Painting with a brush
Art & Design · Early Years · The School
Loading the brush
Dip your brush into the paint. Not too deep — just the tip. Then wipe it once on the edge of the pot. That wipe stops big drips landing on your page. A loaded brush should be wet, not dripping. Check it on a scrap of paper first. If it drips, wipe it again.
Different strokes
Press hard for a thick stripe. Press lightly for a thin one. Drag the brush for a long sweep. Dab it straight down for a dot. The same brush can make many different marks. It all depends on how you use it. Try all four marks on one page.
Washing between colours
Rinse your brush in water before you change colour. If you do not, the colours mix on the brush. The new one picks up the old one. A quick rinse and a wipe keeps your colours clean. It keeps them bright too.
Paint a flower using a thick stroke for each petal. Drag the brush slowly as you go. Now paint a second flower using tiny dabs instead. Go dot after dot, to build up each petal. Now paint a third flower with the brush nearly dry. Drag it fast across the page. Three flowers, one brush, three completely different looks. None of them is wrong. Each stroke just tells the paint to behave in a different way.