that could fall or lean on the hairs. Ideally, this should be in a cool, dry place that will help prevent the growth of any mould and even stop moths from eating your natural hair brushes!

Never keep your brushes face down and laying on the hairs- even if it’s being left to soak in a pot. This will apply lots of pressure and ruin the tip!

There are so many different shapes of brushes, how do we know which is the best one for the job?

” The key is to experiment with the different brush shapes. There’s no doubt that round, flat and filbert brushes can create a huge variety of different brush strokes, but sometimes trying less traditional shapes can help make some much different strokes or make creating effects so much easier. 

Here’s a quick rundown of some other brush shapes and the types of strokes that they can help create:

Fan brushes, as their name suggests, splay the hairs out. Because of this, they cannot carry as much colour as other shapes, but are great for blending colours together for smoother transitions. 

Rigger brushes utilise longer hairs that allow them to carry plenty of colour while still maintaining a fine point making them more suited towards painting continuous and thin lines. The length of the hairs also makes the brush great for seeing where you are applying the lines and where you have painted. The name ‘rigger brush’ originates from their use as painting the rigging on a ship.

Swordliner and dagger brushes are named after their appearance, an elongated head that tapers down from a wide base to a fine tip. Their characteristics make them great for continuous marks as their belly can hold lots of colour, while their tip can be used with a variety of pressures and angles to make natural textures and effects, such as waves, trees, grasses and even furs.  

Stippling brushes use short, stiff hairs that give very precise placement and control for artists and are commonly used for creating dabbing effects, . The dab marks make them great for painting natural furs and foliage but also more abstract textures.

But, different brush types aren’t for everyone and you don’t have to have endless different shapes of brushes. If you want to try a new effect, experiment with the brushes you have, use them at different angles and with different pressures and see what you can achieve. Having a play around might just help with painting some new textures on your next piece of art.”

Learn more about cleaning techniques and more tips on how to fix a damaged paint brush on the Pro Arte website or view our range of Pro Arte brushes.