With little moisture in a brush, the paint does not flow into all of the crevices of the painting’s surface. Imagine dragging a paint brush across the surface of a roughly textured wall… the paint would not fill in the divots and would only cover the high spots. Artists can achieve the same effect, using the surface texture of the paper, panel, or canvas on which they are painting.

By applying more pressure, the artist can work more pigment into the surface, allowing less and less of the surface to show through. If the artist uses a light or white surface, shadows can be built up slowly, creating transitions from light to dark. Conversely, an artist can dry brush lighter colors on top of a dark surface to create transitions in value.

Featured: Travelers Among Mountains and Streams by Fan Kuan