I am a Savvy Brush Tray addict, as I designed it to perfectly address my needs and those I perceived among my fellow oil painters. BUT…I do still clean my brushes. Every once in a blue moon! Let me explain.

Any brushes that are in regular rotation do best in my Savvy Brush Trays. However, sometimes they get too crowded. Or there are special purpose brushes I don’t intend to use again soon. Or the handles are sticky from walnut oil. Or I just get that little spring-cleaning itch. While I’ve definitely left individual brushes in my tray for up to a year at a time with no perceivable damage, there’s all kinds of reasons I might want to move them to a longer-term, dry-storage setup.

Whenever you decide to move some brushes to dry storage outside the tray, it is 100% necessary to wash them. Even if you’re using a “non-drying” oil like food-grade safflower oil, it will eventually begin to oxidize in the bristles, attracting dust and gumming them up forever. So whether it’s after a single painting session when traveling, or after a year in your tray, here are the best practices for brush care when painting, cleaning, and washing to extend the life of your beautiful, expensive, favorite tools.

When Painting

• Use brushes for only one medium (oil, acrylic, etc).
• Educate yourself about brush/bristle types, and use them to their best advantage. Save scrubbing for sturdy, resilient hogs hair brushes, or grab a few inexpensive brushes for wild scrubbing. Skip scrubbing with synthetics that are more likely to splay and curl irreversibly (plastic bristles lack the memory of natural hair). Treat those sables, whether natural or synthetic, as the delicate little gems they are.
• Don’t load your brush all the way down to the ferrule; concentrate the paint on the tips of the bristles. If this seems very difficult, consider experimenting with some longer brushes. Rosemary & Co has a dazzling array of long brushes to choose from.
• Use quality brushes (yes, you can afford it, because a well-cared-for quality brush will cost less in the long run than cheap brushes often replaced).

When You’re Ready to Wash Your Brushes

• Wipe all excess paint/medium from your brush as thoroughly as possible using a soft cotton rag or paper towel. Wipe from ferrule to tip in a single stroke, then find a clean spot on your rag for the next stroke to avoid redepositing pigment near the ferrule. Shop towels from the hardware store or cut up old t-shirts work well.
• Rinse your brush in solvent or oil to remove excess pigment.

Washing

• Use lukewarm (not cold, not hot) water to wash your brushes. This will mobilize the oil while also protecting the glue.
• Best case, allow your brushes to sit in your Savvy Brush Tray overnight before washing. This will help loosen and draw much of the pigment out.
• There are as many allegiances to different soaps as there are artists! Personally, I have never found anything that rivals Richeson’s Linseed Studio Soap. As advertised, it’s made from the same oil in the paint and does a wonderful job of cleaning tacky handles, drawing paint from bristles, and often reviving much neglected, hard-dried brushes if allowed to sit overnight. More on brush resuscitation later.
• If you’re washing the brushes in your hand, be sure to wear a glove if you’ve used toxic pigments. I prefer to use an inexpensive makeup brush cleaning tool to help mobilize the pigment in the bristles.
• Wipe dry, reshape the tips while wet, and lay your brushes flat to dry in an open space with good airflow.

Bonus Info

• Some people like to use a brush starch to maintain their shape, like this one from Trekell.
• Richard Schmidt was known for clipping a piece of cardstock over his flats to help maintain their shape.
• A small amount of splaying or curling of synthetic bristles can sometimes be reversed by dipping the brush tip in very hot water (I shoot for 195–200°F) for about a minute, then immediately reshaping before leaving them to dry.
• Be sure that any container you use for storage allows airflow, especially when traveling since your brushes may not be dry when packed. A bamboo roll is wonderful for this, or a well ventilated long box with padding to keep your brushes from sliding.
• If you are at a workshop where you cannot wash your brushes (plein air, septic, etc), bring a small container of your preferred oil. Dip them liberally and lay them flat on your palette overnight between workshop days. It’s a bit messy but it will ensure they do not dry and stiffen overnight, especially if you are using fast-drying pigments like lead white or brown oxides.

Happy Painting,
Robin Cole