Take it Easy - Paint it Easy!
If you can Flick and Tickle you can:
Dry Brush
This technique replaces the tired and dated and “loathsome” “sideloading” or “Floating” techniques of shading and Hi-lighting. [There are step by steps for these techniques here]
What Brush will DRY BRUSH??
It takes a specific brush to make this an easy technique
(just like the right hammer will make nailing roof shingles easier)
1. Has synthetic fibers
2. Is cut like a filbert (oval tipped)
3. Tapered like an Oval Glaze
4.
Will take a beating
5. Has to be cheap ( I don’t want to ruin an expensive brush)
Regular filberts just won’t stay stiff for this technique.
I searched for two years to find the right brush!
Show me Patty’s Favorite Brush
Dry Brushing Step by Step:
Ready to crack up?
To “DRY brush” your brush can be wet and you use a surprising amount of paint for this technique.
This is the technique used by me…. Patricia Rawlinson; Bobbie Takashima, Rosemary West, Jo Sonja, Vicki Rhodes and many, many more…
1. Paints are applied from Darkest to Lightest; the very darkest is your background.
(You can base coat an area in the darkest shade if desired dark is different from the background)
2. Wash your Brush.
3. Press out the Water between paper towels.
4. Load Paint by pressing down into and pulling out from the edge of fresh paint several times (when I do this it looks like a horse counting "to two or three", only the brush is his foot/leg)
5. Flick the “TIP” off on a paper towel ~~~no pressure~~~, just the tip.
6. With no pressure “DUST or TICKLE” the area where the hi-lights will be strongest.
(Shift over with each consecutive stroke, using SHAPE following strokes)
click on images for larger view |
 |
This is how the layers are applied for my Pumpkin Patch Floor Cloth.
Each color is "Dirty Brush loaded" into each subsequent color. (if you need to wash your brush, just re-dirty the brush with the last color and wipe it out so it “just taints” the next color).
 |
 |
click on images for larger view |
Converting Traditional “TOLE painting” patterns:
To change traditional decorative painting instructions to dry-brushing… Maxine Thomas for example..
She bases with a medium color then floats several levels of shading and hi-lites several times..
Simply base with the darkest color and build hi-lites up from the darkest to lightest. Make sure to dirty brush load into each next color.
This is the most delightful way to paint… softly flicking in shape following strokes.
No constant re-loading or color blending or headaches and problems…
 See how well blended the Liberty Bell looks? It was Dry Brushed.
Larger view Close up of bell
I have collected my dry brushed patterns into a separate category. Take a look to see the different applications for dry-brushing.
top of page |
