"ill be out of town, can you feed my cat?" "ill be out of town, can you dip my brushes?"

"A teacher is a shortcut to fast learning." Thanks Mark for sharing your experience, that saves us years of trying to find things on our own.

I grew up in my grandmother's oil painting studio. The place wasn't ventilated at all and there was open turpentine and linseed oil all over. Times have changed from when I was a wee lad

I really like how Mark shows you how to make any of the Geneva products on your own instead of just sucking people into buying them.

Eleven minutes and forty-nine seconds that has been the best use of my time all week. The clouds parted and I think I heard a choir of angels sing while watching this - I learned so much about what I was doing that wasn't particularly good for my brushes, and how I've been spending way too much time cleaning unnecessarily. This video was a great leap forward in my goal of being a competent artist. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience!

In one video you have eliminated so many of my fears and hesitations to start oil paints. Thank you! The thought of horrible smells, tedious cleaning with multiple steps and fear of drying times and ruined brushes are gone. I even air hugged you! lol.

This information is priceless. I always followed the misconception that brushes needed to be completely dry and clean to get best control when applying paint. It has been tedious to keep cleaning and drying brushes for each painting session. Thank you so much for this information and a great video!

I'm so happy to know that I don't actually have to clean my brushes ever again!

For the last 30 years I have been cleaning my finest artist hog brushes with mild shampoo followed by hair conditioner and they are good as new till today.

Your videos are so nice, they always put me to sleep at night, while at the same time hearing useful painting tips as I doze off into the dreamland 🙂

Geez..............where were you in 1969 when I started painting? LOL Thanks for these helpful hints for if I ever get back to painting again. You and I have similar styles and yes, getting the fumes down is a blessing. I used to have fans and windows open back in the day.

BLESS YOUR CHANNEL I've been binge watching all your videos, and I've never had an art teacher before, so I realise how impractical my current method is. Thank you so much. ~Ollie

Well, that was very enlightening! ... I use to always clean my brushes every evening (sometimes at 1 in the morning) for sometimes 20 or 30 minutes, using citrus essence based brush cleaner, and then soap + water.... very time consuming! Now I will try your method!

When I'm done with a painting I will clean my brushes with Murphy's oil soap. I just recently found out about this. I also have a bar of brush soap that I've been using for a long time and it works well. It even removes paint from my hands. The other day I was sorting my brushes and came across seven that had stiff bristles. I was mad at myself because I always keep my brushes clean but somehow over time I missed cleaning these brushes. There was no paint on them, just stiff bristles. I soaked them in Murphy's oil soap (undiluted) overnight. Next day I rinsed the brushes thoroughly and to my surprise, the bristles were soft again. Amazing stuff. I was using mineral spirits for years and it does stink. I won't be using it any more. The problem with using solvents is that over time, the solvent dissolves the glue that holds the bristles in the ferrule. This happened to one of my brushes. Before I retired I worked as a scenic artist and learned a bad habit from the other painters. They were cleaning their brushes in lacquer thinner. Not knowing any better when I first started out, I did the same thing. Well, the bristles in my brushes eventually deteriorated. Thankfully I didn't use oil paints very often on my projects but it was still difficult to clean brushes on the job. I believe that the other painters used whatever they could get their hands on to clean their brushes and they simply didn't care. They didn't pay for the brushes. I sometimes found brushes laying in the dirt or left laying around completely dried up. I would take them home and clean them and use them.

Love that brush holder! Making that tomorrow morning! So hate having them around with no way to put them down unless I put them upright, which I don't like doing! I only clean after a session. Ok, I have used Dawn dishwashing liquid after gum spirits, but the trick is to mix the Dawn into the bristols using your fingers, NO WATER. This removes the residual oils from your brush and then will wash free with the soap, but I apply several applications of soap first, working the oil color out of the tip. then rinse using water. Now, treat your bristols with a 50/50 mix of fabric softener/water to restore the ph of the brush to neutral. Rinse thoroughly. Dawn or any other soap is a high ph value, and you want to take it down to PH neutral, so it won't dry out the bristols. The PH of most soaps is about 8.0 - 9.0 (drain cleaner is 13.0, and neutral is 7.0. The PH of fabric softener is 5.0 - 6.0, and water is for the most part 6.5 - 7.0. Most artist don't know this about soaps or how to address it.

Thank you so much for this helpful advice. I have struggled to keep my brushes clean and am heartened by your advice.

So much for the painstaking, laborious wiping and dipping and pressing and rewiping and redid ping and pressing and soaping, etc. I've been doing for ages ! I learn something new with each video. Amazing.

Love all you videos and all the tips I've learned over the past weeks of looking at them. I paint with a group and have told them all about you and your paint.

Very good advice. I have been painting for years without knowing this and have gone through many brushes needlessly.

What good did I ever do to have found you and your videos. I’ve watched so many videos, no knowledge is as simple and on point as yours. Thanks

Safflower oil will clean out your brush before changing colors too, if you really need to. I had no idea solvents were so harsh on brushes. Thanks for this video! It was really helpful!

I love your aesthetics! You make so much sense and never do you see a pure color in nature, you are correct. A pure color will most likely look strange on your canvas except for a mixed black in moderation.

Thank you for putting so much thought in all your videos. Loving your brush stand! Awesome website as well.

I clean my brushes with linsead oil, wipe and wash in water with hair shampoo. Sometimes I grease them with oil in the end (only brushes for oil painting).

Hi Mark, thanks a lot for this useful information. I've always been careful with my brushes, but some of the points you've explained here I didn't know before.

Wow Mark...you give some of t the best advise from your own experience and professionalism...thank you again...

This has been very helpful to me. Saves a lot of time. While the holder was unavailable, I improvised with an ordinary small roller tray. I clean my brushes with Murpheys Oil Soap every few weeks or so. No solvents ever! Just soak overnight in Murpheys first. So easy.

Ty sir so much for this video you made my day and explained to me how to deal with problems i have as a beginer and who also cares alot about his health because minerals terpentin and others hurt health and also nature by alot so it's not ok to do that...Few brushes for every general color bright and dark to have same mix of colors on every brush and you solve the problem...I wish you all the best sir ty so much for sharing your expiriance with us..

Revisiting this to see if there is anything I missed, or if anything has changed from my new experience with oils. I only use two maybe three brushes, so cleaning them is not a big deal for me, and my preference for synthetic helps. But your brush dip really is attractive to me for the simple reason that it is fast, and would be less wear on the brush.

I use Turpenoid Naturals for all my brushes. I also have “linseed oil soap” (which I haven’t use it yet), I don’t have to wash my brush on this coz the Turpenoid Naturals keeps my brush conditioned. I stopped using Turpenoid Odorless Thinner when I paint coz I’ve heard some artist have experienced lung problem and so I started using TOXIC FREE thinner and/or cleaner. And as far as using my brush for only black paint, I do have 2 brushes for each painting - one brush for dark and one brush for light.

I recently purchased the Geneva Brush Dip and I really like it. I can leave my expensive Rosemary brushes sitting sometimes 10-12 days and the bristles are wet and supple like the day I dipped them. When I'm ready, I wipe them off and begin my session. Thanks Mark

Murphy’s oil soap.... it’s a lifesaver for me.

I just ordered your Geneva Set #3. I can't wait to try your products!

Nice. I have some brushes that i've been using for 20 years and are still usable. Care is paramount to have long lasting brushes. I always remove paint residues and then i wash them with soapy water and put to dry.

Thanks for the information, just going thru a few problems with this exact situation. This was very helpful..

I think my brush cleaning obsession comes from 10 yrs of using acrylics. Thanks Mark, I'm going to follow this system. I guess it also helps when using a limited palette like you do😊

I really like your instructions. Very helpful.

Thank you for sharing your experience much appreciated Marc

Yet again a very useful tutorial, thank you...this man is top class

Great tips, love the brush holder. I want one of those.

working color into a brush before using it is a great tip, thanks

"Don't stab with your brushes... My wife paints that way. " Wow, shots fired, chief. Trouble in paradise? 🤣

Man this guy is awesome! His speaking style is Rembrandt-like...it just flows right. He “pounds the strike zone!”

Having worked with high pigment density acrylics for years painting minaitures, the ease of use for "complex" oil paints is astounding.

Great tips!! Love your channel. i’ve learned so much

I've never painted in oil, because I did not want to deal with the fumes/toxicity of the solvents, especially turps before mineral spirits came into use. This video was very helpful, and I am very interested in painting with oils. Also, the logic behind your line of paint as well as the limited palette approach is excellent and unlike anything I've seen. However, I would like you to make a video talking about creating good studio ventilation, minimizing exposure to fumes, regular vs. odorless mineral spirits in terms of safe exposure levels. Thanks!!

Great tips, and coming from you really worth following. Thanks

B and J "The Masters" brush cleaner (tan puck shaped container) works really well. Just be sure to rinse them well with water to get rid of any residue. Great tips!

thank you for this information, what a time saver, really great video

I use laundry soap now, it has served me well. I used to use a fairly abrasive hand soap, cleans thoroughly, but messes up the bristles, like Mark mentioned. I only use pure turpentine to think paint, but these days I use wetting mediums.

Thank you for giving us the recipe for the brush dip. You're literally invigorating artists here. I'll go to your website to see if there's a way to support you. What confused me at first is your explanation of how to clean a brush with black paint. After a few viewings, it seems like you're saying "Pick up a different color, work the new color in (yellow in this case), wipe it out with a paper towel, then repeat a few more times. By the time you're done, the black paint will be worked out by the yellow and you'll be good." Thank you

Seriously comprehensive. Thank you.

To do a complete clean and avoid mineral spirits I recommend a tiny bit of dawn dish soap and make-up brush conditioner. It's worked great for me for years. I hate mineral spirits and I already have breathing issues (life long) . I use bare essentials make-up brush conditioner (supposed to be for blush and other brushes used for applying makeup to the face). It's 100% awesome, makes them like new every time.

Thank you for these brilliant tips 👏 it is very helpful.

Your channel is awesome, professional enough 🙋🏻✨

This was awesome! Thanks from Austin.

Just wan't to say thanks for your generous sharing of your experience.

Excellent! Thanks Mark!

thank for being direct and to the point

Great tip.! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

Thank you so much. Im just a beginner and your Videos are SO great and helpfull. Thank you.

Thanks from Brasil!

Wow, I wish Id seen this video years ago!! Thank you!!!!

Lots of things to learn from you. Thanks.

Thank you so much you are a great teacher!!! Thank you soooooooo much!!!!

I've always used Ivory Soap with hot water. Will try your method. thank you.

This is worth watching and remembering, because I hear about muddy so much that I have been cleaning my brushes with mineral spirits, or soap and water . Thank you for this.

found a great way to clean oil paint out of a brush . . . wipe the excess paint off, then dip brush into common household oil, like 3-in-One oil, available in any hardware or even Walgreens, etc. Work the oil into the brush on the side or bottom of small container, then rinse in odorless thinner, mineral spirits, etc. I have yet to find a trace of color coming out of the brush after these two simple steps . . . just try it!

Thanks Mark, useful and informative.

Thanks so much, this video was very informative. I will try these tips.

Excellent suggestions, thank you.

I was taught to wash the brushes in dishsoap by putting the dishsoap into your cupped hand (no water), twirling the brush around, then rinsing with water. Then put vaseline onto the brush bristles to keep them soft. Works well. it's more work than what Mark does.

I use only orange hand cleaner from auto store, works amazing, is non toxic and get them clean and conditions them. But.... I just purchased all your paints and will start using this method now.

Thank you. This video helped me alot.😄

I learned a lot. Thank you.

I love my Murphy’s oil soap, works extremely well.

Well, I agreed with all this up to the point where you were doing a thorough cleaning. If I've been keeping my brushes well oiled (dipping them in walnut oil, but poppy is even better, just more expensive) I don't need any solvents to clean them. I rub them in liquid black soap first, perhaps repeatedly, and then in a solution of Marseille or Aleppo soap until they're squeaky clean. Consider the Renaissance artists, who had no solvents.

Hello friends, according to literature it is convenient after cleaning with solvent, wash with soap and keep dry.

I have avoided getting back into oil painting because I hate cleaning the brushes after every painting session. Not a problem anymore. Thanks!!!

I wipe off excess paint and dip them several times into the Tuprenoid Natural. No need for oil or paint thinner and NO FUMES! :) leaves my brushes silky smooth too

Excellent video! Thank you for information.

I've found that even with harsh cleaning, standard brush conditioner really does maintain good brush condition. Wonderful stuff. I can see this method of oil conditioning working similarly. I don't like the idea of not removing the paint from the brush though before conditioning.

Used to use soap and water, however, found that it dried the bristles out. Now using lacquer thinner because mineral spirits doesn't seem to clean the brushes well enough.

Thank you for sharing the ideas.

It looks really practical. I will buy one.

Thank you so much.

Genius! Thank you.

Excellent tips.

thanks for the video. I was wondering about the correct way

you can also hang the brushes in a closed tube (glass Voss Artesian bottle) with baby oil - when you want to use the brush , (do not paint with baby oil) clean the baby oil similar to how he clean the brush to pure yellow -

Thank you!

Thanks so much, this is so helpful.

Masters Brush cleaner is the best cleaner. It gets every little bit of paint out and very efficiently. Plus to do most of the work quickly you can use a thin oil such as walnut oil in a brush tank and use it just like mineral spirits or some other solvent. Only trick with the soap and water method is that the bristles need a bit of a coating of the soap to stay together as hog hair brushes like to get limp when wet. And you MUST wait for them to be completely dry. At least the internet says so. I haven't had to worry as so far I've used water miscible oils.

Thank you so much for your advise. I really do appreciate it. Kind Regards. K

I hope for a kind reply. First of all thanks to Mark for all such valuable and useful information on his channel! I paint with a direct approach using colors straight from the tube for the first "layers" (although maybe I shouldn't be talking about layers in a direct approach). Then I add some walnut oil for the next layers. Of course, these phases are not always completed in the same session. Could the brush dip residue cause the painting to crack? I think some of it can remain in the brush at the start of each session (even after squeezing it) and end up in the first layers. Thanks!

I never thought of a brush dip. So I’ve been using natural soaps with animal fats/milks. It cleans BUT does dry them out.

I use baby oil to clean my brushes. It's super cheap and works great

Can you wrap your dipped brushes gently in plastic wrap or aluminum foil to keep the "wet" for longer than a week?

Yo Mark, thanks for all the helpful videos and great information. I really appreciate your guidance during my time of creative discovery. Looking forward to getting dat brush dip! =D

Thanks. Very useful tips.