A mural can be any piece of art painted directly onto a wall, ceiling, or other permanent substrates. Humans have painted murals since around 30,000 BC as evidenced by cave paintings in France.
Today, murals help beautify neighborhoods, attract tourists, and liven up local businesses.
Find the Best Mural Brushes
You can't paint your mural masterpiece without a good paintbrush (or brushes). This article will help you find just that. Read on to find out what bristle material, shape, and size you're going to need plus a few bonus pro tips at the end.
1. Material
The material your brushes are made of can affect your mural's final results, not to mention how much money you spend on brushes in the long run.
Paintbrush bristles can either be natural or synthetic. Both types come with unique advantages and disadvantages.
Natural brushes are usually made of natural animal hair from boar, squirrel, badger, or sable. These brushes absorb and release oil and alkyd paints very well – but not acrylic. The downside is that they're more expensive because of how they're manufactured.
On the other hand:
Synthetic brushes usually consist of man-made fibers like polyester, nylon, or a combination of both. These brushes can be used with oil and alkyd paints but they're most commonly used for water-based latex and acrylic paints. Since synthetic materials can be produced less expensively, synthetic brushes are, therefore, more affordable.
So:
What material should you choose for mural painting?
We suggest going with synthetic for the following reasons:
- Since you'll be mostly painting with acrylic paints, using synthetic brushes is a no-brainer.
- If you're going to mostly paint outdoors, your paint is going to dry quicker on your brush. You'll want a brush that can withstand constant washing so you can use it on more projects.
2. Shape
Paintbrushes come in different shapes for different purposes. While it can be argued that having a complete set can provide for all your painting needs, you can get away with using just the following:
3. Size
Paintbrushes also come in a variety of sizes. From the tiny 000 brushes to massive 8-inch brushes, the brush size you choose will depend on the size of the area you're painting on.
One thing to note when it comes to sizes, though. Different brands tend to have different sizing numbers. One company's no.7 brush may not be the same size as another's, so it's best to do a bit of research before buying from different brands.
4. Quality
Any professional painter, whether they paint houses or fine art, will tell you that you should get the best brushes you can afford. Yes, cheaper brushes may still get the job done, but investing in higher-quality brushes simply comes with more advantages down the line.
Here are our reasons for choosing higher-quality brushes:
- High-quality paint brushes absorb, keep, and release paint better which makes for better coverage, cleaner lines, and a smoother finish.
- Cheaper brushes aren't as durable and tend to shed bristles that mar your otherwise flawless masterpiece.
- While they may cost more initially, you're saving a lot of time, hassle, money, and even embarrassment down the line since you can keep cleaning and reusing high-quality brushes without fear of them self-destructing when you need them the most.
Don't know where to start looking? Nova Color offers a wide variety of Jack Richeson high-quality synthetic artist's brushes in our store. Feel free to check them out.
Check out what our customers are buying right now!
Mural Painting Pro Tips
If you're new to mural painting, here are a few tips to help you produce better results faster.
- While you can get away with just the three brush shapes we suggested above, having many copies of the same brush can save you a lot of time. Since you won't have to clean your brush every time you switch to a different color, you'll be finishing your work in less time.
- If you have to paint in your background color first, it's best to use a paint roller. It simply lets you cover more area in less time than having to brush your paint on.
- Water down your paint. Don't just slather it on. Wet paint is easier to control and won't leave behind unsightly blobs of uncured paint.