A paintbrush is a tool. With use, it will wear down. The finest tip, with use, soon becomes dull. Alas . . .

four brushes, new and used

But there are positive sides to wear as well. We can think of the normal wear on the tips of the brushes as a shaping process, producing a new form of brush. As the photo above shows, four brushes of the same type will, with use, become distinct tools, each suited to a somewhat different job. All of these red sable brushes are fully functional, because I have kept them clean: the ferrules are not fused with dried paint, so hair still retains flexibility. More »