Question: Do Brushes WEAR OUT?

YES! A trick is to lightly sand your canvas before painting and your brushes will last much longer. Also, look for portrait canvas as it is smoother, though a bit more expensive.

Question: What is your FAVORITE BRUSH?

Ruby Satin Silvers Brights. These are the magic brushes for acrylic paint. They last a long time and hold their edge.

Question: ROUND BRUSHES? How are you supposed to use a round brush?

Well, you paint with the tip, but want to squeeze the water out of the base or it will drip and ruin what you are painting. I prefer square or 'brights' as I can use the tiniest corners for the exacting detail most people get with a round brush, and then go for the wide strokes also. It all depends on what the brush is made out of and what medium you are using it to paint. The thing to remember is that good art brushes is where you want to spend the most money. Buy the best one you can afford. There are a lot of different brands of brushes and depending on whether they are synthetic or natural hair, or who makes them, you will get a lot of different results.

Question: INTERACTIVE ACRYLICS? What do you think of them?

I really like them. They can be dried instantly with a hair dryer or by applying a medium, but left on their own, will stay workable for many hours and can be "woken up" with a spray several days later and reworked. So you have the blending power of oils with the fast drying of acrylics. You can layer, have some areas sealed and dry and others not. The colors are softer and have a more muted effect like oils, but are brighter also as the pigment concentration allows for a higher viscosity. You definitely need the mediums to go with them. The titanium white tends to dry a bit darker, and the tinting white is nice and not chalky. They have a buttery consistency and flow a bit better than acrylics and the gels allow for building up texture as well as the modeling paste. You can use them over regular acrylics, but if mixed with regular acrylics they loose the "wet workable time." I would recommend these paints. You can also oil paint over them when dry thought I don't know why you would want to.

Send your questions to ginger@gingercookstudios.com