Your Secret Tool to Keep Work Loose

When you’re trying to paint loosely, there’s one place Amy Brnger (Ep.73) says you need to check first.

Your brush.

Because if you’re working with a brush that is too small, you may be making loose painting that much harder.

The secret is to choose a brush that makes you just slightly uncomfortable size-wise.

Amy Brnger works with primarily one brush, her Opal 4000. It's a bright brush, and she follows her own advice, making sure to use a brush size that’s just slightly larger than where she's comfortable.

Put it to Practice:

A larger brush helps you stay loose for two reasons.

First, small brushes give you too much control. If you have the ability to get nit picky, it’s hard NOT to. A larger brush makes those small details impossible to paint. So you don’t paint them.

It also means you’re more incentivized to paint your bigger shapes, which will help create a visual sense of looseness.

Second, a bigger brush just makes things messier. This isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it’s something Brnger really likes because it helps her keep present, and loose, in the painting. It also creates new problems, which you can then get creative around solving.

So if your goal is to paint looser, give a larger brush a try. You might find you really like it and your new ability to loosen up.

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