If you’ve ever stood in front of your collection of brushes and felt overwhelmed,
you’re not alone. Even the great artists like Monet, Van Gogh, and O’Keeffe likely stood
before their brushes. They obsessed over choosing the right tool for their creative
visions. Selecting a brush isn’t about rules; it’s about the kind of mark you want to leave,
and we at Trekell are ready to assist you. Think of this as your personal guide to artist
brush shapes!
Brush shape isn’t cosmetic, and it doesn’t dictate style—but it can free it. When
choosing a brush shape, the options are endless. With some creativity, one shape can
achieve different results. Let’s explore which shapes work best for specific outcomes.
The Classics
Round: The Swiss Army Knife of Brushes
Best for: fine detail, outlines, and controlled washes.
Artists who love it: Watercolorists like J.M.W. Turner utilized round brushes for their
ability to produce fluid details.
Flat: The Blockbuster
Best for: bold, clean, strong, architectural-like strokes.
Artists who love it: Abstract painter Mark Rothko relied on flat brushes to achieve those
famous floating color fields.
Trekell Tip: Use flats in acrylic for clean-edged blocking.
Bright: The Punchy and Precise Powerhouse
Best for: shorter and more textured markings.
Historical note: Favored in oil painting for scumbling techniques since the Baroque era.
The Shape-Shifters—Brushes That Adapt to Every Stroke
Filbert: The Secret Weapon
Best for: blending skin tones, petals, and natural edges. Think of it as the love child of a
flat + round brush.
Artists who love it: O’Keeffe used filberts to capture the soft gradations in her iconic
flowers.
**Historical Note:** Filbert brushes gained popularity during the Impressionist period. Artists
liked them for softening edges and making natural transitions in foliage and skies.
Fan: The Texture Master
Best for: adding texture and drama
**Historical Note:** Early 20th-century landscape painters used fans to create
atmosphere. They focused on foliage, fur, texture, and blended clouds.
For When You Need a Trick Up Your Sleeve
Liner / Script: For the Finer Things
Best for: whiskers, branches, lettering. Historical note: Calligraphers adapted liners for
sign painting in the 19th century.
Trekell Tip: Use fluid paint, not stiff pigments, to prevent dragging.
Dagger: One Stroke, Infinite Possibilities
Best for: petals, long, flowing curves, and expressive strokes. Why artists love it: It can
go from hairline thin to bold sweep without changing brushes.
Botanical illustrators love daggers. They use them to capture organic line variation in
one stroke.
Angle: The Sharp Edge of Precision
Best for: corners, sharp edges, controlled blends.
Trekell Tip: Excellent for acrylic underpaintings or filling tight geometric spaces.
The Ultimate Cheat Sheet for Every Shape
Round = detail and versatility
Filbert = soft edges and portraits
Flat = bold strokes and blocking in
Bright = texture and layering
Fan = blending and textures
Liner = fine detail and flow
Dagger = expressive curves
Angle = corners and precision
Match the Brush to the Muse.
Portraits → Filbert, Round, Angle
Landscapes → Fan, Dagger, Round
Abstracts → Flat, Bright, Fan
As an artist, you know that the brush is an extension of the hand. With Trekell, it is
about finding the brushes that match your movements. Explore our complete line of
brushes crafted for precision, texture, and experimentation. We can’t wait to see what
you create!