Button Painting -Part 2 - Post # 695

I've done this tutorial twice before but now that we can add pages to our blog I'm updating it and when finished I will put it all on it's own page..

BRUSHES: You'll never have any great amount of success unless you have really tiny brushes... It is confusing to stand in front of the brush section of an art or hobby store because there are so many sizes and styles. I don't recommend buying a set like on the left because you just won't use all of them and you'd be better off buying extra of the brushes that you will use all the time.

Lots of sites and stores sell sets of mini-brushes with 6-15 types in a set but I only use three types.... All are 10/0 which means ten zeros.... brushes smaller than that are hard to find....

1. Liner...a long thin brush.... My favorite is American Painter 4350 10/0 but any 10/0 liner will do... A liner is indispensable for fine detail on stems, feathers, flowers, etc.

2. Spotter...a small round with a delicate point..... My favorite is American Painter 4650 10/0 Since you are working so small it is really cheating with dots for lots of the detail... And that is what a "Spotter" is made for.... making dots... If you make enough dots your work will be fantastic....

3. Angular Shader... A favorite with tole painters, this brush requires a little practice to use to your best advantage... You could get along just fine with just a liner and a spotter but I recommend at least trying an angular brush.... My favorite is Loew Cornell Angular 7400 10/0 as it's great for leaves and flower petals....

If you dip the angular brush in pink and then dip just the very tip in white and pull it sideways or in an arch, you get the same effect as you do an an ombre ribbon...a two-tone effect. If you make a C and then a backward C together you end up with something that looks like a little donut...great for rose centers and rose buds...

Thank heavens these brushes are not that expensive because being so small they do not last that long if you do much painting... I do not buy expensive brushes because they need to be replaced quite often.

Personally I just buy my brushes at Michaels (our local big chain craft store) when they have a sale... But sometimes the selection at a hobby store is limited or out of stock and if you don't have access to a hobby or art store here are some online options..

1. VERY inexpensive source for my favorite liner and spotter...... http://pearlpaint.com/shop-Brush-SH-4000series-American-Painter_7810_78115.html These are so cheap buy 2 or 3 of each..

2. For some reason tiny angular brushes are a little harder to find...but my favorite is available at

http://www.in2art.com/art-supplies/loewcornell-goldentaklon-artistbrushes They also carry perfectly fine 10/0 liners and spotters.

PAINTS: To start I'd recommend white, yellow, royal blue, dark and light green, dark pink or burgundy and a medium pink and a dark brown. With these few colors you can paint most anything... I just buy inexpensive acrylics at the craft store and often find bags of them at thrift stores.

Next actual painting plus painting a rose...it takes absolutely NO artistic talent to paint tiny roses...it's all cheating ..believe me.. I will show you..

P.S. Great tip: the next time you are at a $ store or a box store pick up a whisk broom... Those little straws are great for mixing small amounts of paint and getting tiny bits from the bottom of the bottle...