MAJOLICA: Brushes
Brushes needed.
You will need about eight brushes for painting.
1) Two size10 brushes, each cut down to a different thickness to form a narrow, flat end. The drawing shows a brush before and after cutting. These brushes are for painting outlines, the thick part holds the paint so it runs down through the thin part and allows long unbroken strokes.
2) One large, soft brush for cleaning off any loose glaze and vegetable-ash from the glaze-base. Do not use this brush for anything else. Make sure it can be washed and is completely dry and clean before using it.
3) One large brush with soft hair for painting the edges and borders of the tiles.
4) Four brushes of different sizes.
The brush work is of great importance in the Majolica method, the movement of the brush strokes gives form to the object being painted and also shows the relation of one color over another in creating a third color.
Customizing your brush: Using small, very sharp scissors cut the paintbrush hair as shown in the drawing. You can see that half of the brush hair is cut away to form a step around the fine center, leaving the thickness you require. The center must have a flat end, never a point. Cutting the hair means that the paint is held in the thick part of the brush and then runs through to the thinner part, allowing you to make long, smooth strokes. This is very important when painting outlines. For a large picture use one cut with a wide end and paint the delicate details, like faces and hands, with a fine end. Use the narrow brush for small designs of one or two tiles and for plates and pots. Once you have learned the technique of using these brushes you can cut them down to the sizes you prefer.
Read more about: Brushes – Decorating / Brushes – Practicable
