The Best Brushes for Oil Painting

May 9, 2020

There are a number of factors you want to consider when choosing a good oil painting brush. From a materials perspective, good paint, combined with a quality brush will give you the best chance of making a great painting. A bad brush will only frustrate your best attempts with splayed bristles, loose ferrules, and more hairs in your painting than on your brush.

After 20 years of painting, I've settled on Silver Brush Grand Prix Super Brushes. They are superior-quality hog bristle brushes at a reasonable price. I'll also use Rosemary & Co. in Great Britain.

Silver Brush Grand Prix

For either oil or acrylic painting, these bristle brushes are made of 100% naturally curved Chungking White Bristle. They have corrosion-resistant copper ferrules that have never come loose on me. The bristles carry color very well and they hold up for a long time; I've never had them splay. They come in flats (my preferred type), brights, filberts, and rounds. These brushes are available at Utrecht Art Supplies.

Rosemary & Co.

Rosemary makes a wide variety of brushes for almost any medium. Their Master's Choice line is made from a badger hair blend. They are softer than hog bristles yet have more body than sable so they can carry oil well and are great for blending.

Heads up: my posts may contain affiliate links. If you buy something through one of those links, you won’t pay one penny more, but I receive a small commission, which helps keep this website going.


Jason Tako is a nationally known fine artist who specializes in western, wildlife, plein air, and Historical Native American subject matter. He spent his learning years sketching the wetlands and wooded areas of rural Minnesota. He has been featured in Plein Air Magazine and Western Art Collector Magazine and he was the Featured Artist for the 2020 Southeastern Wildlife Expo. See his work at www.JasonTako.com and his demonstrations on his YouTube Channel.


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jason@jasontako.com
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