Brush Drawing Resources

Brush Drawing Resources

by Richele Baburina

Videos

Initial Brush Stroke
This beginning stroke teaches lightness of hand and is a powerhouse for capturing leaves and petals.


Paint a Trout Lily
Brush draw a Trout Lily in 3 steps.


Curved Brush Stroke
Another basic stroke perfect for the nature notebook, it’s used here for the brown bud scales on a pussy willow.


Leaves
Curved brush strokes are combined to make simple leaves.


Straight Lines
See how straight lines, formed with the toe of the brush, are combined with the first basic brush stroke to make a stem, petioles, and leaflets.


Grass Blades
Increasing or decreasing pressure captures the gesture of long narrow leaves and blades of wild grass.


Lift-off Technique
The technique of lifting-off or removing watercolor is useful for making veins in leaves as well as the pale chevrons we see on red clover. For a still image of the finished product, click here.


Berries and Hips
Use brush drawing to capture berries, rose hips, hawthorn and buckthorn in your nature journal or illustrations. For a still image of the finished product, click here.


A Brush Drawn Wreath
One brush stroke is all you need to illustrate a simple garland or a sweet wreath. For a still image of the finished product, click here.


Paint and Water
Getting the right amount of paint and water in brush drawing is important but not complicated. In this video, you can see how to get a nice consistency for practicing brush strokes using either tube or pan watercolor.


Nuthatch Brush Drawing
This process video of a simple nuthatch may help you think about how to brush draw your own favorite bird in a way that shows why you love it best.


Turning Leaf
Add dimension and life to your leaves with just two strokes of the brush.


Watercolor a Full Moon
Use this simple wet-on-wet technique to add a full moon to your nature notebook.


Mix Autumn Hues
Saturated colors straight from the paintbox are mellowed with complementary colors.


NEW! Watercolor Sprigs of Pine
This happens to be from an Eastern White Pine (five needles per cluster) but the same technique can be used for many species. The observation involved is really helpful for identification and painting a variety of species can make for a whole season of nature journaling.


Paint this festive pumpkin!
Experiment with different shapes and colors to make a variety of pumpkins perfect for Thanksgiving dinner place cards or a handmade “Thankful for you” card for a loved one.


Articles

Getting Started with Brush Drawing
Everything you and your children need to get started with brush drawing the Charlotte Mason way.

A Palette for Beginners
Emeline Steinthal’s simple 9-color palette that she recommended for beginners, adapted for contemporary use by Richele Baburina.

Form I Brush Drawing Lesson
A sample brush drawing lesson for Form I adapted from Emeline Steinthal by Richele Baburina.

Brush Drawing
House of Education Katherine Loveday provides practical guidance in the teaching of brush drawing in this vintage article introduced by Richele Baburina.


Course

Brush Drawing: A Basic Course
This watercolor course in brush drawing features carefully prepared lessons that take students step-by-step from the most basic brush exercises to beginning painting from nature.