How to get dried paint out of your paintbrushes tutorial

Today I would like to share how I clean and how I have saved some of my brushes. I have seen artists destroy paint bushes just by letting paint dry in the bristles. Some brushes are very inexpensive, but the cost can add up after a while. Some brushes are very expensive and it can be a tragedy when they get ruined by dry paint. What I usually do is clean them right after I use them, but on occasion they need to be deep cleaned or I have let the paint dry on them (shame on me!).

This is what you will need to start- murphy oil soap(available at most dollar, grocery, and big box stores), a clean jar, some cling wrap, and dirty paint brush

1. pour a small amount of the murphy oil soap into the jar.

2. Work the soap into the bristles gently against the bottom of the jar.

Optional: sometimes if there is a lot of dried paint, the brush will need to be wrapped in cling wrap so it can soak and the soap won’t dry. It can be left to soak for 30 minutes up to overnight. a ziplock back can be used if wrap isn’t available

3. Work the brush gently in the palm of your hand. You can use your fingers and nails to loosen stubborn paint.

4. Rinse the brush really well with cool water. If the brush still has dried paint in it. repeat process.

After I get the paint out. I like to follow up with a little ivory bar soap. It is so cheap and does a great job cleaning, conditioning, and shaping brushes.

This method can be used with oil paint and acrylic paint. I have even gotten dried paint out of my clothes with the murphy oil soap. I hope this helps!

Hares are finished!

It was cold and snowing this morning and I had to run errands. I did finish the hares, though. It is still untitled, but I wanna show it anyway. This painting is for sale and I will have prints up on etsy just as soon as I get this baby scanned. 

This photo is a bit truer to the original than the pics in my previous posts. I just found my camera from the move. 

In the new place

I am currently trying out new subject matter in my paintings. I am trying some new work with hamsas, lotus's and trees. Right now, I am working on this:

It is very different for me to paint animals. I really enjoy it and I am not sure why I didn't do it sooner. I have a lot of ideas for near future paintings and I plan on posting them all-well only if they turn out nice. ;)

Here is a peek at my 'studio' which is really just a portable, fold out table. 

For other info and updates about my work: 

https://www.facebook.com/HollyBroxson.Art

to shop(it is new and still be added to):

https://www.etsy.com/shop/FlutterblissArt

the inconsistent artist

I have, for the most part, been an inconsistent blogger. I will try harder.
    I have some new projects going on, right now. First of all I have moved to Colorado. That is a huge move considering I have lived in Florida most of my life. I love it. It is cool(literally) and the culture is different.
    I am also working on a website where I can display my art. There will be links to my etsy store and zazzle store. It has been a slow process, as there has been a bit of a learning curve as I work on everything. I am realizing that I cannot do it all at once. I work on a little and then move on to something else and then go back to the first thing I was working on. I am an artist. All the business/networking bits are new and I think that I should build momentum as I learn all the little things. I guess a regular day job is like that, too. The difference is I have no clock to be on and no one to really train me.  Anyway, I have some fun stuff that I have been working on. I have taken a little break from the watercolor work and have been doing acrylic paintings on canvas.  I find that the planning process is different. If you make a mistake with acrylic, you just paint over it. Brilliant! I will be doing some tutorials in the future along with some time lapse footage of my process.