Italian Bristle Mottler Brushes

These Italian bristle brushes are essential tools for oil and acrylic painters—useful for priming, underpainting, large-scale painting, and varnishing. Set painters and muralists rely on this type of brush for its high capacity and its balance between stiffness and maneuverability.

We offer four versatile sizes of this workhorse brush. There are a million ways to use them, but here are a few suggestions:

Try using the smallest, 20 mm wide mottler for loose marks and blending in oils or acrylics. Impressionistic painters may find it particularly useful as a way to apply color quickly and organically.

The 40 and 60 mm mottlers are excellent for painting backgrounds and defining big shapes. You can also use them to prime small canvases (although we recommend separate gesso and paint brushes, because gesso is tougher on bristles.)

The biggest, 80 mm mottler is our new favorite priming and varnishing brush. The extra-wide size means fewer brush marks and quicker application, so you can keep your edges wet and avoid an uneven coat. These bristles can hold quite a bit of heavy primer, which also means less frequent trips to the gesso bucket.

Sold individually. Made in Italy.