Fine artist paint brush rest

A fine artist paint brush rest (10) to be used in conjunction with a flat surface. The paint brush rest comprises a first side plane (18) and a second side plane (20) joined together at the top edges to form an extended A-frame configuration with a single bend which allows the bottom edges of each side plane to act as the base of the device (10). The paint brush rest (10) has several notches (12) removed from the apex designed to receive the uppermost portion of a fine artist paint brush (24) for the purpose of stabilizing brushes to prevent smearing of paint on unwanted areas and to protect and extend the life of the paint brush (24).

BACKGROUND-FIELD OF INVENTION 
This invention pertains generally to supports and holders and more 
particularly to a device for resting fine artist paint brushes while in 
use. 
BACKGROUND-DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART 
During a painting operation it is frequently required that the paint brush 
be put down, typically in a jar or palette holding the paint. This is 
undesirable in that the hairs or bristles of the brush can become curled 
and deformed if left in a jar too long, and can roll off a palette causing 
paint to smear on unwanted areas. 
Prior art devices have been utilized to attempt to overcome these problems. 
Typically the prior art devices have been mainly designed towards house 
painting brushes, and large brushes for use with paint cans. Prior art 
devices have not taken into consideration the fact that fine artist paint 
brushes are much smaller and are different sizes and must be at easy 
access to the painter at all times. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,377,239 to Jimae (1983) discloses a paint brush holder for 
use with paint cans. It holds the brushes with a gripping saddle. The 
brushes must be forced into the saddle in order to remain stable. This is 
undesirable because the brush could splatter paint if it were to get stuck 
in the saddle and had to be yanked out. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,436,217 to Ritter (1984) discloses a paint brush support 
which also attaches to a paint can. Brushes are placed in the holding well 
when not being used. This is unwanted because it allows paint to collect 
in the bottom of the well. This device would also deform the bristles of a 
fine artist paint brush. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,275,818 to Church (1981) discloses a brush holder which 
attaches to a paint can, and is designed for professional house painting 
brushes and rollers. This holder would not hold two or three small fine 
artist paint brushes. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,660 to Hansen (1985) shows a holding device for pencils 
and the like using a flexible mesh secured to a base. Objects extend 
through the openings in the mesh and are gripped by the strands which 
define the openings. However, this flexible mesh would not hold several 
paint laden brushes. Removing one item would cause the mesh to move or 
sway and dislodge any number of its members. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,429,450 to J. J. Lambert (1969) discloses an article holder 
which mounts onto the outer edge of a table or shelf and has access for 
only one paint brush. The brush sits in a very shallow well which makes it 
easy to knock the brush out if bumped. The storage holes are not designed 
for paint brushes. The brushes again would get deformed. 
There is demonstrated need for a device which would support several fine 
artist paint brushes while being used, which would eliminate smearing of 
paint on unwanted areas and would allow easy access to brushes at all 
times, a device which would also act as a storage support to protect 
delicate paint brush hairs while not in use. 
SUMMARY AND OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION 
With the above background in mind, it is among the primary objectives of 
the present invention to provide a resting device designed to rest a 
variety of fine artist paint brushes. 
In its form, the brush rest is designed so that it has an extended A-frame 
body with several notches cut out from along the apex of the body. These 
notches are used as the resting place for paint brushes. 
It is a further objective of this invention to provide a device of the 
character described above in which paint brushes are held stable while in 
use so as not to smear paint on unwanted areas. 
It is a further objective of this invention to provide a device of the 
character described above which will support paint brushes while not in 
use so as to protect the delicate hairs and allow brushes to retain a 
mandatory shape. 
It is a further objective of this invention to provide a device of the 
character described above which is relatively immune to the effects of 
paint cleaning solvents such as acetone, paint thinner, paint remover, 
turpentine and the like. 
It is a further objective of this invention to provide a device of the 
character described above which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, 
durable in construction, and of reasonable cost. 
Additional objects and features of the invention will become apparent from 
the following description in which the preferred embodiments are set forth 
in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

REFERENCE NUMERALS IN DRAWINGS 
8 space between notches 
10 fine artist paint brush rest 
12 V-shaped notch 
14 U-shaped notch 
16 square shaped notch 
18 first side plane 
20 second side 
22 radiused corners 
24 fine artist paint brush 
DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
The fine artist paint brush rest (10) is shown in the accompanying 
drawings. Its forms are shown in FIG. 1 through FIG. 3. The function of 
the rest is to temporarily support fine artist paint brushes. 
The resting device (10) in FIG. 1 has a first side plane (18) and a second 
side plane (20) joined together at the top to form an extended A-frame 
configuration (10). FIG. 1 includes several notches (12) equally spaced 
(8) across the distance of the apex of the device (10). The corners (22) 
of the device have been radiused to eliminate any sharp edges for the 
promotion of safety. 
The resting device (10) in FIG. 1 can be modified in a number of ways 
without detracting from the general use and operation of the device. FIG. 
2 shows the device with a notch (14) of a different shape. FIG. 3 shows 
the device with a notch (16) of another different shape. The notches (12) 
in all figures are used as the resting place for fine artist paint brushes 
(24). 
The resting device (10) is placed upon a flat surface and the uppermost 
portion of the paint brush (24) is placed in one of the notches (12) FIG. 
1. A separate paint brush can be set into each notch (12). The paint brush 
(24) will rest in the notch (12) without sliding out due to the small size 
of the device (10) and the low angle which is produced when a paint brush 
(24) is set in place. 
The resting device (10) is formed of a single unitary member of 
conventional commercially available material such as metal, plastic, or 
the like, but has been found to be economic to manufacture the paint brush 
rest as a single integral member made of aluminum. 
In this way the resting device (10) has no clamps or separate attachments 
for holding paint brushes (24) in place. The paint brush (24) can be 
removed in a quick and easy fashion merely by picking up the instrument. 
It is to be understood that the drawings are simply for the purpose of 
illustration and that such changes in design and structure of the brush 
rest may be made as do not depart from the spirit and scope of the 
invention as described in the specification and particularly defined in 
the appended claims. 
CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS AND SCOPE OF INVENTION 
Thus the reader will see that the fine artist paint brush rest of the 
invention provides a highly reliable, lightweight, yet economical device 
which is safe and can be used by persons of almost any age. 
While my above description contains many specificities, these should not be 
construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as an 
exemplification of one preferred embodiment thereof. Many other variations 
are possible. For example. The aluminum brush rest could have an 
electro-plated finish in a variety of colors. The brush rest could have 
one side shorter than the other which would change the slope the paint 
brush would have while still allowing the device to function properly. 
Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the 
embodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal 
equivalents.