As a beginner you will be overwhelmed with how many types and styles of brushes there are on the market. Since you are just learning how to oil paint it is not worth paying for expensive brushes. You should try several different types first to see which ones work for you, then later as you become more proficient at oil painting and want to produce more professional art work, then you can invest in something more expensive. For oil painting you need to use natural hog hair, synthetic brushes are good for acrylics or watercolor painting, but they are no good for oil painting. Whichever ones you buy, if you look after them by cleaning them thoroughly at the end of each painting session, they will last a long time.
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A flat brush has a short to medium length ferule and usually with a short handle. Use for creating bold, sweeping strokes, or you can turn them sideways to create finer lines. |
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A bright brush has a flat ferrule and short-length hairs, and is usually set in a long handle. The width and length of brush head is about equal. Use a bright brush for creating short, controlled strokes. |
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A fan brush has a flat ferrule with the hairs spread out to create a fan shape. These brushes are good for soft blending and smoothing strokes, and stronger ones are good for textural and special effects. |
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A filbert brush has a thick, flat ferrule and oval-shaped medium to long hairs. They also have long handles. The hairs hold together when wet so they are good for blending and is suitable for figurative work. |
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A round brush has a round ferrule, and a round or pointed tip. Use this brush for detail, washes, fills, and thin to thick lines. A pointed round is used for fine detail. A detailer is a pointed round with very short hair. A rigger brush is a very small round brush with long bristles, it is useful for creating very fine lines and for signing your work. |
Do not buy oil painting brush sets, they generally do not give you a good range of sizes. You are best to purchase three or four individual brushes of either flat or filbert style: sizes 2, 6 and 10 and a rigger are a good starter set, you can add others later to experiment as your skills increase.