Thanks a lot for all the useful information! I was wondering how you're supposed to store your brushes after cleaning them with baby oil: can you simply store them upright in a jar or would the baby oil drip down the handle and ruin the ferrule? (btw I'm sorry for any language mistakes, English isn't my first language)
Baby shampoo is a good, gentle brush cleaning soap as well. I've used Murphy Oil Soap to get dried paint out of a brush rather than acetone; it's not as harsh or toxic as acetone.
What's your technique with Murphy's? Do you soak brushes in it? I have some synthetic brushes I use with oils that need careful cleaning; can't use solvents on them!
You probably know this but Murphy's Oil Soap when rubbed in full strength with your fingernails before laundering will remove dried oil paint from fabric!
Just the other day, I met a painter who told me he learned about Zest-it on the Internet. I bet he watched this video, Alex. The closest art shop now stocks it, following his request. Very good information on maintaining brushes.
Many thanks for this advice... I haven't been using oils for very long and have already been doing a lot of the things you mentioned, but I will now remember to wrap my brushes in a plastic bag after using solvent, and also use the tip about nail varnish remover. Baby oil is also great for cleaning paint off the hands... I am a messy painter!
I remember some one telling me about the plastic bag and that you didn't have to wash your brushes with soap and water every time you used them, back when I was a beginner. It was a revelation. Tho apparently according to Rosemary from Rosemary & Co, you shouldn't store your brushes in a plastic bag because you get mildew on the hairs. But in all the years I've been doing it that has never happened to me. She may mean after washing them with soap and water. Mine are always covered in solvent in the bag, so maybe that's why they don't get mouldy?
When using non drying oels ( baby oel) for cleaning be sure to wash the brushes with soap - getting non drying oels into your paint is not a good idea - it's just as bad as getting water into your paint -
If you find baby oil too expensive or smelly you can also use mineral oil. It's the same stuff. A bar of ivory soap cuts through oil paint really well as does kirks castille soap. They will remove all the oil though so use a little human hair conditioner on the brush to keep a clean brush soft afterwards and to prevent split ends.
Thanks for the tip Jeremiah. I haven't seen mineral oil for sale in many shops here in the UK, but you can get online. It's strange to think of people rubbing petroleum based products over themselves and their babies, but then vaseline is also petroleum based.
For many years, I have been using conditioner on my brushes after washing them. I will let them rest with the conditioner on for hours, and rinse and dry them afterwards. I find they are springier and last longer. Of course, this is only for natural hair paintbrushes.
Thank you for the video! ( For half a year, I am using a method I've learnt from Mark Carder (yt: "easy way to take care of oil paintbrushes"), which is basically a method without the tedious cleaning: after removing the excess oil paint with a paper towel (I am also using solvent...just to make sure) I just dip my (natural hair) brushes into a special mixture (2 components (oils) only - details in his video, he gives it for free) and put them aside, that's it. They are ready to be used at least for a week, then I just re-dip them if necessary.) All in all my brushes are always filled with oil. I even do plein air painting with the same technique (very small jar of turpentine + jar of "brush dip" with me all the time). So far, it is working perfectly, my brushes are nice and smooth (thanks to Mr. Carder). )
I think I may have seen that video. That's quite similar to what I'm suggesting with the baby oil. I also know artists who don't even remove the paint from their brushes and just leave their ends (placed on their sides) submerged in linseed oil, so the paint doesn't dry out.
I’ve heard a great tip on washing watercolour natural hair/sable brushes: Wash them with baby shampoo and then give them a treatment with mild hair conditioner once in a while, to keep them from drying out too much. I should think this method would apply to natural hair brushes for oils as well.
Hi and thanks again :) Question: I was wondering - do you have to remove the baby oil before using the brush again for oil painting, or can baby oil and oil paints go together?
I usually just dip your brush in solvent before I use it, I assume that removes most of the baby oil? I don't think it matters too much if you can a tiny amount of baby oil mixed into your. There as some impurities in baby oil, but then we use it on babies, so they can't be that bad? I don't really know if this will effect the archival quality long term? Your brushes will last forever tho.
I use baby oil as any remaining little bits of paint wont dry and stick to brush. But every now and again I will put them through solvent for what I think is a more thorough Process.
I always clean my brushes with solvent, then I clean them in baby oil instead of using soap and water. When you clean them with soap and water, you need to wrap them up with tissue paper or they splay as they dry, whereas with baby they hold their shape. baby oil is also so much quicker that washing them in soap and water.
i wanna clean my brushes with soap in the sink but im scared to do it because i don't wanna be the reason toxic pigments are being introduced into the sever system :(
I dip after every session say 9-10 brushes in poppy oil after I wipe the excess paint off and leave them on the brush holder. One week they easily will do fine even untouched. You can add to the poppy oil a few drops of oil of clove just to lengthen the drawing time. I use the brushes for a month or so in this manner, and once that I find one or two brushes splayed (or used it for a really long period of time, I follow the method you've nicely described to clean them). Baby oil is not good for dipping, as it is not a drying oil, and if one pays not enough attention when using the brush without wiping it throughly before painting it could get in the mix.
Thanks, This was so insightful. a lot of tips on shaping the brush back to its original state. and cleaning with oil was brilliant. it make so much more sense, to clean with oil, being that i paint with oil. again thank you so much
I use velvet soap, not sure if that's ok? Also, do you rinse the baby oil out with solvent when you use the brushes again? I use the inside of a tennis ball cut in half to lather up and work the soap into the bristles
Hand soap is fine. The main thing isn't to use dishwashing deturgent. I don't usually, the tiny amount of babu oil doesn't affect the paint when I'm painting (hopefully not archivally either) But it isn't a big deal to dip your brush in solvent before you use it. The tennis ball is a good idea.
I finally found the answer to waste oil paint in solvent - i'm going to do this mason jar thing - but what do you do with the oil paint once the jar is full?
It's hazardous waste, so you need to take it somewhere that deals with it. Here in the UK we have recycling and waste disposal that will deal with it. But tbh it will take many years for a large mason jar to fill up oil paint sediment. I have several on the go and none are full yet.
You clean acrylics with water, but you need to clean you're brushes immediately. Acrylics dry much faster than oils and once they're dry that;s it, you've got plastic coated brushes.
Hi Alex I really enjoy your videos, they are so well done. Regarding brush cleaning I first clean the excess oil paint, as you do, with a paper towel then wash gently in the palm of my hand using a bit of very mild liquid soap then immediately wash each again in my palm using Jack Richeson’s LINSEED Oil Soap after which I dip each in the 99 cent store’s Baby Oil and shape each quickly and place each horizontally in a rack I made using foam core. This works for me and my brushes remain in very good condition. Just thought I’d share my method with you. Thanks for sharing your acquired knowledge.
Thankyou for sharing your valuable experience here in this video. For me this was also as interesting as your demo videos. Besides interesting this was a very useful video especially for beginners who look forward to having oil painting as a source of earning bread and butter. Thankyou once again for posting this video.
You shouldn't really use detergent to wash your brushes, it will wear them out faster. You're better off using hand soap it's gentler, or better still olive oil soap or some other natural hippy soap. It may be more expensive that fairy liquid, but it's a lot cheaper than the artists brush cleaning soap that you can in Art shops.
Thanks Alex, very useful. Do you use the baby oil method instead of soap and water or is the baby oil method just another step in between using solvent and using soap and water? Thanks.
I use baby oil instead of soap and water. And I only clean them in soap and water if they've been sat in a plastic bag for a few days and I haven't done them with baby oil.
I get through a lot of kitchen towel when painting. It's best to dispose of it in the outdoor rubbish at the end of each day, rather than leaving it in the bin in the studio, because there is chance it could spontaneously combust! Though fortunately, in all my years of painting in various different schools and studios, I've never know this to happen.
Obviously there are makes that I prefer to others, but that more to do with personal preference rather than any defect in the brush. However, I was disappointed by the Raphael: Paris Classic hog bristles. They are really nice to use and have a very nice feel, but they wear out after only a few months.
Yes. I seem to remember the first person who ever told me about cleaning brushes in oil just used to use normal corn oil that's used for cooking. I think cleaning them oil is probably the best way of keeping them in good condition.
Every time I clean my brushes with Chelsea lavender brush soap they splay badly, I have to wrap them in paper towel as you have suggested, and that does work, but I haven’t noticed anyone else address the splaying after cleaning with soap, or if and why that happens to others or at all.
Of course using water miscible oil paint (Cobra) does away with any smelling solvents. Wash the oil off with water and then gently wash with green laundry soap. Used to be Fairy soap. Just a thought Alex. Keep it up your a super star.
Thanks. I have to say though, all the water soluble oils I've seen here in the UK aren't as good quality as professional grade oils like Micheal Harding or Old Holland. They're the same standard as student grade paint. Though I've not heard of Cobra, are they expensive?
I agree they are not quite as good as Michael Harding ,more middle of the road. Cobra is a Royal Talens brand. I reckon equal to their Rembrandt oil paint. Better than student grade. Jackson's price ,series 1 about £5.00. Cad's double that. For me it's the solvents smell I can't work with. The difference in quality is secondary to the health issue. I used to use Gamblin, a good grade and comparing some old paintings with the Cobra ... mmm.... not that much different if any? Unless my eyesight's gone wonky:-) Solvents are an issue, I believe, with many artists. How about a video on the comparison between the two? Keep well, keep safe. Gerry
Alex thank you, I use Vaseline on my brushes after washing them to retain their shape. Seems to work pretty well on all bristle types. Obviously you have to give them a rinse in solvent before you next use them.
Thank you Nicholas. That's a great tip. I shall definitely remember it next time I clean my brushes with soap and water. It sounds much quicker than wrapping them up in with pieces of paper towel. Have you ever tried cleaning your brushes in baby oil? It's quicker than soap and water and the oil helps them retain their shape. Baby oil in mineral based like vaseline.
@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting if I have had a tiring day and am working on the same painting the next day i leave my brushes in a bread tin of vegetable oil at a slight angle so that the bristles aren't understand pressure and as you pointed out in your excellent video more oil helps draw the paint out of the brushes. Baby oil is now on my shopping list!
I am a fan of clove oil, it will not only soften hard paint, but can also keep the pigment on a closed pallet tray nice a moist for the next session. I am thinking of getting into safflower oil to use as a brush dip, though I have not gotten around to that yet. I always use Dawn dishwashing soap, adding it directly to the brush removing the oils left behind, then rinsing them out after vigorously working out what ever is in the bristles.
Clove oil sounds interesting. Have you ever tried Spike Lavender? It’s an oil that’s recommended as an alternative to solvent, but it’s really expensive. Clove oil might work in a similar way?
@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting Oh no, clove oil is not as thin as a spike oil, it resembles linseed oil, but smells of cloves, (of course) and I only use it on a paper towel or cotton ball beside my paints on the pallet, no direct contact is needed to keep the pallet fresh. It is a severe retardant, so use it sparsely, if you add it to a paint, I use it only on the fastest drying paints, perhaps a drop mixed into a healthy squeeze portion on my pallet...
Though I'm not endorsed by them and I don't get any free Rosemary brushes. Also they're not the only brushes I use. But I do recommend them because they're great brushes, they're good value and they deliver world wide. My only words of caution with RB is for beginners not to be distracted by all the different kinds of brushes they make. Buying a load of master's choice because Jeremy Lipking uses them, won't make you paint like Jeremy Lipking. Don't think you need all these fancy soft brushes, I honestly believe beginners are better off starting out with a few decent hog brushes and really figuring out how to get the most out of them before they start experimenting with loads of different brushes.
+++ . nice vid as always !Love the way you talk and try to cover the subject . Thanks ! Do you have experience with a gouache or tempera ,so you can do a tutorial about it ? I even dont really know the difference between both .I cant find a pro level painters tutorial in youtube for it (except James Jurney )But aways nice to see a different point of view about the techniques .I dont care if it will be a portrait or landscape or even stillife :) Probably this will be not a popular tutorial with less views :( , but better to ask than to not :) Sorry for my great english :)
Thanks. Unfortunately, I haven't used watercolour or gouache since art school many years ago. All I know is that gouache is more solid and less transparent than normal water colour. And I've never use tempera. isn't it water and egg yolk? For gouache tutorials on UA-cam James Gurney is the first that springs to my mind too, but there's also the concept artist Nathan Fowkes. His watercolours are amazing. You might find something on his channel: ua-cam.com/users/nfowkesart
@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting I am prety familiar with watercolor so i dont care about it :) and yeah , I also know temera is egg yolk based but thats all . Thanks for info about Nathan Fowkes , I will check it . Good luck man !
Little Heath we could be opening a can of worms here so won’t go down that track except to say that I changed to acrylic from oil 20 years ago purely for health and environmental reasons. The introduction of Liquin for example has made oil painting a much more toxic occupation than it once was.
As I have a full time job and several other obligations often I'm not sure if I can continue a painting the next day, two days later or if I have to stop for over a week. So, at the moment I wash my brushes after every session with soap and water. For a while I tried to store them in vegetable walnut oil, but I had difficulties: If I realized I couldn't use them for a longer time I wanted to get them out of the walnut oil and clean them properly - but it was almost impossible to get the walnut oil out of the brush with brushcleaner, soap and water. So my question is: Can I store the brushes washed with baby oil for like 1-2 weeks? And if I decide then to wash them with soap and water, will the baby oil be easy to wash out? Or will i first need a painting session to "substitute" the baby oil in the brush with paint and turps before washing them with soap and water? Anyway, thank you very much for your great and to the point videos - very helpful!!
You don't need to clean your brushes with soap and water after you've cleaned them with oil. You can just leave them. They should be absolutely fine to use many week later. However, washing them is soap and water should remove the baby oil. I'm surprised you're unable to remove the walnut oil? I also find, they're fine to use right after after cleaning them with baby oil. The small amount of baby oil still on the brush, shouldn't really interfere with paint mixing. However, if you dip you brush in solvent just before you paint it should remove the baby oil.
@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting Thank you very much again for this info! I'll give it a try! Yes, I was also surprised having problems with the walnut oil since I really take time and wash my brushes thoroughly. But when I tried to clean the brushes from the (Biological Supermarket) walnut oil, I just couldnt get out all of it and over one or two weeks they got stiff and the bristles were covered in a rubbery film. I tried to scrape it off with a knife with OK results. Maybe it was because I haven't used artist grade oil... Thank you again for the great video, this might save me lots of time now :-)
@@littleheath1666 Usually because I only had space for 4-5 brushes in my walnut oil container setup, so if I wanted to store different brushes I had to clean others. Or sometimes I knew I would be out of town for a while and wanted to have the brushes clean and dry...
@@arminb.9214 That walnut oil sounds strange. You'd think it would be pure enough seeing as its supposed to be edible? I know of other artists who clean their brushes in rape seed oil and normal vegetable oil. But give baby oil a try
I spoke to a graduate of the Gage Academy Atelier. He showed me his brushes. They looked NEW! This is his brush cleaning method he described to me. Wipe off as much wet paint from your brush as you can onto a cloth or piece of paper kitchen towel. ( if you like, you can dip the bristles into some plain cooking oil to loosen the paint more..then re-wipe.) Place a small amount of *Dawn dish soap in your hand. Press the bristles down into the soap ...first one side, then the other. ( some people use the inside of the cut half of a tennis ball if they don't want direct contact with the paint ) Rinse in warmish but not hot water. Repeat. Last, press bristles again on the surface of a bar of white Ivory Soap until no pigment shows. Rinse well. If you like, you can,then, go through the same steps using Murphy's Oil Soap. Shape the bristles with your fingers and lay the brush on its side until dry. I have been painting with oils for 25 years. NO more solvent !! It's simply not necessary. * Use only Dawn. It is formulated to really dissolve grease / fats / oils !
I've heard Murphy's oil soap is really good. But I don't know about Dawn? It looks like normal detergent to me which I definitely wouldn't recommend for cleaning brushes. If you use the cooking oil, or any oil that's thinner then linseed oil, like the baby oil I recommend in this video, it should remove all the paint without needing either solvent or soap? I recently used baby oil on a brush that the paint had dried on for a few days and it still managed to remove most of it.
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Wonderful way presented. Simple. Straight to artist, who uses oil painting brushes. No more hidden secrets & bla bla bla. Thks Alex
I’ve used Zest it for years, I love it.
Thanks a lot for all the useful information! I was wondering how you're supposed to store your brushes after cleaning them with baby oil: can you simply store them upright in a jar or would the baby oil drip down the handle and ruin the ferrule? (btw I'm sorry for any language mistakes, English isn't my first language)
You're right about oil running down into the ferrule if they're stored upright, so probably best to store them lying on their sides.
Thanks Alex. As a beginner it is great to see the basics explained so well.
Baby shampoo is a good, gentle brush cleaning soap as well. I've used Murphy Oil Soap to get dried paint out of a brush rather than acetone; it's not as harsh or toxic as acetone.
Yes, acetone is pretty horrible stuff. I know other people who use Murphy's. I'll have to get some and give it a go.
What's your technique with Murphy's? Do you soak brushes in it? I have some synthetic brushes I use with oils that need careful cleaning; can't use solvents on them!
@@meli66ajg Yes, I soaked them for a day, and that did the trick.
You probably know this but Murphy's Oil Soap when rubbed in full strength with your fingernails before laundering will remove dried oil paint from fabric!
@@meli66ajg i needed this info! thanks!
So helpful. I've been doing it wrong and have stiff brushes. Thanx!
Turpenoid is a very good way of rejuvenating and keeping brushes in good condition.
Just the other day, I met a painter who told me he learned about Zest-it on the Internet. I bet he watched this video, Alex. The closest art shop now stocks it, following his request. Very good information on maintaining brushes.
Thank you. As far as I know, use of zest-it is quite widespread among painters here in the UK
Hi there, I have a brush cleaner that does all you demonstrated in one environmentally friendly, biodegradable soapy solution.
Many thanks for this advice... I haven't been using oils for very long and have already been doing a lot of the things you mentioned, but I will now remember to wrap my brushes in a plastic bag after using solvent, and also use the tip about nail varnish remover. Baby oil is also great for cleaning paint off the hands... I am a messy painter!
I remember some one telling me about the plastic bag and that you didn't have to wash your brushes with soap and water every time you used them, back when I was a beginner. It was a revelation. Tho apparently according to Rosemary from Rosemary & Co, you shouldn't store your brushes in a plastic bag because you get mildew on the hairs. But in all the years I've been doing it that has never happened to me. She may mean after washing them with soap and water. Mine are always covered in solvent in the bag, so maybe that's why they don't get mouldy?
Thanks a million Alex! Always nice to learn from your experience. Greetings from Mexico City!
I've tried so many techniques, keeping it simple sounds good
I was told I shouldn't wash my brushes in the sink as it clog it, is this true?
When using non drying oels ( baby oel) for cleaning be sure to wash the brushes with soap - getting non drying oels into your paint is not a good idea - it's just as bad as getting water into your paint -
Thank you for excellent advice!
Yikes! I better stop using Fairy Liquid...neat
If you find baby oil too expensive or smelly you can also use mineral oil. It's the same stuff. A bar of ivory soap cuts through oil paint really well as does kirks castille soap. They will remove all the oil though so use a little human hair conditioner on the brush to keep a clean brush soft afterwards and to prevent split ends.
Thanks for the tip Jeremiah. I haven't seen mineral oil for sale in many shops here in the UK, but you can get online. It's strange to think of people rubbing petroleum based products over themselves and their babies, but then vaseline is also petroleum based.
For many years, I have been using conditioner on my brushes after washing them. I will let them rest with the conditioner on for hours, and rinse and dry them afterwards. I find they are springier and last longer. Of course, this is only for natural hair paintbrushes.
What conditioner do you use?
What type of conditioner?
@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting Whatever I have on hand for human hair works just fine.
It wasn't entertaining, but surely informative, as it needs to be. Thanks, Alex!
Thank you
Thank you for the video!
(
For half a year, I am using a method I've learnt from Mark Carder (yt: "easy way to take care of oil paintbrushes"), which is basically a method without the tedious cleaning: after removing the excess oil paint with a paper towel (I am also using solvent...just to make sure) I just dip my (natural hair) brushes into a special mixture (2 components (oils) only - details in his video, he gives it for free) and put them aside, that's it. They are ready to be used at least for a week, then I just re-dip them if necessary.)
All in all my brushes are always filled with oil.
I even do plein air painting with the same technique (very small jar of turpentine + jar of "brush dip" with me all the time).
So far, it is working perfectly, my brushes are nice and smooth (thanks to Mr. Carder).
)
Hey, this method works perfectly. its been 4 months I have started dipping my brushes. It saves a hell lot of time and good for brush health.
I think I may have seen that video. That's quite similar to what I'm suggesting with the baby oil. I also know artists who don't even remove the paint from their brushes and just leave their ends (placed on their sides) submerged in linseed oil, so the paint doesn't dry out.
I’ve heard a great tip on washing watercolour natural hair/sable brushes: Wash them with baby shampoo and then give them a treatment with mild hair conditioner once in a while, to keep them from drying out too much. I should think this method would apply to natural hair brushes for oils as well.
That would make complete sense. Hair is hair after all.
No, I don't use detergent on my hair 😅
Hi and thanks again :) Question: I was wondering - do you have to remove the baby oil before using the brush again for oil painting, or can baby oil and oil paints go together?
I usually just dip your brush in solvent before I use it, I assume that removes most of the baby oil? I don't think it matters too much if you can a tiny amount of baby oil mixed into your. There as some impurities in baby oil, but then we use it on babies, so they can't be that bad? I don't really know if this will effect the archival quality long term? Your brushes will last forever tho.
Baby oil never dries
I use baby oil as any remaining little bits of paint wont dry and stick to brush. But every now and again I will put them through solvent for what I think is a more thorough Process.
I always clean my brushes with solvent, then I clean them in baby oil instead of using soap and water. When you clean them with soap and water, you need to wrap them up with tissue paper or they splay as they dry, whereas with baby they hold their shape. baby oil is also so much quicker that washing them in soap and water.
i wanna clean my brushes with soap in the sink but im scared to do it because i don't wanna be the reason toxic pigments are being introduced into the sever system :(
If you use the baby oil method from this video, you need never go near a sink.
I dip after every session say 9-10 brushes in poppy oil after I wipe the excess paint off and leave them on the brush holder. One week they easily will do fine even untouched. You can add to the poppy oil a few drops of oil of clove just to lengthen the drawing time. I use the brushes for a month or so in this manner, and once that I find one or two brushes splayed (or used it for a really long period of time, I follow the method you've nicely described to clean them). Baby oil is not good for dipping, as it is not a drying oil, and if one pays not enough attention when using the brush without wiping it throughly before painting it could get in the mix.
It's a crime how many brushes I've ruined by not cleaning them properly..
Love the sustainability approach ❤. Thanks for the advice.
Thank you for making this video. I do all of these things except the trick with wrapping the brush with some paper towel. I will do this from now on.
Thanks Alex, you're a lifesaver, well brushsaver actually. Great advice. 🌻♥️🌻
Thanks, This was so insightful. a lot of tips on shaping the brush back to its original state. and cleaning with oil was brilliant. it make so much more sense, to clean with oil, being that i paint with oil. again thank you so much
Thats great advice, ill be washing my brushes like that from now on,thanks so much 😃👍👍
Thank you so much for this. I hate claeaning my brushes and always wondered the best way to do it.
I use velvet soap, not sure if that's ok? Also, do you rinse the baby oil out with solvent when you use the brushes again? I use the inside of a tennis ball cut in half to lather up and work the soap into the bristles
Hand soap is fine. The main thing isn't to use dishwashing deturgent. I don't usually, the tiny amount of babu oil doesn't affect the paint when I'm painting (hopefully not archivally either) But it isn't a big deal to dip your brush in solvent before you use it. The tennis ball is a good idea.
@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting thank you 😊
For those using M Graham paints, they suggest mostly just using walnut oil (which is the solvent they use in their paints)
Thanks
whats the solvent name? it is hard to find: zest it?
Odourless mineral spirits? There are several different brands: Sansodor by Winsor & Newton, Gambol, Shellsol.
Its very helpul.... Thank you Alex.. 🙏🙏🙏
I finally found the answer to waste oil paint in solvent - i'm going to do this mason jar thing - but what do you do with the oil paint once the jar is full?
It's hazardous waste, so you need to take it somewhere that deals with it. Here in the UK we have recycling and waste disposal that will deal with it. But tbh it will take many years for a large mason jar to fill up oil paint sediment. I have several on the go and none are full yet.
@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting Thank you!!!
That's a great tip about wrapping the tips of the paintbrushes in paper. Simple, yet very effective.
Thanks
Thank you so mush for your great information ❤️🙏🏻
Will this work for acrylic paint too ?
You clean acrylics with water, but you need to clean you're brushes immediately. Acrylics dry much faster than oils and once they're dry that;s it, you've got plastic coated brushes.
Hi Alex
I really enjoy your videos, they are so well done. Regarding brush cleaning I first clean the excess oil paint, as you do, with a paper towel then wash gently in the palm of my hand using a bit of very mild liquid soap then immediately wash each again in my palm using Jack Richeson’s LINSEED Oil Soap after which I dip each in the 99 cent store’s Baby Oil and shape each quickly and place each horizontally in a rack I made using foam core. This works for me and my brushes remain in very good condition. Just thought I’d share my method with you. Thanks for sharing your acquired knowledge.
Thank you Enzo. Sounds like you take very good care of your brushes.
Thank you for a simple explanation.
thank you for sharing this useful video.
thanks alex for a good lesson hope too see your next panting demo
Thankyou for sharing your valuable experience here in this video. For me this was also as interesting as your demo videos. Besides interesting this was a very useful video especially for beginners who look forward to having oil painting as a source of earning bread and butter. Thankyou once again for posting this video.
Thank you very much! Glad it was helpful.
I use washing up liquid alone for cleaning my brushes no solvent at all and it cleans them very well, think I’ll try the baby oil from now on 😊
You shouldn't really use detergent to wash your brushes, it will wear them out faster. You're better off using hand soap it's gentler, or better still olive oil soap or some other natural hippy soap. It may be more expensive that fairy liquid, but it's a lot cheaper than the artists brush cleaning soap that you can in Art shops.
Thanks a lot for the useful information.🙏
Thanks Alex, very useful. Do you use the baby oil method instead of soap and water or is the baby oil method just another step in between using solvent and using soap and water? Thanks.
I use baby oil instead of soap and water. And I only clean them in soap and water if they've been sat in a plastic bag for a few days and I haven't done them with baby oil.
Some days I get lazy... wrap oily brushes in plastic wrap and toss in freezer. Will be ready to go next day or weeks later. Excellent site!
That works. I know people who do that with their palettes too. But just make sure you wrap them properly and don't get paint everywhere.
what do you do with those towels after wiping your brush off after the 'brush cleaner'/ solvent?
I get through a lot of kitchen towel when painting. It's best to dispose of it in the outdoor rubbish at the end of each day, rather than leaving it in the bin in the studio, because there is chance it could spontaneously combust! Though fortunately, in all my years of painting in various different schools and studios, I've never know this to happen.
Have you ever been disappointed with an expensive brush from which you did not get the expected quality?
Obviously there are makes that I prefer to others, but that more to do with personal preference rather than any defect in the brush. However, I was disappointed by the Raphael: Paris Classic hog bristles. They are really nice to use and have a very nice feel, but they wear out after only a few months.
So useful, thank you:)
I use grape seed oil and gamsol to clean my brushes. First rinse them in gamsol, then dip them in grapeseed
Yes. I seem to remember the first person who ever told me about cleaning brushes in oil just used to use normal corn oil that's used for cooking. I think cleaning them oil is probably the best way of keeping them in good condition.
Every time I clean my brushes with Chelsea lavender brush soap they splay badly, I have to wrap them in paper towel as you have suggested, and that does work,
but I haven’t noticed anyone else address the splaying after cleaning with soap, or if and why that happens to others or at all.
You should try cleaning them in baby oil. The brushes hold their shape without needing wrap them.
@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting thanks, i will give that a shot
Thanks for this~
Of course using water miscible oil paint (Cobra) does away with any smelling solvents. Wash the oil off with water and then gently wash with green laundry soap. Used to be Fairy soap. Just a thought Alex. Keep it up your a super star.
Thanks. I have to say though, all the water soluble oils I've seen here in the UK aren't as good quality as professional grade oils like Micheal Harding or Old Holland. They're the same standard as student grade paint. Though I've not heard of Cobra, are they expensive?
I agree they are not quite as good as Michael Harding ,more middle of the road. Cobra is a Royal Talens brand. I reckon equal to their Rembrandt oil paint. Better than student grade. Jackson's price ,series 1 about £5.00. Cad's double that. For me it's the solvents smell I can't work with. The difference in quality is secondary to the health issue. I used to use Gamblin, a good grade and comparing some old paintings with the Cobra ... mmm.... not that much different if any? Unless my eyesight's gone wonky:-)
Solvents are an issue, I believe, with many artists. How about a video on the comparison between the two?
Keep well, keep safe.
Gerry
Alex thank you, I use Vaseline on my brushes after washing them to retain their shape. Seems to work pretty well on all bristle types. Obviously you have to give them a rinse in solvent before you next use them.
Thank you Nicholas. That's a great tip. I shall definitely remember it next time I clean my brushes with soap and water. It sounds much quicker than wrapping them up in with pieces of paper towel. Have you ever tried cleaning your brushes in baby oil? It's quicker than soap and water and the oil helps them retain their shape. Baby oil in mineral based like vaseline.
@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting if I have had a tiring day and am working on the same painting the next day i leave my brushes in a bread tin of vegetable oil at a slight angle so that the bristles aren't understand pressure and as you pointed out in your excellent video more oil helps draw the paint out of the brushes. Baby oil is now on my shopping list!
I am a fan of clove oil, it will not only soften hard paint, but can also keep the pigment on a closed pallet tray nice a moist for the next session. I am thinking of getting into safflower oil to use as a brush dip, though I have not gotten around to that yet. I always use Dawn dishwashing soap, adding it directly to the brush removing the oils left behind, then rinsing them out after vigorously working out what ever is in the bristles.
Clove oil sounds interesting. Have you ever tried Spike Lavender? It’s an oil that’s recommended as an alternative to solvent, but it’s really expensive. Clove oil might work in a similar way?
@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting Oh no, clove oil is not as thin as a spike oil, it resembles linseed oil, but smells of cloves, (of course) and I only use it on a paper towel or cotton ball beside my paints on the pallet, no direct contact is needed to keep the pallet fresh. It is a severe retardant, so use it sparsely, if you add it to a paint, I use it only on the fastest drying paints, perhaps a drop mixed into a healthy squeeze portion on my pallet...
Excellent sir
Nice sneaky name drop for RB. :)
Though I'm not endorsed by them and I don't get any free Rosemary brushes. Also they're not the only brushes I use. But I do recommend them because they're great brushes, they're good value and they deliver world wide. My only words of caution with RB is for beginners not to be distracted by all the different kinds of brushes they make. Buying a load of master's choice because Jeremy Lipking uses them, won't make you paint like Jeremy Lipking. Don't think you need all these fancy soft brushes, I honestly believe beginners are better off starting out with a few decent hog brushes and really figuring out how to get the most out of them before they start experimenting with loads of different brushes.
I cant find the first video on how to choose the brushes
ua-cam.com/video/hDNinFaPA30/v-deo.html
There's a list of the brushes I used in the description
when you clean them, you shouldnt press them directly down on your palm right?
No, you don't want to scrub them. Go back and forward on each side
SIMPLIFY Drawing & Painting can you scrub them on their sides? Or will that ruin the “point” as well?
+++ . nice vid as always !Love the way you talk and try to cover the subject . Thanks ! Do you have experience with a gouache or tempera ,so you can do a tutorial about it ? I even dont really know the difference between both .I cant find a pro level painters tutorial in youtube for it (except James Jurney )But aways nice to see a different point of view about the techniques .I dont care if it will be a portrait or landscape or even stillife :) Probably this will be not a popular tutorial with less views :( , but better to ask than to not :) Sorry for my great english :)
Thanks. Unfortunately, I haven't used watercolour or gouache since art school many years ago. All I know is that gouache is more solid and less transparent than normal water colour. And I've never use tempera. isn't it water and egg yolk? For gouache tutorials on UA-cam James Gurney is the first that springs to my mind too, but there's also the concept artist Nathan Fowkes. His watercolours are amazing. You might find something on his channel:
ua-cam.com/users/nfowkesart
@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting I am prety familiar with watercolor so i dont care about it :) and yeah , I also know temera is egg yolk based but thats all . Thanks for info about Nathan Fowkes , I will check it . Good luck man !
wow , this painter is really nice colorist ! Love it . Thanks you ,thank you ,thank you !
Very helpful, thank you.
Thanks Michael! Glad it was helpful.
thanks
All that use of solvent is a good argument for using acrylic paint.
Acrylic paint is more carcinogenic than oil paint.
Little Heath we could be opening a can of worms here so won’t go down that track except to say that I changed to acrylic from oil 20 years ago purely for health and environmental reasons. The introduction of Liquin for example has made oil painting a much more toxic occupation than it once was.
As I have a full time job and several other obligations often I'm not sure if I can continue a painting the next day, two days later or if I have to stop for over a week. So, at the moment I wash my brushes after every session with soap and water. For a while I tried to store them in vegetable walnut oil, but I had difficulties: If I realized I couldn't use them for a longer time I wanted to get them out of the walnut oil and clean them properly - but it was almost impossible to get the walnut oil out of the brush with brushcleaner, soap and water.
So my question is: Can I store the brushes washed with baby oil for like 1-2 weeks? And if I decide then to wash them with soap and water, will the baby oil be easy to wash out? Or will i first need a painting session to "substitute" the baby oil in the brush with paint and turps before washing them with soap and water?
Anyway, thank you very much for your great and to the point videos - very helpful!!
Why would you want to get the walnut oil out of the brush ?
You don't need to clean your brushes with soap and water after you've cleaned them with oil. You can just leave them. They should be absolutely fine to use many week later. However, washing them is soap and water should remove the baby oil. I'm surprised you're unable to remove the walnut oil?
I also find, they're fine to use right after after cleaning them with baby oil. The small amount of baby oil still on the brush, shouldn't really interfere with paint mixing. However, if you dip you brush in solvent just before you paint it should remove the baby oil.
@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting Thank you very much again for this info! I'll give it a try!
Yes, I was also surprised having problems with the walnut oil since I really take time and wash my brushes thoroughly. But when I tried to clean the brushes from the (Biological Supermarket) walnut oil, I just couldnt get out all of it and over one or two weeks they got stiff and the bristles were covered in a rubbery film. I tried to scrape it off with a knife with OK results.
Maybe it was because I haven't used artist grade oil...
Thank you again for the great video, this might save me lots of time now :-)
@@littleheath1666 Usually because I only had space for 4-5 brushes in my walnut oil container setup, so if I wanted to store different brushes I had to clean others.
Or sometimes I knew I would be out of town for a while and wanted to have the brushes clean and dry...
@@arminb.9214 That walnut oil sounds strange. You'd think it would be pure enough seeing as its supposed to be edible? I know of other artists who clean their brushes in rape seed oil and normal vegetable oil. But give baby oil a try
I spoke to a graduate of the Gage Academy Atelier.
He showed me his brushes. They looked NEW!
This is his brush cleaning method he described to me.
Wipe off as much wet paint from your brush as you can onto a cloth or piece of paper kitchen towel.
( if you like, you can dip the bristles into some plain cooking oil to loosen the paint more..then re-wipe.)
Place a small amount of *Dawn dish soap in your hand.
Press the bristles down into the soap ...first one side, then the other.
( some people use the inside of the cut half of a tennis ball if they don't want direct contact with the paint )
Rinse in warmish but not hot water.
Repeat.
Last, press bristles again on the surface of a bar of white Ivory Soap until no pigment shows.
Rinse well.
If you like, you can,then, go through the same steps using Murphy's Oil Soap.
Shape the bristles with your fingers and lay the brush on its side until dry.
I have been painting with oils for 25 years.
NO more solvent !!
It's simply not necessary.
* Use only Dawn. It is formulated to really dissolve grease / fats / oils !
I've heard Murphy's oil soap is really good. But I don't know about Dawn? It looks like normal detergent to me which I definitely wouldn't recommend for cleaning brushes. If you use the cooking oil, or any oil that's thinner then linseed oil, like the baby oil I recommend in this video, it should remove all the paint without needing either solvent or soap? I recently used baby oil on a brush that the paint had dried on for a few days and it still managed to remove most of it.