Long flat brushes (also known as one stroke brushes) are a square ended, long bristle brush ideal for precise, geometric marks. The synthetic bristled Taklon varieties are reasonably priced, hold plenty of paint and last for many years.

1/8-, ¼- and ½-inch long flat brushes

Figure 1

For me, the contrast between the precision of these brushes and the loose, unpredictable marks made with a ½-inch bristle brush give a painting interest and excitement. Long flat brushes come in a range of sizes starting at ⅛-inch and extending up to around 2 inches. I find the ½- and ¼-inch long flats are my most used sizes then, for very fine detail, the ⅛-inch.

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

There are also shorter bristled square Taklon brushes the same width as these, which are ⅛-, ¼-, and ½-inch long flat brushes, but they don’t hold the same amount of paint and are not as good to work with. 

As you can see in figure 1, holding the long flat brush almost perpendicular to the paper produces a clean, square beginning and end to the stroke. Laying the brush too far over makes a rounded finish to the stroke. In figure 2, the first stroke was done with the brush perpendicular to the paper, and the second stroke shows the rounded mark made by the heel of the brush if it is used at too steep an angle.

Figure 5

Figure 6

Adjustments in scale can be made using different sized brushes and by changing the stroke direction. The bricks in figure 3 are being painted with a ½-inch one stroke applied in a horizontal direction. The same ½-inch one stroke brush is used in figure 4, but this time a much smaller brick results from a short vertical stroke. For really fine marks the ⅛-inch one stroke can produce almost microscopic textures, which is shown in figure 5 using a vertical stroke making ⅛-inch long bricks. In figure 6, the bricks are a slightly larger scale using the ⅛-inch brush horizontally.

Figure 7

Any of the one stroke brushes can be adjusted by slightly compressing the bristles to make a narrower stroke. This can be very handy when painting windows that vary slightly in size, as you can see in figure 7. 

If your style of painting incorporates a lot of cutting in or you are interested in subjects with geometric shapes, pick up a couple of Taklon fiber long flat brushes next time you are in your art supply store. You’ll wonder how you got along without them. —

Completed Artwork

Now let me show you a few completed works of art that were made using Taklon fiber long flat brushes.

This painting shows the contrast between the loose, casual marks made with a ½-inch bristle brush and the precise, geometric marks produced with various long flat brushes. The various geometric shapes were made by adjusting the width of a ½-inch and ¼-inch long flat brush.

The interest in this painting comes from the contrast between the soft organic shapes of the boat hulls, sky and water washes and the precise geometric marks in the cabins and jetty. A ¼-inch long flat brush was squeezed and adjusted to produce the various sized windows, port holes and cabin features.

A ½-inch bristle brush was used here to apply the larger washes. Once the washes had dried the same brush was used for the dark shapes inside and under the shed and the loose trunks and fronds of the banana palms. A ½-inch long flat brush was used to apply the shadow under the eve, the geometric wall patches, window and, with tinted gouache, highlight details in the banana fronds. The contrast between the loose bristle marks and the formal geometric shapes are what bring the painting to life.

All the larger shapes here (buildings, boat hulls, sky and water) were roughed in with a ½-inch bristle brush. The rough shapes were clarified and refined with rigger and ink lines then detail was built up with various long flat brushes. Doors and windows in the boats and buildings were carefully applied with a ½- and a ¼-inch long flat brush. Bricks, fishing paraphernalia and detail along the jetty were painted with a 1/8-inch long flat brush. It is the apparent square edged precision produced by the long flat brushes that create the impression of architectural accuracy in this painting.