If like me you like drawing as well as painting, you might be interested in trying out the dry brush technique. Basically a way to draw with brushes.

This technique works well in mixed media paintings and is quite easy to learn.

You will need:

• Winsor and Newton water mixable oil paint (I am using the watermixable oil paint because I find it dryer for this technique and it makes the rushes easier to clean as well)
• A few stiff brushes
• A few soft brushes
• Clean rags
• Erasers
• Acrylic paint
• Indian ink
• Dipping pen and ink

The dry brush technique consist in painting on paper or canvas with a very dry brush that holds very little paint. So you can start by spreading a bit of paint on a piece of canvas that you will use as a palette:

I am a Blick Art Materials affiliate and I receive a small compensation for sales. That does not effect in any way the cost of the purchaser’s order but it helps me keeping the content of this blog free.

Winsor & Newton Artisan Water Mixable Oil Colors, 337 Lamp Black, 200 ml Economical, genuine oil colors clean up with soap and water. Use with 5 non-hazardous mediums allows all the traditional oil painting techniques and styles. Tubes and sets.

Then you can rub brushes against that “palette” and use them to draw on the canvas

My palette

You can use soft brushes for light areas and smaller stiff brushes for details.

Small stiff brush on details

Amazingly you can erase very thin layers of oil paint.

Here is a video that shows a time lapse of the whole painting process:

When I was done with the portraits I started working on the background:

I used a simple pattern on the sweater with fluid acrylic

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Golden High Flow Acrylics

Incredibly flexible, Golden High Flow Acrylics have an ink-like consistency that lends itself to a wide range of techniques painting, drawing, staining, glazing, inking, hand-lettering, airbrushing, and more. – High Flow Colors, Set of 10

And a dipping pen and India Ink

I added patterns on the background with fluid acrylics and markers

The last step was to apply a layer of varnish to the painting.

I am a Blick Art Materials affiliate and I receive a small compensation for sales. That does not effect in any way the cost of the purchaser’s order but it helps me keeping the content of this blog free.

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Gamblin Gamvar Varnish Gamvar is a synthetic resin gloss varnish developed by conservators at the National Gallery. It can be used on acrylic paintings as well as oils. Gamvar is a synthetic resin varnish with a high refractive index similar to that of natural resins.

Slice of Life III- Sisters