Many of us have experienced the overwhelm of choosing paint brushes for our kids or even ourselves for our home art time. From size and shape to bristle material and cost, the options are endless. Today, I want to offer a few tips and some resources for you to, hopefully, streamline your search and get your kids painting.
Your young artist needs 2, maybe 3, brushes to be successful in their art. They need one large brush with round bristles. Round brushes are sized with a number like 10, 12 or 16. These sizes are inconsistent among manufacturers, so just get one that’s between 3/8” and 1/2″. They need one small round brush size 2 or 4, one that’s between an1/4” and 3/8”. And, you can add a large brush with flat bristles –1/2” to 3/4” for painting areas like backgrounds. Paint brushes for kids are best with short handles. Fine art brushes, sold individually, are not what you want for your little painters. There are lots of brush sets, but some have way too many brushes, including some you’d never use. And some don’t have the combination of flat and round brushes. So, here are some links to what I think are good brushes, in a set, at a good price.
Generally, plastic handles are the way to go – brushes with wooden handles left sitting in water never do well. Having said that, these brushes from IKEA are awesome.
This set by Crayola has good sizes of both round and flat brushes and can be found in several stores as well as online. Here is one link.
Here is a set by Mondo Llama with the same good points as the Crayola one. Visit this link.
If you have more than one painter, or just want more brushes to choose from, this set from Artist’s Loft has 25 brushes for $5.99. Check it out here.
I have used all these brushes with good results. There are, of course, lots of others that will work well. I want to mention the brushes that come in some craft kits and watercolor sets. These usually aren’t awesome for painting. The bristles are either plastic or too soft or too coarse to hold paint well. I keep them, though, and use them to spread glue.
I hope these tips help you with your art at home supplies. If you have any other ideas about brushes that have worked for you, please share them here in the comments!
Best,
Beth