When painting in acrylics taking care of the brushes can be a real headache. That's why, at times, I prefer oils. Anyway, with acrylics you need to keep your brushes wet until you can properly clean them. I keep mine wet by first wiping off the excess paint, dipping the brush into water and then laying it down beside or on my palette with the water still in the brush. This prevents the paint from drying in the brush and ruining it. I clean them after every sitting, even if it's only a few minutes. I look after large and small brushes the same way but when I clean the large brushes with soap and warm water I always shake and dry them off then wrap them into paper towels to prevent the bristles from curling. The result is a like-new brush the next time I use it.
For oils I'm not nearly as fussy. I drop the brushes into turpenoid and leave them there until I'm ready to use them. I sometimes leave them there for days before cleaning in the same way I clean for acrylics, soap and warm water.
