Paint Brushes are an Investment by Emma Snow

Brushes are the most important painter's tools. Buying brushes is not just a random decision, but one that should be made carefully. Selection of brushes is personal and is based upon needs and level of investment desired. Because a brush will only last as well as it is cared for, proper cleaning and storage of brushes is probably even more important than the decision of what brush to buy. Because no matter how wonderful a brush is, if it is abused it will quickly be discarded.

Types of Brushes

The hair of the brush is what primarily denotes what type of brush it is and it's purpose. Although natural hair brushes usually cost more, they do not all create the same results. Sable hair brushes are probably the most popular brushes. They are soft haired brushes that move the paint easily and keep their point. Sable brushes are great for watercolor. Hog hair is also used to make brushes, but has a very different effect with media. Hog hair brushes are stiff brushes for heavy paint and will leave brush strokes behind. They have spilt ends and hold more paint and are used in oil painting. Synthetic brushes are also common for artists to use. These are generally less expensive, but still produce quality work. Paint brushes are an artist tools and several different types are needed depending on the project and desired result sought. More expensive brushes keep their shape after a stroke and do not fishtail or bend when paint is applied to paper or canvas and therefore have a more professional result. Less expensive brushes may be suited for some jobs, especially when used in crafts and with products like glue. The other factor identifying a brush is the handle. Traditionally long handled brushes are used for oil painting because the artist is standing at an easel. Shorter handled brushes are for watercolor and acrylics because the artist is sitting and painting in greater detail.

Cleaning and Care for Brushes

Because how well a brush is cared for effects how long the brush will last, extra effort put in to properly care for these important tools will be well worth the time. All brushes will eventually wear out and will then need to be replaced, but lengthening the span of time before that is necessary will help the budget. Cleaning is crucial to extending the life of a brush. Each brush should be cleaned immediately after use. Use a mild soap and clean in the palm of the hand. Rinse thoroughly and when water runs clear, lay the brush flat to dry. It should not be left vertical to dry as this will cause water to be pulled into the handle and will ultimately cause the handle to loosen and the brush will no longer be usable. Paint brushes should never be left sitting in a glass of water. Other than the effect it will have on the handle, it will crush the bristles. If the brushes are soaked, use a brush container that will suspend them and only fill the water to soak the bristles and not the ferrule or handle. After the paint brush is cleaned and dried it may be stored upright, or in a flat brush holder. Cleaning brushes is not only done at the end of a painting session, but should be done as needed. As a person is painting, effort should be made to keep paint away from the ferrule of the brush, but inevitably will naturally be drawn up the brush. As the paint gets close to the ferrule, it should then be cleaned. This is to prevent the paint from getting under the ferrule and drying there. Natural hair brushes also need to be conditioned on a regular basis. There are paint brush soaps that come with conditioners in them, or conditioner can be bought separately.

Make the investment of brushes one that will be used wisely. The results that a good paint brush produces are worth the initial cost, but only if the effort is made to care for them and extend the value of the investment.

 

About The Author

Emma Snow is a creator at Craft Kits http://www.craft-kits.net leading portals for crafts and creative individuals.

Banksy Is The World's Most Wanted Graffiti Artist by James Smith

You can see graffiti in every country in the world. It often defaces walls, poles, trains and the fronts and sides of buildings. Graffiti is considered undesirable vandalism to its victims who spend time and money to paint over or wash it off their property. Indeed, graffiti painting is an ongoing problem in many subway stations and on public walkways, signs, cement walls, and other locations.

However, on the streets of the United Kingdom near London, an artist called Banksy continues to gain international recognition and fame for his graffiti. The fact is that Banksy's "street art" has become immensely popular with both pedestrians and private art collectors alike. In the last several years, there have been a number of exhibitions and auctions of Banksy's art work as his popularity has soared.

 

The growing popularity of his art is in evidence in the secondary market where a painting titled “Space Girl and Bird” sold for $575,000 in an auction event last year (2007). In fact, Banksy's art can now be found in many private art collections worldwide. Banksy has also produced leaflets and books on art and has his own website. He self-published his first three books, “Existencilism,” “Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall,” and “Cut It Out.”

 

His latest book called, “Wall and Piece,” was published by Random House and has already sold more than two hundred and fifty thousand copies. Nevertheless, Banksy continues to keep his real identity secret to avoid arrest and prosecution. His anonymity is said to be born of a desire to be a “quality vandal” and to elude the police. He once said, “Imagine a city where graffiti wasn’t illegal, a city where everybody could draw wherever they liked, where the street was awash with a million colors and little phrases. . . . A city that felt like a party where everyone was invited, not just the estate agents and barons of big business.” He has a unique view of the art world as well. He has said, “The art world is the biggest joke going. It’s a rest home for the over-privileged, the pretentious, and the weak.”

 

Banksy's graffiti began appearing on trains and walls around Bristol, England in 1993. By 2001, his street art could be seen all over the United Kingdom. His art has a distinctive style which makes it easy to recognize. It features attention to detail and uses layered stenciling and spray paint. Banksy uses familiar images and his pictures contain dark humor and are often controversial. His art is often focused around anti-war, anti-establishment, and anti-capitalism themes. Sometimes Banksy's works have a pro-freedom message.

 

Banksy uses rats as images in many of his pictures. His most famous street paintings are a series of black-and-white stenciled rats. Many of these rats are created to be larger than life. The rats have become immensely popular with London pedestrians. A “gangster rat,” painted on a wall near the Smithfield market, wears a peace-sign medallion and carries a sign that says “Welcome to Hell.” Another rat holds a sign that reads, “Please love me.”

 

Other Banksy art features the image of two policemen kissing painted on a public wall. In another picture a military helicopter is adorned with a pink bow. Winston Churchill has a Mohawk haircut in another. He has even produced revisionist oil paintings such as Mona Lisa with a yellow smiley face, and a pastoral landscape surrounded by crime-scene tape. Banksy, dressed in a disguise, installed them in the Louvre and the Tate.

 

Banksy often uses public walls as a background to display his art. Although recently he has been creating art on canvas as well. In addition, Banksy sometimes enters museums and galleries to add his own art to the museum collections. In the last several years, Banksy's street art has been seen internationally. It has been found in the Middle East on Israel's West Bank barrier, and in various countries worldwide including Spain, Palestine, Germany, and the United States. He painted the security fence at Bethlehem with a scene of a hole in the concrete barrier. The hole revealed a glittering beach on the other side.

 

Banksy is viewed by people in many different ways. To some he is an anti-hero who touches the public conscience. Others think of him as an anti-social rogue who vandalizes public property. Some people who have done business with him consider him to be both a genius and a madman. Many view him as unique and irreverent.

 

On his website Banksy states that he has bought a taller ladder to use in his work. So there can be no doubt that his graffiti (“street art”) will continue. For their part, the authorities in the United Kingdom will continue to try to identify and subsequently arrest Banksy, the world's most wanted graffiti artist.

 

 

About the Author:

James William Smith has worked in senior management positions for some of the largest financial services firms in the United States for the last twenty five years. He has also provided business consulting support for insurance organizations and start up businesses. Mr. Smith has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Boston College. He enjoys writing articles on political, national, and world events.Visit his website at http://www.eworldvu.com

Throwing Pottery is Great Fun By Andrew Be Edwards

The act of throwing pottery, which is essentially to create pottery through the use of a device known as a potter's wheel is one that many people go into their first pottery class expecting to enjoy immediately. While it is an essential pottery skill for some of the many pottery techniques, it is not something that is generally taught in the first class of an introduction to pottery sort of environment. Unless you are taking a class that is particular focused on learning to throw pottery it is typically a skill that you will get around to eventually rather than jumping into feet first.

If you are not a dip your toe in the water sort of person you can always find classes and courses (many of these are taught by art shops and museums in your local area or the nearest metro area). If you cannot find an acceptable course in your area you can always search your local library for information as well as purchase various videos and books that will teach you the essentials from book stores or online. The one thing to keep in mind when it comes to throwing ceramics or pottery is that it is often best to have some sort of fundamental understanding of working with clay before you begin. It just makes the process go a little more smoothly.

If you are going to be throwing pottery or dealing with any sort of pottery on a regular basis you should familiarize yourself with the proper safety procedures for doing so. This is information that most people will receive when taking classes offered by qualified instructors and is vitally important as there are some dangerous materials that are often handled when working with ceramics. If not you can find a great list of safety measures for working with pottery by doing a simple search online. I do recommend you study them well as I am sure you do not wish to risk your health for the sake of a hobby, even one as enjoyable as making pottery.

Even after you've managed to take a course or two on throwing pottery you may be interested in taking a course that deals with a specific design style of throwing pottery. One popular style is Raku pottery. You can often purchase videos for various styles that will be rather simple to follow once you have general throwing basics down and you can move on to more stylized methods of throwing pottery that are a bit more challenging and more fun in the long run. Increasing skills and expanding them is always a great pursuit and there are simply so many things that can be accomplished with pottery.

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