Dear Friends, can you teach me how you convince yourself to throw away bad brushes? I feel so much guilt about getting them in trash bin and hold on them till the last moment.

    Sunnylady I follow the cleaning philosophy of Marie Kondo:

    Take a moment with the brushes, thank them for their service and for the things they did for you and send them on their journey to the trash bin 🙂

      I'm at this point I think. I've been using the same Ross brushes I got in the master paint kit 3 years ago. The fan brushes have long been destroyed. I'm hesitant to get others because these are 'functional' but it's really difficult to, say, use a two inch brush to create soft grassy areas as a lot of the hairs have split.

      The way I see it - I could purchase new ones, take care of them better now that my knowledge is enhanced, and definitely keep the older brushes rather than tossing them in the trash. I can see those brushes being helpful for applying liquid white and clear, scrubbing hard, and other activities that can wear a brush down. That way, you can keep the newer brushes more pristine for a longer period of time by using them for delicate details.

      6 days later

      I don't take very good care of my brushes. i clean them, but I don't often clean them thoroughly and I don't really condition them or anything. I also have a pretty heavy hand, so my brushes wear out kinda quickly. All that said, I rarely throw away brushes; I find that the worn, tattered brushes are still useful, not necessarily for the same things as when they were new, but for other types of unusual and organic markmaking.

      lightsnow - I am trying my best to take care of them. Small Fan brush is gone I used according to the technique, then I kept it for natural marks and still when time came to say it goodbye I felt guilty.
      I am on synthetic brushes now and 2 inch brushes are from construction stores. I use BR 1inch only for blending and they are my treasure. A lot of care and a lot of fight with laziness/tiredness after painting is done to clean brushes, may be I will improve with it. Maybe I will feel less guilty after squeezing all the potential from brushes when disposing them.

          dracula : I see what you saying, I tend to do the same. Worn out brushes still help to create character of some brush strokes and help with scrubbing in under painting. I guess I have a very heavy hand too recently.

              21 days later

              dracula I'm in this same boat. I clean them after each use but no conditioning of them. I still have my original Bob Ross brushes that I started painting with but I have add new ones once I feel they've worn out. The old ones are great for gesso use.

                a month later

                newb here... but I'm wondering how special it would be to have your first BR painting framed with the brushes included in the matting process. I've seen keepsakes done this way.
                thinking further, I think to do this you'd need to cut the canvas off the frame and be flat? Anyway, it sounds fun.

                  Welcome! I think this is a charming idea and you should do it! However, I would do it as soon as you can, after the painting dries. I say this because you may find yourself swimming in dozens or hundreds of Bob Ross paintings before you know it and then you'll have other things to consider 😉

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