brushes 101

I do not have an degree in fine arts. I was not known to have an artistic ability in school. As a matter of fact, most of my high school friends were surprised i actually knew how to paint, much less face paint.

I have to say however, that I could be your artsy, crafty person when the light bulb in my head goes off. I've dabbled in making polymer clay charms, and favors, I've put together a scrapbook for my daughter's first year, I knit, I've made my own jewelry, and I've even tried making personalized shirts with beading (yes, beading...).

I was also a quick study. I can watch something being made and recreate the process, with a few changes here and there (depending on my taste).

I came across two very educational sites sharing simple tutorial videos on youtube. The first site was by Anna a.k.a. Clash the Clown, and the second one was by Heather from Sillyfarm. The tutorials were easy to follow, the manner by which they were presented was not overwhelming. After several videos, I finally attempted by first face. It sucked.

I couldn't figure out what went wrong until I came across Shannon Fennell's blog. I read, and re-read her entries. I also read and re-read entries from established face painters I met at facepaintchat.com. I watched and re-watched the tutorial videos.

Sure I had the face paints, but I settled for the wrong kinds of brushes, they were mostly brushes I got from those generic school watercolor sets...it was my "duh?!" moment.

Off to Michael's I went, and surprise, surprise...SALE!

I was standing beside an older gentleman who was also looking at brushes, and well, I just had to ask..."ARE YOU AN ARTIST?" When he answered in the affirmative, I asked him again "CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN BUYING PAINT BRUSHES FOR WATER-BASED PAINT?" I half expected him to tell me to come to his studio, give me a quote and tell me he'll give me lessons, but to my surprise he said, "WELL, FIRST YOU HAVE TO SEE IF THE BRUSHES SPRINGS EASILY AND IF THEY KEEP THEIR SHAPE WHEN YOU SWIRL IT AROUND YOUR PALM....AND THEN..." He was such a nice man, and a stranger at that. By the end of my trip to Michael's I had in my bag 3 brushes, a number 4 round, a 1/2 flat brush, and a fan brush. I also picked up a pack of sponges from the same aisle. And then of course I realized that in between "THANK YOU!" and "HAVE A NICE DAY!" I forgot to ask for his name...I wanted to kick myself...

What a difference a nice brush makes...

I've been able to invest in some other ones, 3/4 flat, a 1 inch flat, two sizes of filberts, another fan brush that I've chopped up myself to make my own butterfly brush (I refuse to buy a butterfly brush for $8)and an angle brush. My sponges have multiplied too. Anna a.k.a. Clash sent me wedge sponges with my order of diamond fx paints, along with a dotter sponge!

I don't get mad at stray lines on my outline work anymore, there are no more canals on my rainbow cake strokes(the older brushes kind of divided itself when I did strokes on the skin)and my dots look like dots...not like exploding comets.

It pays to get the right tools for the trade I guess....

But I still don't buy things unless they are really on sale.

Shannon Fennell...at the very slim chance of you reading this post, I would like to say thanks for saying your thoughts about the dotter wand...after reading your post about it I decided not to order one for myself. Instead, I just practiced 100 perfect dots along with my 100 perfect teardrops. My husband was shocked at the sight of my legs when he came home that day but your post actually saved me $7...I admire your work...