There is a lot of debate in the watercolour world over the controversial Hake brush some people loathe them and would quite happily use them to clean their toilet however I personally think that the Hake is a fantastic tool and I have never been without one.
Why? Well it's really rather simple, a hake brush can be used for virtually any brush stroke if you know how to utilise it properly. I sometimes find that I can almost finish a painting without using another brush. This leads to paintings being fresh because you are not messing around with a little tiny brush adding detail that doesn't need to be their.
One lesson every artist has to learn at some point is...DON'T INSULT YOUR VIEWER!! Yes I know its bad etiquette to shout at your readers but what artists have to realise is that when someone looks at your painting they know that the people in the distance have eyes, they also know that trees you have painted have lots of leaves and they also know that if a field is green the chances are that its grass. What's my point! Very simple, if you are using a small brush you will be tempted to paint too much detail you will paint the eyes on that person whether they are supposed to be half-a-mile away or not, you will paint every leaf on the trees and yes, you will faithfully paint every blade of grass in that field etc, etc. With a large versatile brush- like a hake you will treat the subject you are painting in a broader sense and will suggest different elements of the painting thus allowing your viewer the chance to use their imagination a little more which is (I think) the whole point of a painting. With a small brush you are just taking all the fun out of it for the viewer because you will put too much detail in. Acclaimed professional artist Ron Ranson is a particular advocate of this fast and loose approach to painting and has written several watercolour books on the subject.
My suggestion to every Watercolour Artist out there is go out buy a Hake brush (You can purchase discounted Watercolour Hake Brushes at The Watercolour Artist.com) and practice, practice and practice some more. You will find that your paintings become fresher, yours colours will be cleaner because you are not going back into them as much to add superfluous detail, you will also be able to produce more paintings more quickly. On that last point I hasten to add I am not suggesting that we as artists turn into painting production lines but at the end of the day if you are a professional the more productive your painting time is the better.
Anyway time for me to go and do some work, till next time - happy painting!!
Source : ezinearticles
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