Although up close the painting looks like two separate colors, a viewer looking at the canvas from a distance will see the blended color — in this instance, orange.
5 Painting Techniques Minus the Brush
The absence of a paintbrush should not stop you from expressing your creativity on a canvas. Although most of the paintings we see are made with a paint brush, not all artworks need to have it. Your imagination and hands are really all you need!
In this article, we’ll share with you 5 amazing painting techniques that do not require a paintbrush. We hope you can get to try these fun and experimental painting activities over the weekend! Ready? Let’s get started!
Dripping
Drip painting is a type of abstract art in which paint is allowed to freely drip when poured onto a canvas. It is believed that this technique was started in the first half of the 20th century by artists such as Max Ernst in his work entitled “Young Man Intrigued by the Flight of a Non-Euclidean Fly”.
Drip painting is also very much associated with the experimental workshop by Jackson “Jack the Dripper” Pollock in February 1956.
History also traces the roots of drip painting to Japanese Zen Buddhist painters way back during the 15th century who exprimented with splashed ink on canvases.
Check out these drip painting examples for some inspiration!
For a fun drip painting session at home, check out this video as guidance.
Pouring
Much like dripping, pouring is another non-brush technique where gravity moves paint across a canvas. Experts in this technique say that while pouring is a relatively simple in principle, it is not always easy especially if you’re not familiar with the nature and quality of the type of paint you are using.
When pouring acrylic paint (which we assume you will use as it is the most common type of paint to use), make sure you’re knowledgeable about its two categories: coated pours and wash pours.
What’s the difference between the two?
Coated pours resemble oil paints. It has glossy binders making it reflect light and intensify colors. Little to no water is added in coated pours, hence the resulting look of poured paint is layered, fluid and with a high-gloss finish.
- Use a pouring medium and keep the addition of water to a minimum
- Before pouring paint, apply a stain sealer first
- Use a leveling device to be sure that the pour will remain leveled while drying
- Do not use any mediums
- When diluting paint with water, always follow a 1:1 ratio
- If you want to change the absorbency of your canvas, consider adding acrylic paste or gel before pouring
Gradient Blending
We’re all familiar with gradient blending, I think. It’s a process of creating smooth transitions between values or hues.
In this illustration, red and yellow have been blended to create a gradient transition. I’ve read that fan brushes are excellent tools for gradient blending. I’ve never been very good with fan brushes, but I’ve never tried using them in this way. This is definitely something I will practice in the future.
Gradient blending can be done, however, with any brush, and if you’re working on a large surface, you’ll definitely want to choose a fairly large brush.
Where would we use gradient blending? One area is in the sky, where we might want to transition from a light blue to a near white at the horizon. Gradient blending is also used in creating backgrounds for an oil painting subject.
The most important part of gradient blending, of course, is controlling the curve — that is, the center of the transition. With red and yellow, as in the illustration here, the curve should be orange with smooth blending from the red at one end to the yellow at the other.
Wet Into Wet
Wet into wet applies not only to all prima painting — completing a painting in one session without allowing paint to dry — but also to a brush stroke blending method.
As the term suggests, we blend colors in this way by applying first one and then another, allowing the hues to blend and mix right on the canvas.
“Start by painting a solid field of yellow, while the field is still wet, paint strokes of red on top. Use the same size brush spaced out to create a gradient effect. Have the stronger red at the top with more and overlapping paint stokes and stronger yellow at the bottom by using less brush stokes and spacing them further apart. The stroke directions should appear random and not regimented or lined up in a formal pattern for this technique. A round bristle brush was used for this example.”
From: Drawing and Painting Lessons
Again, though, we’re talking about blending and gradients more than the actual brush stroke methods used to apply the paint to the canvas.
Scumbling
Now we come to scumbling — definitely my preferred method of putting on the paints.
Load the brush, push it against the canvas, and twist and turn a bit as you go. The result is an interesting mottled effect.
The idea here is not to create smooth transitions from one hue to another, but to have instead an eye-catching, almost textural effect.
Different brushes can be used for scumbling, but many artists recommend flat brushes.
One place where you’ll like want to use scumbling techniques are in creating clouds. Scumbling is also a good technique for creating ocean waves in seascapes.
Begin with the background color and then scumble in the second hue.
Reviews
1141 Students
33 Reviews
94% Positive ratings
aquarelledelune26
Cours très détaillé. Le professeur nous enseigne la patience et l’analyse au fur et à mesure en plus de la technique et on comprend qu’une œuvre bien terminée demande beaucoup de temps. Mais c’est plutôt la technique du pointillisme.
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sms20
Good explanation and demonstration of dry brush technique.
lizbowman01
I loved this course. I loved it was in English so it didn’t add another complexity to learning by having to read subtitles as well. I liked that I felt it gave me options to be detailed with watercolour which you don’t hear so much. I did buy one of the brushes recommended and just loooove it. Thanks so much and I’m sure I will continue to return to review some points again.
burkettgary
I have taken several excellent Domestika courses, but, I’m sorry, this course is a waste of money. Much too much repetition, an extremely slow pace, and too much time spent watching her dip her brush in water or pigment. In addition, what she is trying to teach is not at all what most watercolorists would call dry brush technique. It is more like just stippling — making tiny dots. I wish there was a way to ask for my money back.
ritazaccaria.r
Spiegazioni estremamente dettagliate per una tecnica inconsueta. Consiglierei questo corso ai principianti
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A course by Valentina Grilli
Teacher Plus
Illustrator
Joined January 2021
Valentina Grilli is an Italian painter who graduated in Art’s History from the Brera Academy of Fine Arts. Her career started in fashion, working as a textile designer for top brands like Roberto Cavalli and Patrizia Pepe, but eventually shifted to painting. Her naturalistic subjects won her national awards and exhibitions in Italy and abroad. She has exhibited her work at various galleries in Italy, London, and Berlin and has won awards such as second place at Golden Turtle 2021 and semifinalist at Figurativas 2022. The artist also gives Dry Brush watercolor workshops in Italy and abroad, and teaches at the prestigious Raffles fashion and design institute in Milan. She has also experimented in the field of illustration, using her technical expertise.
Currently, Valentina is working on a series of trees for her first solo exhibition next fall. Dry brush watercolor is her chosen technique for this series. Her encounter with graphics and design has further stimulated her experimentation in illustration. The artist’s technical expertise and experience have led her to give workshops and teach at Raffles, providing her students with insights and skills in the use of various techniques, including dry brush watercolor.
