1) Clean your brushes regularly, even during a painting session.

2) After each session carefully clean each brush :
     a) OILS - with clean Mineral Turpentine until all signs of oil paint are gone.
     b) ACRYLICS - with clean water.
     c) WATERCOLOUR - with clean water.

THEN:
        i) Take a bar of soap (the one used for handwashing clothes). Dip the brush (even your oil painting brushes) in water and work up a lot of lather into the bristles & right up into the ferrule. With the brush full of this lather, work the brush bristles gently in the palm of your hand. Do this several times until all traces of colour residue have disappeared.

        ii) Work up some more light lather into the bristles and carefully, with your fingers, re-form them into their original shape. Leave the brush to dry with the lather still in the bristles. With the next session you can simply wash the lather out of the brush using water (Watercolour / Acrylics) or Mineral Turpentine (Oils) before use.

3) N.B. Do NOT use household or commercial detergents to clean your brushes with. Most have harsh ingredients that may seriously harm your brushes.

If this cleaning procedure is not followed your brushes will become stiff with a subsequent loss of it's inherent flexibility.

4) Brushes are the artists direct tools of trade, and as such, apart from most brushes being expensive, need to be looked after and kept in good state at all ti