Handmade Brushes from Mark Making Class

I want to share with you a few images of mark-making tools people have made in my Mark Making class. I love seeing what people come up with!

Making brushes from plant material is fun when plants are abundant. But don't forget the household items like Q-tips, sponges, fabrics, netting, ribbon, string, and more.  Use chopsticks, popcicle sticks, tongue depressors, or paint stirrers for handles. Or just sticks. Have fun!

Brush Giveaway Winner

So great to hear from all of you - your brush habits, other cleaning tips, etc.  Thanks for commenting and entering the brush giveaway drawing.  THE WINNER IS.... Diann S. Verrette, chosen at random.  Diann, it's your job now to e-mail me with your mailing address so I can send you the brushes.

Meanwhile, starting tomorrow I will be at a five-day intensive drawing workshop with North Country Studio Workshops, held at Bennington College.  The teacher is Leonard Ragouzeos.  Read about the workshop here.  Apparently, we'll be doing a lot with India ink on Yupo.  And two mornings of figure drawing.  This is definitely out of my comfort zone, and I am looking forward to the stretch.  I took an encaustic workshop at NCSW two years ago, which you can read about here.

And only because I can't do a post without a picture, I'll post a little progress from my series that started as deli paper prints:

This one I liked better a few stages back, but you can only go forward.  So I'll see where I can take it from here.

This one seems close to done, but we'll see.

Not much to say about this one... still in its adolescent awkward stage.

THANKS for visiting my blog!  And congratulations to Diann.  I'll include a little surprise with the brushes.

Brushes - Giveaway

I've been asked frequently about the brushes I use.  So here is the scoop:  your choice of brushes is pretty much based on personal preference, so I'm not advocating a particular type of brush.  It depends on the type of work you are doing - your substrate, the scale, which paints you prefer, and so forth.  It also depends on how you treat them - do you take care of your brushes and wash them carefully at the end of each studio session?  Or do you leave them in a bucket of water until they disintegrate? How much spring do you like in the brush hair?  Do you like them soft, firm, or somewhere in between?  And then there is handle length and material...

But to answer the question, I use these Dynasty brushes from Blick Art Materials.  They're cheap, so I can abuse them; they have all the characteristics that feel comfortable to my hand (my hands are small) and the right amount of stiffness.

New Brushes

Used Brushes

 

Brush Care

If you would like to try these brushes, comment on this post, and I'll choose someone for a giveaway.  Just a couple of these brushes in two sizes, maybe something else thrown in for fun.  You must be in the USA to be eligible, and it's your responsibility to give me contact information.  I'll do the drawing on Monday, January 27th.

Brush Cleaning

If your brushes get too stiff from leaving them out too long with acrylic paint on them, leave them in a strong solution of Murphy's Oil Soap over night.

I did not come up with this brush cleaning technique.  Various people have told me about it, and I have discovered that it works.  YAY!