🖌️ Brush Explorations: Finding My Tools for Oil Painting

Today was a full, rich day of brush testing — and honestly, it felt like a huge step toward building the oil painting practice I really want.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been gathering a small collection of brushes, but I hadn’t really sat down to understand them until now. I wanted to see how they actually feel in action — which brushes make oil painting easier, more natural, and more joyful for me, and which ones just don’t fit how I want to paint.

I’m not just testing brushes randomly:
My goal is to find tools that make oil painting feel approachable, intuitive, and playful — like acrylics or watercolors do for me — while still taking advantage of the gorgeous texture and depth that oils can offer.

🎨 My Materials and Mediums Today

I worked on canvas paper using oil paints and Schmincke Medium W, a water-mixable oil painting medium.
Using Medium W is a game-changer for me because:

• It lets me clean brushes with just water and soap — no turpentine, no harsh solvents.

• It slightly improves paint flow and blending.

• It helps take away a lot of the "heaviness" and "intimidation" of oil paint.

• It makes switching colors fast and painless — dip, swirl in water, dry off, and go.

Color Palette:
Since I'm a little color obsessed, I made myself stick to a limited palette today (and I'm glad I did!).
I used:

• Titanium White

• Permanent Rose

• Deep Turquoise

• Cadmium Orange Hue

• Cadmium Yellow Hue

It gave me a vibrant, but still manageable, range of mixes without overwhelming me during the brush tests.

🖌️ Brushes I Tested Today: My Notes

Here’s what I explored, and how I felt about each brush:

✅ Da Vinci Maestro2 7023 Flat #8

• Energetic, expressive, painterly.

• Beautiful for blocking in and first layers.

• Works better with some Medium W mixed in.

• I loved it for loose starts but wouldn’t use it for heavy thick applications without a bit of medium.

  

✅ Da Vinci Nova Filbert #6 and Flat #8

• Loved them, especially the Filbert!

• Felt easy, natural, and smooth.

• Great for blending, layering, and just “flowing” with paint.

• Cleanup was easy with Medium W.

• Nova Filbert feels like it could become one of my workhorses.

✅ Raphaël Textura Filbert 8702 #6

• Another winner!

• A bit firmer than Nova, perfect for thicker applications and bold layering.

• Great energy and control for more physical paint application.

• Feels like another future workhorse.

✅ Da Vinci Impasto 7105 #4 Long Flat

• Solid brush — did its job well.

• Somewhere between the Nova and the Textura in firmness.

• Layered thick paint nicely.

• Would definitely keep it as a versatile mid-firmness option.

✅ Escoda Modernista Tadami Round #6

• Felt very natural — I’m used to round brushes from other media.

• A bit big for fine details, but felt very comfortable for sketching and mid-size work.

• A smaller size would be perfect for tighter, sharper details.

  

✅ Da Vinci Oval Blender 135 #6

• Does exactly what it should: create buttery smooth blends.

• I don’t need it all the time, but it’s great to have in case I want super-smooth transitions in the future.

⚪ Neutral / Less Exciting Brushes

⚪ Da Vinci College 8740 Flat #8

• Just okay.

• Felt like working against the brush sometimes.

• Probably better kept for acrylics or gesso, not for oils.

⚪ Da Vinci Grigio 7195 Long Flat #12

• Didn’t connect with this brush much.

• Possibly too big for my surface size or style.

• I’ll grab it if I need a bigger tool, but I’m not excited to use it.

  

🖌️ Other Observations

I also tested some Old Holland Evolve-E Synthetic Filberts (#2 and #6):

• I enjoyed them — they felt easy to use.

• I’m realizing filberts are probably my natural go-to shape.

• The only downside is the short handle; I prefer long handles for more freedom and movement.

I also revisited my Winsor & Newton Monarch Flat #10:

• It's fine, but harder to clean and not as satisfying as my other finds today.

• Maybe good for larger coverage when needed, especially with Medium W making cleanup easier.

🧠 Reflections

Overall, today made me realize:

• Medium W is 100% staying as part of my oil workflow.

• Filberts feel like home — versatile, expressive, great for my current surface sizes.

• I need to add a smaller round for detail work.

• Some brushes are going into the “special occasions” bin, while others are clear daily workhorses.

This way of methodically testing brushes made everything so much clearer and less overwhelming. Instead of buying random supplies hoping they’ll work, I’m really feeling my way into a kit that matches me.

✨ Final Thought

Listening to Steal Like an Artist today gave me another idea:
I’m thinking about turning this brush journey into a series of daily blog posts — short reflections on what I’m learning, feeling, and discovering about my materials, my techniques, and my artistic voice.
Thanks to a lot of help and guidance, this process already feels lighter, easier, and more fun — and I want to keep that momentum going.

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