Hints

The first registries of the use of a tool for transporting paint were identified on the rupestral drawings, in the paleolithic era, also known as "parietal art".

According to history, the first resource was a coal stick with animal grease. Afterwards, other fixing elements were added, such as ink, mixing mineral pigments with many sorts of grease.

The colors obtained were the ocher-yellow, ocher-red and black.

In the illustrations were used fingers, diverse birds' feathers, sticks with hair on the tips, a kind of stone chisel and also tufts made of moss.

The roughness of the surfaces helped the expression of shapes, such as protuberances, holes, cracks, etc.

In these thousands of years, little is known about the manufacturing which originated the very first paintbrush, similar to the ones you use nowadays.

Some information appears on the XV century, in Europe, with the Fresco and False Fresco paintings, where a sort of "Mop" paintbrush is mentioned, with soft animal hair bristles, the size of the painter's palm, for smoothening the humans skin texture. Other sizes were created in the round shape, with hair attached to wooden sticks.

In the East, in 1804, there is another registry named "Toyohashi's Paintbrush", in the Yokishida feud, Kyoto, Japan. Used for calligraphy and ornamental painting, it was built with a bamboo handle, a feather's binding as the ferrule, and soft animal hair.

In this registry there's information about a small variety of tip shapes. These paintbrushes were considered true jewels by that time, being kept hanging in a noble metal support. Today they are part of the traditional art in Japan.

In the ancient drawings, coal, feather tip and stiletto can also be found.

In Europe, in the early decades of the XIX century, some information points to the use of flat shaped paintbrushes, in addition to the round shape, already known.

Still in the XIX century, with the emergence of the camera, some artists searched for a distinguishing mark in their painting. They fought the visual competition with expressive strokes, and at the same time, used photography as references for their artwork.

This is the beginning of the painterly style; the painting in touch with nature. A painting style also known as "A La Prima".

This modern painting style required from the artist more intimacy with their work tools: the paint, the colors and the brush.

In each gesture, the artist's feelings were printed, with their perspective of colors and shapes. Painting has achieved speed. It was the so-called "Impressionism".

At this moment of the art history, the paintbrush became a very important tool. Some artists built their own brushes, with shapes designed for their strokes. Each new paintbrush shape was named after the artist who created it.

In the paintbrush evolution sequence, the commercial scale manufacturers came up.

Manufacturing occurred in secrecy, and the technical know-how was passed in confidentiality, from father to son.

In the XX century, the manufacturing evolves with synthetic filaments in the exploration of new paintbrush tip shapes and many others artistic accessories. This evolution was parallel to the water-based paint.

Today, a paintbrush is a work tool with technical specifications for use and maintenance.

With a wider variety of shapes, the paintbrushes increased the painting resources for all kinds of technique.

Designed as an extension of the hand, they offer distinguished handle sizes, in order to properly cover the length until the surface to be painted.

The shape defines the line and the stroke desired by the artist. The tip composition (hair, bristles or synthetic filaments) defines the use of the paint on the surface.

The animal hair and bristles are only used according to the strict rules of species conservation.

Condor was the first enterprise in Brazil to launch new paintbrush shapes, the use of synthetic filaments and technical literature about the use and maintenance of these products.

Sorts of Bristles and Hair Origin

Bristles

• Bristles are the hair extracted from pigs or boars, easily recognized by the split-ends. We define the origin from animals that protect themselves from weather changes through a layer of fat or the leather itself.
• With natural white color, bleached white or gray, they are very resistant and recommended for many sorts of painting. Due to the split-ends, the paintbrushes with bristles carry a larger amount of paint on the tip, allowing better efficiency to cover the surface. They are recommended for canvas and fabric surfaces, and also for painting the background on many materials.
• Special effects are obtained by exploring the bristles' texture, such as marked strokes, grooves, textures made with dough, patina, decape and other resources.

Hair

• Collected from animals that use the hair volume for protection from the weather changes. They are recognized by their cylindric shape and conic tips. The conic tip extension and the "belly" volume might vary according to the animal species.
• The paint concentration occurs at the bottom (root) of the hair, which we denominate "paintbrush inkwell".
• With this feature, we explore the tip for precise strokes and distinguished drawings, according to the brush shape.
• With many colors, they are recommended for use with many sorts of paint.
• Depending on the animal origin, they may be more or less flexible, and have different levels of thickness and porosity.


Pony: soft hair, smooth and very porous. Optimal paint retention in the paintbrush inkwell. Recommended for watery paints and softening strokes.

Ox ear: soft, flexible, resistant hair, with optimal precision on strokes. Selected and dyed, fulfills the needs of artists in many shapes. Recommended for many sorts of paint.

Marten: soft hair, flexible and with conic extended tip, defining the hair strokes with more precision. It has reddish color, and it's collected from the animal's tail due to the extension of the hair. Recommended for many kinds of paint, for illustrating and finishing.

Squirrel: Soft, flexible and very porous hair, with conic extended tip, allowing precise and continuous strokes. The color varies, it's collected from the animal's tail, where the longest hair is found. It retains a high amount of paint in the inkwell. Recommended for watery paints and smoothening strokes.

Synthetic Filaments

• Made of extremely thin nylon, they are resistant and flexible.
• They accompany the cylindrical shape of the hair with the conic tip.
• They are a great trend, stimulating the evolution of the water-based paints.
• Due to their composition, the synthetic filaments offer the possibility of distinguished shapes, more and more technical, as an answer to the artists' exigencies in the many painting styles.
• Recommended for water-based paints. Used in many different shapes, complements illustration and produces stroke effects, necessary for decorative painting.

Ferrule's Composition

• The ferrules are metallic belts that unite the tip to the handle. They can be made of polished aluminum, chromed or nickeled brass, nickeled steel, plastic and other materials. In the artisan paintbrushes we can still find ferrules made of feather binding.
• Usually, they have cylindrical shape with conic finishing at one of the ends, for the tip building and paintbrush number definition. The central structure of the paintbrush which defines the shape, anchoring the tip to the handle.

Handle Composition

• The handles can be made of wood, bamboo, acrylic, plastic and other materials. They are especially designed for a comfortable use.
• The raw material is previously treated to prevent deterioration.
• The handle's painted coat, in different colors, makes it easier to recognize the paintbrush families. The varnish enriches the handle and increases it's sealing.
• Through the printed data on the handle, we find information about the paintbrush composition, reference number, manufacturer and bar code.
• The handle defines the balance and stability of the paintbrush. It must be adequate to the ferrule and the amount of hair on the tip. It can be short, long or extra long.
• Short handles are recommended for painting at the eyes level, over a desk or in hands, when we need visual comfort for drawing details and precise strokes. Recommended for decorative painting, watercolor, porcelain, gouache and others.
• Long handles fulfill the needs of long and medium distance painting, the same perspective from which the artwork will be seen when ready. Example: canvas on easel.
• The extra long handles are recommended for larger artwork, murals, panels and others, facilitating the access to the surface. It's the same perspective from which the artwork will be seen when ready.

Paintbrush Number

With standard sizes in the market, the paintbrush numbers are printed on the handle.

The reading is done in centimeters or inches. On artistic paintbrushes, the centimeters measure is common. On wash brushes, the measure is frequently found in inches.

The tip of the ferrule which anchors the hair defines the number of the paintbrush through reading its diameter, on round brushes, and the width on flat brushes. The numeric grid starts at 0.

The numbers to the left decrease the brush size, and the numbers to the right increase it. Examples: 000, 00, 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24.
In the artistic paintbrush line, the most common sizes are from 000 (or 3/0) to 24.

Prior to using a new paintbrush, it is required to remove the protective starch from the tip, put there by the manufacturer in order to preserve the original shape during transportation.

While using it, refrain from letting any paint dry on the brush.

After using it, remove the paint excess on an absorbent sheet or soft tissue, clean it in the proper solvent (according to the paint used), wash with mild soap and water, and rinse under flowing water.

Use back-and-forth and round movements, avoiding "patting" the cleaning pot. For this, you can use the Condor Tray (585).

In case of deep cleaning, use the Paintbrush-Cleaner (574), by pressing slightly the paintbrush over the dotted surface, with round and back-and-forth movements. Use water and mild soap for cleaning.

When using the brush with anilines or high dying power paints, separate this paintbrush only for this purpose.

While drying the brush, keep the tips free from any pressure, in order to avoid mangling the original shape.

During a long storage, keep the brush in a fresh and ventilated place.

During transportation, arrange the paintbrushes in order to have the tips free of any pressure.

Condor always offers the adequate material for what you need. With the proper tools, all of your work turns into artwork.

Click here and check the Condor Painting Directions.

Click here and check the Condor Paintbrush Shapes.