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There are principally three main styles of brushes; brights, flats and rounds. Brights are short, square end brushes. Flats are similar to brights, but have longer hair or bristle. Rounds are completely round with pointed ends.
Brushes are principally made with sable, ox, camel, goat hairs or hog bristles. Hair and bristles are similar with two important differences. Hair has a single, natural point while bristle has multiple natural tips. Bristle has a unique taper not found in hair.
McKenzie Supply offers a great selection of all of these artist's brushes ranging from single-use items to long-term investments.
Sable: In the finest brushes, it is red sable. It comes from the tails of commonly called Red Tartar Martin. Only the best hair is selected for the highest grade sable brush. It has elasticity to retain a point. Black sable comes from the Wood and Stone Martin. Some black sable are from Civet Cat tail hair, mostly from eastern Canada. Its use is limited since most prefer red sable. Round head red sable brushes with an ultra fine point are ideal for extremely fine detail work (eyelashes, nictitating membranes, etc.). The bright head (tapered flat) red sable brushes are ideal for most applications when finishing gameheads, mammals, or birds. Pure red sable provides long-last performnace.
Ox Hair: Comes from the ears of oxen. It comes in various qualities and grades. The finest comes from the Swiss Alps and other mountainous regions. Excellent for sign writing, etc.
Camel Hair: Term applies to any soft, silky, fine hair, generally squirrel hair from Russian squirrels. These are good, all purpose brushes for oils, Japans and enamels, especially on a smooth surface.
Bristle: Attained from European and Asian hogs. These are hand selected. They come in a variety of colors and grades from silky to coarse, and are used for numerous purposes. Will spread medium to thick paints smoothly and evenly. White bristle brushes are useful in gamehead and mammal finishing for blending exposed skin and hair with oil colors. Also good for applying pure "Brush Magic" to clean oil paints from hair.
Goat Hair: A rather coarse hair from both foreign and domestic sources. It is used in cheaper grades of brushes. Many use to apply varnish and glazes.
Synthetics: Nylon is very popular. They vary greatly in grade and quality. Widely used for general painting.
Regardless of the hair or bristle sed, most brushes require cleaning, de-greasing, cutting, etc.
Care of Brushes:
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