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PAINTING MATERIALS

Blender or Softener, a fairly large, round brush, with the end flat rather than
domed, and made regularly of badger hair. It is used, dry, to grade or soften edges,
particularly in oil painting (see Brush and figure I, fi).

FIGURE I. A selection of brush shapes: (a) a pointed sable set in a quill; (£) the same in a
metal ferrule; (r) a slightly flat sable with a straight edge; (d) a square end sable flatter
than c. These three shapes are common in both sable and bristle brushes and many
others are made as variations on them. At e is a very long sable with a flat end, called
a 'striper*;/, with a somewhat longer hair than a, is called" a * writer'; both are set in
quills. Heavier brushes are: (g) a mop of camel hair with a wired quill mounting similar
to the brush called a *dabber *; (A) a blender or softener made of badger hair, round, and
mounted with wire; (t) a very thin, flat brush, called a cfan/ set in a metal ferrule and
made of sable or bristle.

Breathing Tube. A small tube made of paper, cane, or occasionally of metal,
about half an inch in diameter and six or more inches long, has as its principal
purpose the moistening of the bole ground before gold leaf is laid in manuscript
illumination. The breath, blown through it gently, carries enough moisture to