Painting

Painting has always been my favorite vent for creativity, especially because there are so many ways to express yourself with it. You can create an abstract, random painting; you can make a realistic still-life; you can make a geometrical masterpiece; anything is possible with paints. I have been experimenting with watercolor lately, and this is my favorite of my “tiny galaxy” paintings.

Brushes

There are so many different types of brushes for oil, watercolor, and acrylics. These are the basic four:

* Shader:

This is useful for, you guessed it, shading. It’s good for straight, neat lines or shapes.

* Round:

The round-tipped brush is good for rounded shapes. It’s usually my go-to brush for landscapes (besides trees).

* Fan:

This is the most useful for making little ridges on your paper with the paint. It’s super useful for pine tress, especially.

* Mop:

This is a large, soft brush for shapes and filling in areas. It’s not very good for exact shapes, but it’s great for watercolor.

Brush Care

Caring for your brushes is very important, as dried paint can be extremely difficult to remove from the bristles without damaging the brush or distorting its shape.

Oils: Clean brush with odorless brush cleaner, removing as much color as possible. Wash thoroughly in soap and water and reshape with fingers.

Acrylics & Watercolors: Wash thoroughly in soap and water removing as much color as possible and reshape with fingers.