Brushstroke

“ Sometimes one of the grave looking gentlemen in the bank, either for amusement, or in search of food, would leap, or rather tumble, from the mouth of his hole, into the water, and dive at once to the bottom, with the greatest ease imaginable; but he could not remain under much more than a minute at a time, for want of breath. When he came up again to the surface, Brush was exceedingly surprised to see that, instead of appearing wet and miserable, like poor little Gotobed after his ducking, his hair was as dry as if he had never been into the water at all. ”

“ Small brushes called tools are numbered from 1 up to 10, the latter being the largest. Brushes are generally used in sets, as, for example, in painting a body or gear, a large brush for laying the paint would be used, and a small tool for cleaning up around the moldings, nuts and bolt-heads. It would be an almost endless task to illustrate and describe all of the many varieties of paint and varnish brushes, and a few of the principal ones only will receive attention here. Russia is the great bristle growing country, and her exports reach as high as 5,000 tons of this commodity every year. ”

“ Black bristle is often made into pipe, window, stove, wall, radiator, milk bottle and percolator brushes.
The color, black or white, of bristles doesn’t stamp quality. In some cases black bristles are bleached for esthetic reasons. For example, a white tooth brush is more attractive. The natural white bristle usually comes from China and the natural black from Siberia.
Fibers in browns and whites, blacks and whites are mixed in brushes for appearances. Color in brushes is a matter of attractiveness and does not alter the usefulness or the wear of them. ”

“ Brushes soon spoil if they are put away dirty. The colour gets between the hairs and prevents the brush from coming to a point. If the colour dries in the brush it is very difficult to get it quite clean afterwards. One would think it was hardly necessary to state that brushes should not be placed so that they are resting on their points, but they are often left in this way by careless people. When a brush has been used for Indian ink it will be found that washing in ordinary water will be insufficient to clean it. ”

“ Then use the brush for a time in oil paint, suspending the brush when not in use in raw linseed oil. In the course of two or three days the brush may be put into other paint if desired and suspended in water. Suspend the brush just up to the butts of the bristles, or so they are just covered, and invariably keep the water up to that point. Under no circumstances permit a brush to rest upon its point when not in use. It destroys the form of the tool and lessens its spring and elasticity. The bristle paint brushes require a clean storage quite to the extent that the color or varnish brushes do. ”

“ If it is of fiber, this brush will mat and become of no avail in short order. Such a brush can be used as a [260] bath-tub cleaning brush and will not break the back when functioning.
Baldness is the worst disease of bad brushes. Bristles and fiber must be stitched and anchored so as not to shed. The frosting brush would be a danger if a bristle were swallowed with a bite of cake. You probably know the agony of a clothes brush that sheds bristles. The backless twisted-in-wire brushes give brush area on all sides, and are so secured that the bristle is fixed indefinitely. ”

“ A brush that gouges and does a chisel’s work is a poor brush, no matter what quality the fiber or brush mark. The brush you buy for your wall or your hardwood floor must not scratch, and must have nothing in its construction that can scratch. Likewise, the brush you buy for your toilet bowl must not scratch or wear the enamel and the bristles must be bristles, for if of fiber you will have your brush acting like a blotter. Your brush must clean and brush, it must not become a bacteria nestling haven. ”

“ They must all point one way, and naturally they have a certain bend. The outside of the brush is usually made of white bristles, while the inside is grey and yellow. This is almost a universal rule, for although the inside bristles are of equal spring to those outside, still trade demands white bristles outside and has them. The reader will understand that the bristles that are to form the ground brush about to be made are lying on the scale, these having been weighed they are taken off, the white bristles being underneath, so as to form the outside of the brush. ”

“ So saying, the active little fellow sprang from his hole, and if you had seen him, you would have thought that no animal without wings could have ventured upon such a leap without being dashed to pieces upon the ground. But Brush had nothing to fear; for though he had no wings, he knew that his beautiful bushy tail, and his legs, stretched out straight from his body, would bear him up in the air, and prevent his falling too heavily. ”

“ Some artists prefer to use a fine brush instead of a pen. A small sable brush, having the outside hairs cut away, or a long hair brush known as "tracer" or "rigger," is capable of making fine lines hardly to be distinguished from pen strokes. At first they are slow to work with, but considerable rapidity may be acquired with practice. The lines [82] are rounder and not so harsh as those made with the pen, and it is said that an artist who has once accustomed himself to use a brush never goes back to pens.
A FIELD PATH.
Bitumen process. (Original 71⁄2 x 61⁄2) . ”

“ Then get a large sable brush, dip it in the preparation and commence at the point of the cheek, using a circular motion of the brush, and so continue until the face has been covered. Give the cheeks more time than the rest of the face. It will give them more color. For the lips, corners of the eyes and nostrils, mix the carmine and pumice half and half, and use a very small sable brush. With a little care and practice any trimmer can recolor his figures with slight trouble. ”

“ Brushes.—Red Sable Brushes are preferable to all others for illuminating purposes, and are to be had in goose, duck, and crow quills,—the larger for laying on washes of color, or large grounds in body color,—the duck and crow for filling in the smaller portions of color, for shading and general work. One of the smallest size should be kept specially for outlining and fine hair-line finishings. ”

“ The brush with moderately stiff whalebone bristles may be passed gently over the hair several times during the day, to brush out the dust and the dandruff, and to keep the hair smooth, soft, and clean; rough and hard brushing the hair with brushes having very stiff bristles in them, especially the metal or wire bristles, is of no service, but often irritates the parts and causes the hair to fall out. ”

“ BRUSH, a domestic implement, consisting generally of a collection of hairs or bristles, fastened in a frame of wood, bone, or ivory; with, or without a handle; and used for various purposes. This simple manufacture is capable of great improvement; as we seldom meet with brushes, the hair of which is so firmly cemented, or otherwise secured in the frame, as to ensure their constant use, until the hair itself is worn out by mechanical friction. ”

“ Pick out a brush that has a good even edge. A “ragged” brush is useless for heavy strokes. And when you find a brush that will work well, leaving the perpendicular and ends of the vertical lines even and neat, KEEP SUCH A BRUSH FOR THIS STYLE LETTERING, and use it for nothing else. In contrast to the “Egyptian”—a brush for the Roman alphabets must be pliable and of a “texture” to permit of light and heavy lines being made alternately.
In forming the “Egyptian” the brush must hold its “chisel” edge, and keep an even stroke; therefore the necessity of using the right brush. ”

“ Bristles and fibers and hair are the brush of the brush. The finest brushes are of bristle and hair and the less fine are of fiber save where bristle would not function any better for the job than fiber. Hair is used in some brushes where fine work and delicate surfaces are involved. For example, the shaving brush is of hair, the silver brush of bristle, the whisk of fiber. A room wall brush, too, is often of hair to save the paper or wall finish. ”

“ Useful and extensive as is its use, the broom does not compare in variety and wide application to the brush. The human body, cloth, leather, metals, wood and grains, everything that needs rubbing, cleaning, painting and polishing, meets the acquaintance of the brush. Nearly a hundred species of brushes might be enumerated, each having an especial construction for a particular use. ”

“ It shold be remembered that the vital part of a brush is in the setting, and particular attention should therefore be paid to that part of it. Cheap brushes are commonly set with glue, rosin or cement, which soon cracks and becomes unadhesive; whereupon the bristles fall out. We recommend a brush made of bristles or badger hair and set in hard vulcanized rubber. A brush so con-
THE BRUSH.
structed, with wood, bone or ivory handle, and hard rubber ferule, will not shed the bristles or crack open, and with proper care will last for years. ”

“ The hairs of this brush were so much longer than those in my old brush, that I had not proceeded far before I happened accidentally to pass the wet brush across the spine. Immediately the man became fixed in the attitude in which he happened to be as I was operating upon him. His features retained the expression precisely which they wore at the moment the wet brush had touched the spine, and, in short, the man was in a trance exactly similar to that in which I had found the old miser three months before. ”

“ Take a common ground brush as an example. The actual brush part should consist wholly of hog’s bristles, for there is nothing yet discovered that gives better results. Yet there are on the market many brushes marked “pure bristle” which really contain more or less a large proportion of horsehair or other material which makes a poor substitute, but which cannot be easily detected, in fact, it is the difficulty of detection which has probably given rise to the objectionable adulteration referred to. ”

“ A is a regular wire-bound bristle brush which can be had at a paint or hardware store in several sizes; B is known as a “sash tool”; C is a flat floor or varnish brush; D is a sizing, kalsomine, or whitewash brush; and at E a round-liner or stipple brush and a flat tool are shown. For light work the tin-ferruled, cedar-handle flat bristle brush can be had in sizes ranging from one to six inches in width.
Fig. 1. Fig. 2.
There is nothing that freshens up a room so much as repainted wood-work, newly papered or tinted walls, and kalsomined ceilings ”

“ It's like the chimbleys that get stuffed up with soot, but they can set a sweep with a brush to clear them out. No doctor can get with a chisel and hammer into my lungs and chip out the clay as is formed there, and no brush will sweep out the dust as is lodged there. ”

“ Many attacks of neuralgia, especially in the fair sex, are due to the effect of getting into a draught while the hair is still wet.
There are several points to be borne in mind in connection with the growth and preservation of the hair. With many persons the scalp is very tender and will not tolerate vigorous brushing. In such instances the brush should always be a soft one; indeed, a hard brush cannot be recommended under any circumstances. ”

“ The larger, straighter brush should be laid on the outside, butts alternating in direction, and smaller stuff in the center. The general object is to so dispose the brush as to make the fascine of uniform size, strength and stiffness from end to end. ”

“ Unfortunately, however, we cannot but observe that penetrating brushes are often selected, so harsh and strong, that they fret the skin of the head, and injure the roots, instead of gently and gradually effecting the object for which they were intended. ”

“ BRUSHING AND IRONING It is impossible to overestimate the value of continual and regular brushing. With one of the finest quality cloths, unless the climate be damp, once or twice a week at the outside will be enough for the iron, if the brush is used as it should be. At the conclusion of play the brush should always be used freely and at once, so that all the chalk marks may be removed before they are rubbed through the cloth. Remember always to use the brush with the nap—that is, from the bottom towards the top of the table. ”

“ Sometimes a great growth of underbrush would impede their progress, and that underbrush would vary from the tall, slender stems of the young maples to the dense and prickly spines of the young spruces. At other times the trees would stand apart, the scene would expand, and they would be encircled by a dense array of forest columns, between which the view was lost in shadow and gloom. Sometimes they plunged into swamps, unawares; at other times they tore their way through ferns and trailing plants ”

“ There is no economy in using a half worn out body brush for trimming colors. A good trimming brush is just as essential as a good body brush, as it is impossible to cut in on cornices, corner boards and window and sash frames with a ragged edged brush, a good chiseled sash tool or a 1 inch or 1+1⁄2 inch chiseled varnish brush for brackets or mouldings, also a 1⁄2 inch flat chiseled varnish brush for sash colors, a good duster and putty and scraping knife. This completes an ordinary kit of tools and is sufficient to do good work. It is not economy to attempt to work with less. ”