Book of Secrets Stage 5: Dry Brushing Practice

Video for Stage 5

Dry Brushing

Dry-brushing involves passing a paint brush that has almost no paint over the surface of a texture to highlight it and make the edges stand out.

The technique is best employed when it is used with subtlety.

For this demonstration I am using an old tag to which I have applied a gesso texture; this is a great way of practicing the technique and experimenting with colours.
You will probably find a stiff square brush will work best. Dry-brushing is hard on brushes and It is important to have some spring in the bristles so do not be tempted to use a cheap brush because the results will be disappointing. A hogs hair brush like the one  is ideal. 
When dry-brushing you will almost always be using a lighter colour than the underlying colours, left is an example using light blue on top of a darker shade. 
Transfer the brush to a paper towel and gently wipe the paint off until it leaves almost no mark. 
Lightly draw the brush back and forth over the high spots of the texture.  You will need to brush back and forth many times as the best effect is achieved with a slow gradual build up of paint. 

The direction of brushing is very important and should be perpendicular to any edges or raised detail.
Note the picture on the left, this is what happens when the brush is too wet and paint starts to fill the cavities of the texture.
You can start dry brushing lighter shades of your colour as you continue by adding a little more white to it. 
In this picture you can see that in the top right hand corner of the tag I have dry brushed the lighter shade mixed with white, the texture really starts to pop out at you the lighter you go.
It almost looks as if the tag has curled and the sun is hitting it in the top right hand corner but I can assure you it's flat, and there is no sun!
Practice this technique until you are confident with it before moving on to the next stage, it may take you a while to master but please persevere as it's a technique you will use again and again.