One might think that there is no science to cleaning brushes, but If you want long lasting painting brushes, here are a few tips. After finishing your painting, or taking long brakes (many hours or days), clean the brush throughly with turpentine (oils) or water (acrylic). When removing the paint, don’t rub the brush hard on the bottom, this will brake the bristles and damage your brush quicker. Just soak it in the solution and pad it on the insides of the container to remove excess. then use a brush cleaner (Lava soap or special brush soap) using the same technique from before to remove paint. Once the brush is clean, dry it with a cloth or paper and straighten/flatten the bristles with your fingers. No need for it to be 100% dry, it can finish drying once put away.
sidenote: With oil painting: the main issue I remember when learning how to paint with oils is that you need to keep your brushes clean in-between color, or keep (different) colors separated by brush… if not, you will get mud very quickly…and frustrated even quicker.
My watercolor sable brushes always got a simple rinse in water, but what gave them long-life was the shaping of the brush to a fine point after cleaning before drying. I’d simply give the brush a quick trip between my lips (like how you shape the top of an ice cream cone).
Thanks Jason! I would do this as well, but not with your oil brushes! Turpentine/oils can cause cancer. Keep you room ventilated when working with oils.