{"id":3129,"date":"2018-11-28T11:05:11","date_gmt":"2018-11-28T17:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/evolveartist.com\/blog\/?p=3129"},"modified":"2023-12-18T11:25:42","modified_gmt":"2023-12-18T17:25:42","slug":"how-to-clean-oil-paint-brushes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/evolveartist.com\/blog\/how-to-clean-oil-paint-brushes\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Clean Oil Paint Brushes in 4 Non-Toxic\u00a0Steps"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"how<\/span><\/p>\n

It is simple, but important, to care for your synthetic oil painting brushes. Photo by Natalie Runyon<\/a><\/p>\n

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Knowing how to clean oil paint brushes is an important lesson to learn early on as an artist. Brushes are our tools used to create paintings, and it is both cost effective and in our painting’s best interests to care for them well!<\/p>\n

Unless you clean oil paint brushes often and properly, paint can easily accumulate and dry near the base of the brush near the ferrule causing damage to the bristles. If your brush stays dirty and is damaged you\u2019ll end up with an imprecise tool to paint with.<\/p>\n

By properly caring for your tools as an artist and knowing how to clean oil paint brushes, you have a better chance at making a controlled, beautiful painting. So keeping reading for 4 easy steps to clean and care for your brushes.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1: Choose a Soap to Clean your Oil Paint Brushes.<\/h2>\n

\"How<\/span><\/p>\n

The first step once you’ve finished your painting session is to gather your brushes and soap and head to the sink. <\/p>\n

There are many different types of artists’ soaps and cleaners out there, but there are also many affordable, non-toxic options that work perfectly. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Masters Brush Cleaner <\/a>is a great choice for cleaning brushes. <\/p>\n

Masters Brush Cleaner is a great choice, but a bar of ivory soap will work just as well and help to clean and condition your synthetic brushes.<\/p>\n

Brush soap or ivory soap will emulsify (break down) the oil in the paint, which will help us to remove and wash away any paint with water. <\/p>\n

Remember that oil is impervious to water. That means that if you just take your oil paint brush and put it in water, the water is going to bead right off of it. So what we need to do is break down the oil with soap and then wash it. <\/p>\n

Understanding that oil and water don’t mix is key to understanding how to clean oil paint brushes. <\/p>\n

\"How<\/span><\/p>\n

Drag your brush back and forth along the wet bar of soap.<\/p>\n

2: Clean Your Brush Well<\/h2>\n

To begin, take your bar of soap and run it under the faucet to get it wet.<\/p>\n

Then drag your brush back and forth, flat side down, across the soap, working the oil out of the brush.<\/p>\n

Be careful not to push the brush directly down because it will bend the bristles. Simply drag it along, flat, in each direction.<\/p>\n

You’ll see the soap will start to foam up and oil will begin to come off the brush.  <\/p>\n

\"How<\/span><\/p>\n

3: Rinse your paintbrush and repeat.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

At this point, your brush is going to get covered with some murky foam. This is the soap and paint coming off the brush. <\/p>\n

At this point, just rinse the brush and then come back to the bar of soap and repeat what you\u2019ve done so far.<\/p>\n

When you’re first learning how to clean oil paint brushes you may  tend to stop cleaning before you get every last bit of paint out, so make sure to continue this step until the brush comes completely clean. <\/p>\n

\"How<\/span><\/p>\n

4: Knowing when your brush is clean.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

You\u2019ll know your brush is clean when there’s no paint coming off it. Both the bar of soap and a piece of paper towel used to dry the brush will show absolutely no tint of color. It will be completely pristine.<\/p>\n

When finished and the brush is clean, take the brush and gently pitch it to make it flat like the way it was when you first got it. Let it dry that way and then in a few hours, it’ll be ready to be used again<\/p>\n

FAQ: A few things to ask and avoid when learning how to clean oil paint brushes<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

It is simple, but important, to care for your synthetic oil painting brushes. Photo by Natalie Runyon<\/a><\/p>\n

Last thoughts on learning how to clean oil paint brushes<\/strong><\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Take good care of and carefully clean oil paint brushes. They\u2019re going to take good care of you if you take good care of them. Don\u2019t beat them up and be sure to clean them well every night. If you do this you\u2019ll be developing good habits.<\/p>\n

Remember to always leave time to properly clean your brushes – if you find yourself short on time check out this article on making time for making art<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Take care of your materials, which are your tools. Just like you sharpen your pencils, clean your brushes properly. <\/p>\n

Not sure what materials to use? Check out this article for materials needed for new artists!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is simple, but important, to care for your synthetic oil painting brushes. Photo by Natalie Runyon Knowing how to clean oil paint brushes is an important lesson to learn early on as an artist. Brushes are our tools used to create paintings, and it is both cost effective and in our painting’s best interests […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":11560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-equipment","category-techniques","post-wrapper","thrv_wrapper"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/evolveartist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/evolveartist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/evolveartist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evolveartist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evolveartist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3129"}],"version-history":[{"count":76,"href":"https:\/\/evolveartist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3129\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14937,"href":"https:\/\/evolveartist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3129\/revisions\/14937"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evolveartist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/evolveartist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evolveartist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evolveartist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}