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Paint Brushes?

showcase 66

showcase 66

New Member
My nephew (actually my cousins son) was with us this weekend and he is pretty good at drawing and becoming a pretty good artist in my opinion. He is 10 years old and can draw way better than I can. He was helping in the shop when I came across a video of some sign painters. He watched probably about 20 minutes of hand painting signs and wanted to know if I had any paint and brushes to mess around with. I have cheap crappy brushes and and a dozen small cans of one shot.

He was busy most of the day just messing around on the table with some scrap pieces I had.

He seemed pretty interested in the painting so I was thinking of getting hims some paint brushes and paint for his birthday in February. No clue what I should be looking into for brushes. Dont want to get him the Cadillac of brushes but want to get him some good quality ones.

Never know, could have him working for me in a few years if he really gets into the painting. Figure, if he is interested in that type of stuff might as well try and give him the resources to succeed. My cousins husband (his dad) thinks that art is a waste of time and would rather his son play sports.

Anyway, any input on some brushes and maybe some good material for him to look at would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
S

signguy 55

New Member
Not as many vendors selling brushes as there used to be.

I used to order from these guys about 15 years ago, they sell flats, quills and fitches. Just depends on how much you want to spend.

Keep them in transmission fluid or non detergent oil, just clean and spin dry before use, they'll last a long time. I keep them in a Tupperware container.

http://www.reichsupply.com
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Rather than start him out on oils with quills, why not use some tempera and some red sable flats ?? You can get those items from Dick Blick. It'll be far cheaper and he won't have to learn palleting and not ruin anything if he spills it. Also, he can practice on paper or even newspaper.
 
Craig Sjoquist

Craig Sjoquist

New Member
Water base lettering has come a long way ..What Gino said indeed, be alot easier clean up and get same results.

Speedball book ...to go along with it and maybe one on how to draw ..like cartoons
 
TammieH

TammieH

New Member
Water based paints just do not have the same feel as oil. As Rabecka said start off with a can or 2 of 1-shot, and maybe a #12 lettering quill, flats are easier to use but not as versatile. Always pour out a small amount of 1-shot and pre-thin...we used Mineral Spirits.

Also just buy half pints.

It will last forever as long as he does not spill it :)
 
J

Just Another Sign Guy

New Member
call pacific coast paints / pacific coast sign supply they are a merchant member here and have a huge selection of brushes. everyone there is knowledgeable and if you tell them what you are trying to achieve they will give you recommendations and choices. great people.
 
OldPaint

OldPaint

New Member
DO NOT USE TRANSMSSION FLIUD ON BRUSHES!!!!!!! nasty nasty chemicals. not the same stuf it was 30-40 years ago. go to a tranny shop, EVERBODY NOW WEARS GLOVES to protect them from the chemicals in the fluid!!!!!!
NOW.........10 year old..........iam with gino on the TEMPRA PAINT. its water based, non-toxic, and can washed out the brushes with water. also WATER COLORS, with good brushes.
getting him JUNK BRUSHES wont teach him anything. so be prepared to spend $$$ on brushes that work well in water. the TEMPRA and water colors can be a lot of fun, and little damage if spilled or slopped where you dont want em.
ONE SHOT, RONAN........oil paints, these require QUILLS AND TRUCK FLATS, NOT CHEAP.
dick blick would be the fastest and decent brushes. they are better ones but, not for play time. go here http://www.dickblick.com/categories/brushes/ and get watercolor brushes and you can look at quills and flats.
 
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showcase 66

showcase 66

New Member
I figured I would be spending some money on some decent brushes. Didnt want to get him something that gave him more grief and deter him from wanting to do this. I think the tempra paint will be the best bet like most have suggested.

I think I might get a couple small sets of brushes for him and for my oldest son too.

Thanks for the info. Will probably ask again later after looking if what I find would be good to work with.
 
Craig Sjoquist

Craig Sjoquist

New Member
OHHH that is nice I want a set lol

..Well I'm glad your going with water base for your child. This will give ya the largest options to learn.
 
Jillbeans

Jillbeans

New Member
I would not start with tempera, the feel/drag is entirely different and may hinder his ability to learn to use the brush properly.
The Macks would be a great start for him, I prefer the red-handled ones.
Get him a sample kit of Ronan (Glantz will ship directly from Ronan) of 6 half-pints: black, white, cherry red, reflex blue, medium green, and golden yellow.
Get him Macks in #1, #3, #5, and #7.
Get him a small can of turps for thinning (I never thin with mineral spirits, it dulls the finish) a small container of baby oil for conditioning his brushes, and a small can of mineral spirits for cleaning them.
Get him an alphabet book so he can practice different styles of lettering.
And try to find a pinstriping show to take him to so he can see real painters in action. (he may get a taste for striping)
Love....Jill
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
CSDD said:
Thanks OP. Was going to ask about the powder paint.

Also what do you guys think of this set.
http://www.dickblick.com/products/robert-simmons-holiday-brush-sets/#photos
I was looking on there and found these. I am thinking they would be pretty good for beginning with but again I am not sure.
Click to expand...


That's more of an artist's kinda brushset. Lettering brushes are going to have longer graduating hair so you can mop up the paint and paint from the full brush. You'll also have 'snap' with these brushes for ending letters precisely. They'll have either round or flat ferrules... I like either/or.

An artist's brush like those pictured will only allow you to paint from the tip and you'll be constantly building letters rather than painting them by continually dipping for more paint.

You want to learn how to use strokes and not dabs or have end results, looking like it was sketched on.

If you wanna go oil, that's entirely up to you if you want a 10 year old exposed to solvents unnecessarily and run the risk of him spilling and creating a problem on his bedroom carpet or on furniture.

The other thing you must consider.... do you want him to start out working flat or upright.

I started at an inclined flat for about 8 or 10 years before going to trucks or billboards. For me... and I would think most hand letterers, there's no learning curve going from richart colors to oil other than the palletting and care for your brushes. For the most part, you will still form almost all of your letters the same way.

I'll post a picture of some of y brushes when I find them........ :rolleyes:
​
 
showcase 66

showcase 66

New Member
Jillbeans said:
I would not start with tempera, the feel/drag is entirely different and may hinder his ability to learn to use the brush properly.
The Macks would be a great start for him, I prefer the red-handled ones.
Get him a sample kit of Ronan (Glantz will ship directly from Ronan) of 6 half-pints: black, white, cherry red, reflex blue, medium green, and golden yellow.
Get him Macks in #1, #3, #5, and #7.
Get him a small can of turps for thinning (I never thin with mineral spirits, it dulls the finish) a small container of baby oil for conditioning his brushes, and a small can of mineral spirits for cleaning them.
Get him an alphabet book so he can practice different styles of lettering.
And try to find a pinstriping show to take him to so he can see real painters in action. (he may get a taste for striping)
Love....Jill
Click to expand...

Thanks Jill for the info. Was looking for a lettering book or some kind of book to help with some techniques and styles.

Gino said:
That's more of an artist's kinda brushset. Lettering brushes are going to have longer graduating hair so you can mop up the paint and paint from the full brush. You'll also have 'snap' with these brushes for ending letters precisely. They'll have either round or flat ferrules... I like either/or.

An artist's brush like those pictured will only allow you to paint from the tip and you'll be constantly building letters rather than painting them by continually dipping for more paint.

You want to learn how to use strokes and not dabs or have end results, looking like it was sketched on.

If you wanna go oil, that's entirely up to you if you want a 10 year old exposed to solvents unnecessarily and run the risk of him spilling and creating a problem on his bedroom carpet or on furniture.

The other thing you must consider.... do you want him to start out working flat or upright.

I started at an inclined flat for about 8 or 10 years before going to trucks or billboards. For me... and I would think most hand letterers, there's no learning curve going from richart colors to oil other than the palletting and care for your brushes. For the most part, you will still form almost all of your letters the same way.
I'll post a picture of some of y brushes when I find them........ :rolleyes:
​
Click to expand...


Ya I wasn't completely sure if they would be good for lettering but they seemed like some good brushes. Thats why I asked first.

I wasnt sure about what was best for learning either upright or flat. I have a couple of table top easels that fold down from 15* to 80*. Thought this would be good for him to practice with. As for oil or tempra, I am still not sure. The tempra would probably be the easiest and cleanest way to go but since it is not going to be at my house most of the time, I am not apposed to having him use oils. His dad might get pissed but he is an a$$ anyway.

I think what I am going to do is get him some decent brushes and tempra paint to use at home to get started and I have some brushes here that he used this weekend. He can use those when he comes here if he would like. Once he gets more into it, then I think we will go from there.

Again thanks for all the info.
 
S

Salmoneye

New Member
Instead of the baby oil you can get a bottle of straight mineral oil from the drug store, they sell it as a laxative. It doesn't have all of the fragrances... and it is much more viscous and coats better.
 
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