How To Use Vegetable Oil as a Brush Cleaner

It is easy to use vegetable oil as a brush cleaner.
1. Wipe the excess paint off of your oil paint brush onto a newspaper or dry cloth.
2. Dip the dirty bristles of the paintbrush into a cup of vegetable oil and move it around.
3. Push the bristles against the edge of the cup to help squeeze out extra oil. Repeat as much as necessary until the majority of oil paint has been removed from the brush.

4. Dry off brush on a newspaper or on a dry cloth.
5. Wash the bristles of the paintbrush with soap and warm water.
6. Store your brushes so the bristles are up in the air to avoid crushing or mis-shaping them.
If your bristles are stiff because you forgot to wash them out from a previous landscape oil paintings session, let them stand overnight in fabric softener - this will help loosen paint from the bristles.
It is also a good idea to condition your bristles every once in a while by letting them submerge in fabric softener and then rinsing it out prior to use.
Vegetable oil is not as strong as turpentine. You may find it takes a tiny bit longer to clean the paint from the brushes, but, it is so much better for the environment, it's worth it!
If you don't like vegetable oil, the second best thing is odorless turpentine.