Using a rag while painting

Here you see a student of mine painting

with a rag in her hand. It is not a paper

towel, but is a soft cotton absorbent rag.

Good sources for such rags are soft cotton

things such as old t-shirts and nightwear

that has been laundered so often that there

is hardly any lint or fuzz that will come off

on your brushes. Also you don't want

rags that are so thin (like old sheets) that

you get paint all over your hands.

Use of Paper Towels

Basically, I use paper towels for cleaning

my brushes. I don't hold them in my hand

while I am painting the way I hold a rag

in my hand while painting. I have them

on my easel's shelf that is just below the

painting. Or I have a stack of paper towels

set aside and I use them just before I dip

them in the mineral spirits

to wipe off the excess.

Use of rags

But rags are for use while I work on a painting

and am doing things like blending areas of different

colors or tones. What happens is that the brush

will pick up a tone and if you don't wipe the brush

with the rag, the tone (or color) you don't want to

end up in a particular place will end up there!

So just hold a rag in your hand and wipe off the little

bit of paint so you can keep blending without dragging

a color into an area where you don't want it.

I also use a rag for another purpose. When you have

a brush that is a very small size and you have cleaned it in

the thinner, it will have the thinner run down the handle

and not only get your hands yucky (hi-tech word), but

when you go to pick up new paint, it will run down and

dilute what you just picked up. SO! I have a rag on

my easel shelf and always use it to absorb that thinner.

Rags are way more absorbent than paper towels.

How long to use a rag?

First of all, have a good supply of them and when they

get loaded with paint get rid of them. Do not wash them

as it's not worth it. Also, don't keep oily rags around as

it is a safety issue. I put them in the trash in a plastic bag.