Arts of Painting

So far you’ve been using paint that has been thinned to make it more fluid. This time you will be using very dry paint with a technique called drybrushing. It creates a rough, textured appearance because the paint is so dry and is used so sparingly that it doesn’t fully cover the canvas.
You can also drybrush to add a small layer of color to an already painted area to subtly change the look. I use this technique a lot in portraiture to add a hint of color to cheeks or a glisten of a highlight. I sometimes refer to this as rouging because you rub or scrub into the surface much like you would with makeup.

For this technique, use a sable or synthetic filbert or flat brush. Their shapes work well for both scrubbing
and drybrushing. Once the shape and foundation of the face are painted andfilled in, I drybrush in the small details of color and tone.
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Shadding is one of important element, even its the foundation for any realistic rendering, regardless of the
medium, can be found in the five elements of shading a sphere. If you can create a believable and realistic depiction of a sphere (a ball on a table), the ability to render everything else is right at your fingertips.
If you’re asking why is the understanding of the sphere so important when drawing people and faces? Everything on the face is curved and rounded, and replicates the surface of the sphere.
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Flat brushes are most commonly used for applying large areas of color and for creating blended backgrounds. I’ve done this blending exercise with Prussian Blue and Titanium White. Try it again with different colors

1 Set aside a blob of Titanium White about the size of a quarter.

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The right color scheme is one that represents the subject, yet also adds interest for the viewer. Experiment to achieve the exact feel you want your painting to have. I’m particularly fond of complementary and monochromatic color schemes.

Complementary
Complementary colors, you’ll recall, are colors that lie opposite each other on the color wheel.
When complements are used near each other, they contrast with and intensify each other. When complementary colors are mixed, they gray each other down. You can use this knowledge to darken a color without killing it. When darkening a color to paint shadows, for example, you may instinctively reach for black.
But black is a neutral color and will produce odd results in mixtures.
Instead, darken a light color with its complement.
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