By doing a few things different while painting, you can save yourself a lot of trouble and who needs trouble when painting is hard enough? (It's not that I"m an expert on these matters, but along the way I have learned ways to make my life easier.)
It may seem like a small thing but cleaning brushes correctly is going to save your brushes. This goes for me too! If you want your brushes to last, it's important to take the time to keep them clean and conditioned. There are many ways to go about this, and I'm not saying mine is the best but this is how I do it (with very good results):
When I'm painting in the studio I use my brushes starting with the large ones and moving to the smaller ones. When I clean them, I start with the smaller ones and move to the larger ones. When I'm finished painting, I wipe each brush and squeeze out the paint with a paper towel.
Then I dip it into the mineral spirits. The first dip (and this goes for during painting also), doesn't touch the bottom of the can. It will get the brush wet enough to get more paint out of it
with another squeeze of the paper towel. The next dip is the swish into the tray inside the spirit can. Try to gently wipe the brush back and forth inside the can to remove the paint. Wipe again with a paper towel. Do this one more time. Now dry the brush with the towel as much as you can to get the mineral spirits off. Mineral spirits, when left in the brush will dry the brush and make it brittle. After a brush gets brittle, the hair will break, and you will be buying another new brush before you know it. If you are going to clean your brushes with soap when you get home, you can put them away. If you are not going to get to it, take another step before you pack up. Invest in some walnut (or other) oil and dip your brush into it, wipe again with your paper towel. As you wipe shape it and put it away. This will keep your brushes conditioned until you can soap them. When you use soap, use a gentle soap.
http://www.brushflush.com/
I use brush flush. It will get paint out of anything and everything, even dried paint. It is very important that you don't let the paint dry in your brush. When cleaning with the soap, dip it into the soap and a
little water, suds it up in your (gloved) hand, rinse. Repeat this until there is no more color coming out in the rinse water. Now wipe a little bit of the clean suds onto the bristles, shape with your fingers and lay flat to dry.
I am always trying to find ways to keep my mineral spirits clean while I'm painting. This in turn will keep my painting clean because my paint will stay cleaner. Also, if my mineral spirits aren't too mucked up, my brush will be cleaner and I can paint a brush stroke with
clean color.
So let's say I've been painting in my studio, as I'm painting I wipe my brush after every brushstroke or two with my paper towels. I use as many paper towels as I need in order to keep the paint from getting all over everything. It is well worth going through a bunch of paper towels in order to get good results. It does you no good whatsoever to continue to try to use a paper towel if it is covered with paint! So, don't hesitate to throw away your paper towel, even if it is not half way used. You won't be sorry and your paint won't be all over you and your hands. (And everything else!)
It is also very important to keep your palette clean. After I've laid in my painting, I clean my palette. Scrape it with your palette knife, save your piles so you can use them in your painting, and wipe it down. If you need to you can dip your paper towel into your mineral spirits and wipe. A baby wipe works well to, but be careful because it may leave a little residue on your palette. Now you are ready to continue painting. This will save you considerable greif! Repeat as many times as you need. At the end of a session, use your razor blade scraper and scrape down your palette. I move my piles of paint at this point, into a clean area, clean underneath the area where the paint sits, and them put the paint back in it's place. I am now ready for my next session with clean juicy paint (and brushes). Put a lid on your palette. If you don't have a lid, wrap it with saran wrap, tightly. When you get home, put it in your freezer. It will last longer and be fresh the next day.
Photos from July in Paris. Isn't she beautiful? Tomorrow I'm driving to the Bay Area again for my Plein Air class with Brigitte Curt.
http://www.classart.org/ I'm hoping for a good painting day, and I'm beginning to feel like maybe I can really be an artist some day!
