How to clean paint brushes?

How to clean paint brushes?

Some of my students have asked me to write a blog on how to clean paint brushes. Since I teach both acrylics and oils, below, you will find tips on how to clean acrylics and oil brushes.

Acrylics:
How to keep your brushes clean while painting?
Keep a big jar filled with water. Every time you finish using a brush, wipe it with a paper towel or rag and wash it right away to avoid paint drying on the bristles. Then dry it and set it aside while you work with another brush.  Don't let the paint dry on your brush since it makes it harder to remove the paint from the bristles.

How to keep your brushes clean after you finish painting for the day?
Place the brush bristles in between a paper towel or rag and squeeze out the excess paint. Dip and wash the brush around in your cup of water to release any leftover paint. Gently take off the excess water. Then, take the brush to the sink, hold it under warm water and massage the bristles with soap. After you finish rinsing out the soap, wrap the brush bristles in a paper towel or a rag, and squeeze to release water. Let the brush dry horizontally on a table or place on a glass jar with the bristles facing up.

For Oils (walnut oil users only): 
In the studio, we use non-toxic oils made out of walnut oil. We don't use any medium other than walnut oil. So this method only applies to the walnut oil users, and not for all other oil paints.

How to keep your brushes clean while painting? 
While painting, keep two jars filled with walnut oil. To clean your brush, first, wipe the brush with a rag trying to take the excess paint off the brush. Then, dip the brush into the first jar of oil rubbing vigorously to remove any color. With the rag, wipe the oil from the brush again and dip the brush into the second jar to remove any remaining color. Finally, wipe your brush with your rag to remove any remaining oil and complete the process.

What if I am done working on my artwork for the day? 
Since walnut oil dries slowly, the same method described above can be used at the end of the day. The only difference is to make sure that there is no residual paint left on the bristles.

What if I am not going to be working on my artwork for a couple of days or weeks? 
First, use the same method mention above. Then, wash your brushes with mild soap and water. I prefer to wash them with biodegradable dishwasher soap ( like Mrs. Meyer's Dish Soap) and warm water. After washing the brushes, I dry them with a towel, and either sit them flat on my painting table or facing up on a glass container.

Before I start painting, I always dip my brushes in the oil and clean them to relax the bristles.

I hope you find this information useful.

Vanessa Montenegro

For more information about my art and my classes, visit vanessamontenegro.com
Follow me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vanessa.montenegro.artist
Follow my daily art post on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanessasartstudio/
Buy my art at https://www.etsy.com/shop/vanessamontenegro

©2017 Vanessa Montenegro
All photos, images and text are copyright protected. Not to be used without permission.

An Easy Strategy To Reach Your Artistic Goals

Are you looking to paint more paintings this year? Are you looking to make your life an artist masterpiece? Maybe, this is the year you stop procrastinating and start creating more art. Perhaps, you want to create the ultimate portfolio that stands out of the crowd. No matter what artist goals you want to achieve, here is an easy strategy to reach your artistic goals.

If you are like most people, by mid-January early February, you are ready to quit your New Year's resolution and go back to square one and to the old habits. So, how can you prevent this from happening in 2017? Let me share with you a trick I learned years ago. Rather than just focusing on the final goal, focus on what you do every day. Don't concentrate on the end goals so much but instead put more emphasis on what daily and weekly practices you can put into action. This doesn't mean that you don't set goals to draw or paint ten masterpiece during the year. It’s much more fundamental than that. It’s about learning how to develop new habits by a shift in perspective. It’s daily and weekly small changes that can lead to shifts in behavior, and accumulate over time to create one massive transformation.

So what are weekly and daily actions you can take to build art progress in your life?
How about getting in the habit of working on your sketchbook every day?
Students that get in the habit of working on their sketchbooks every day tend to progress faster than students that don't have a sketchbook.
How about being committed to attending art class on a weekly basis?
Students that consistently come to class on a weekly basis see progress on their art much faster than students that show up once in a while.

How about practicing on the daily basis what you learned in class weekly?

Students that consistently practice what they learned in class see faster results than those who never do homework. 

So set your daily or weekly habit today and see amazing artists results in the future.

Best,



Vanessa Montenegro

For more information about my art and my classes, visit vanessamontenegro.com
Follow me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vanessa.montenegro.artist
Follow my daily art post on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanessasartstudio/
Buy my art at https://www.etsy.com/shop/vanessamontenegro

©2017 Vanessa Montenegro
All photos, images and text are copyright protected. Not to be used without permission.