3 Essential Tips for Paintbrush Care in Icon Painting

Looking after your paintbrushes will help extend their life – some simple, regular paintbrush care steps will save you money as you’ll need to replace them less often, but another benefit of looking after your brushes is they will thank you for it by working well for you! Here are my essential tips for paintbrush care in your icon painting practice:

How often should I clean my paintbrushes?

To take the best care of your paintbrushes and ensure they last a long time, I recommend cleaning them at the end of every painting session, this will prevent stubborn, hard-to-remove build ups on the brush neck and base of the bristles. 

Why is it important to keep your paintbrushes clean?

Paintbrushes get used to your hands, the way you hold them and the pressure you use will shape the brush and bristles over time. A build up of dried paint on the base of your brush bristles will affect their movement and how the paint flows while you’re working, so it’s important to wash them regularly and prevent paint build up, so that they can keep working their best in the way you want them to.

How to clean your paintbrushes

You will need:

• Your paintbrushes
• Brush cleaner (I recommend a block of olive oil brush soap like this one from Jackson’s)
• Access to a sink and warm running water
• Rubber gloves (optional)

Step 1

Place your block of brush soap in the sink, start by rinsing your brushes under warm running water to remove any excess paint.

Step 2

Turn off the tap and work soap onto each brush, wiping the bristles across the soap block and making sure the brush head is covered in suds.

Step 3

Leave your brushes to soak for a couple of minutes on the edge of the sink or in a brush holder. If there’s a lot of built up dried paint on the base of the brushes or it’s been a while since they were last cleaned, you can leave them for 10-15 minutes for a deeper soak.

Step 4

Rinse the soap off the brushes under warm, running water, and set aside to air-dry, reshaping the bristles if needed.