Painting: brushes, washes and layers
Art & Design · Key Stage 2 · The School
The brush decides the mark
A round brush comes to a point and draws lines. A flat brush makes broad even strokes and, turned on its edge, a thin one. A large brush covers ground fast and stops you fiddling. Most beginners use one small brush for everything, which is why the painting takes an hour and looks laboured. Pick the biggest brush that will do the job.
Wet, dry, and patience
A WASH is thin, watery paint laid over an area. Laid on dry paper it stays where you put it; laid into wet paint it spreads and blends softly. Both are useful, and the difference is entirely whether you waited. Working into a layer that has not dried is what turns colours to mud — the fix is not more paint, it is two minutes of waiting.
Building up
Paint in layers: the big pale areas first, then the middle tones, then the darks and the small details last. This way the whole picture arrives together and you can judge it at every stage. Finishing one corner in full detail while the rest is white paper almost always ends with a picture that does not hold together.
Paint a blue wash and, while it is still wet, drop red into it: the colours bleed and blur into purple with soft edges — good for skies and distance. Now paint another blue wash and WAIT until it is completely dry, then paint the same red over it: crisp edges, and both colours still readable. Two techniques, and the only difference between them is patience.