Best Paintbrushes for Oil Paint



When painting with oil paints, you should use brushes made to withstand oil paints. Brushes are made out of many different mediums. The price depends on the quality of the brush bristles.

Bristles

There are basically two types of bristles: hair and synthetic. If you want to go with real hair, you should use either sable hair or hog bristles. You can experiment to decide which you like best. Sable hair is very soft and hog bristles are exactly that bristly and hard.

If you don’t want to use brushes with animal hair or would like a cheaper brush, then you can go with synthetic fibers. I’m not talking about the cheap paintbrushes you get from craft sets with plastic black hairs. There are many paintbrushes that are synthetic but very well made and of similar quality to real hair.

Types of brushes

In addition to the bristles of a brush, there are many different brush shapes. The most common are angular, fan, filbert, flat, and round. I would suggest you at least get a flat brush and work from there. You can get a small set of brushes to decide which style you like best. You might end up liking several different ones.

The Princeton Series makes several good brush sets:

Princeton Series 9000 Blue Handled Brush Sets 9032 set of 6 brushes Princeton Series 9000 Blue Handled Brush Sets 9032 set of 6 brushes

The 9000 Series brushes in this set provide excellent quality at an affordable price. Elegantly constructed, they feature blue wooden handles and seamless golden ferrules. 9031 Set contains three long handled, natural bristle brushes: one Round (size 6), one Bright (size 8), and one Filbert (size 12). This set is perfect for use with acrylics, watercolors, oils, and tempera. 9032 Set contains six short handled, synthetic golden taklon brushes: three Rounds (sizes 1, 3, and 5), one Filbert (size 4), one Script (size 1), and one Wash (3/8 in.). The set is perfect for use with acrylics, watercolors, and tempera. 9039 Set contains five short handled, synthetic golden taklon brushes: three Rounds (sizes 2, 4, and 6) and two Angulars (1/4 in. and 1/2 in.). This set is ideal for use with acrylics, watercolors, and tempera. All Series 9000 Blue Handled Brush Sets also come with a reusable vinyl brush case so that you can conveniently store and easily transport your brushes.

Princeton Series 9000 Brown Handled Brush Sets 9043 set of seven brushes Princeton Series 9000 Brown Handled Brush Sets 9043 set of seven brushes

Series 9000 Brown Handled Brush Sets offer extreme versatility at affordable prices. Each set contains a variety of brush sizes, shapes, and bristle types, so that you can apply them to just about any medium. The brushes in these sets feature seamless golden ferrules and attractive, dark brown wooden handles. 9043 Set contains seven short handled, synthetic golden taklon brushes: one Wash/Glaze (3/4 in.), two Shaders (sizes 2 and 6), two Rounds (sizes 2 and 4), one Liner (size 2/0), and one Angular (1/4 in.). The brushes in this set are great for use with acrylics, watercolors, and tempera. 9048 Set contains six long handled brushes: one natural sable Round (size 2), one natural bristle Round (size 6), one white taklon Flat (size 4), one white taklon Filbert (size 4), one natural bristle Filbert (size 12), one natural bristle Bright (size 8). The brushes in this set are great for use with acrylics, watercolors, oils, stains, and tempera. All Series 9000 Brown Handled Brush Sets also come with a reusable vinyl brush case so that you can conveniently store and easily transport your brushes.

If you are looking for synthetic brushes, Dynasty makes a quality line of different types of brushes:

Dynasty Black Gold Series 1526 Synthetic Round Brushes size 1 Dynasty Black Gold Series 1526 Synthetic Round Brushes size 1

The craftsmanship truly shines in this brush made of the finest-quality synthetic hair formed by the hands of master brushmakers. Special attention was paid in shaping these brush tips; Black Gold brushes possess the intangible features and performance capabilities discriminating fine artists demand and expect. This series of round brushes is designed for use with oil or acrylic paints.

Dynasty Black Gold Series 1526B Synthetic Bright Brush size 2 Dynasty Black Gold Series 1526B Synthetic Bright Brush size 2

The craftsmanship truly shines in this brush made of the finest quality synthetic hair formed by the hands of master brushmakers. Special attention has been paid to the shaping of these brushes. Black Gold represents premium quality artist brushes which are designed to satisfy increased demands for a higher level of performance. This series of bright brushes is designed for use with oil or acrylic paints.
Back to Oil Painting Homepage

|