Dry-Brush Techniques With Latex First

Dragging

• Dragging is a dry-brush technique that is typically done with a base coat and a glaze coat. The wall is painted with a base coat and allowed to dry. A glaze coat is painted over the base coat and a dry brush is pulled or dragged through the glaze, exposing some of the base coat beneath. When done vertically, dragging makes the room appear taller. When done horizontally, dragging makes the room appear wider. When done both vertically and horizontally, the wall takes on the appearance of woven fabric.

Stippling

• Stippling can be done with paint or with paint and glaze. Typically, the wall is painted with a base coat. A paint brush is barely dipped into paint or glaze and pounced against the wall, creating a stippled effect. The paintbrush has to be very minimally wet with paint or the paint will drip and run, ruining the look. Stippling can also be done to remove the paint. The second coat of paint or glaze is painted on and a dry brush is pounced against it to remove the paint.

Cross-Hatch

• Cross-hatching is a method of dry brushing used to remove paint or glaze. Paint the wall with the base coat and allow it to dry. Paint a second color of paint or a paint glaze on the wall and pull a dry brush through the second coat in "X" shapes. Vary the sizes of the "X" shapes and overlap the shapes frequently to create a random pattern when cross-hatching.

Color Wash

• Color washing starts with a wall that is painted in a base coat and allowed to dry. Paint a wiggly line of your secondary glaze color onto the base coat and with a damp cheesecloth and gently manipulate the paint in small, circular motions. Go over the wet glaze with a dry brush, fanning out the lines between the different paint colors and glaze so that the wall color appears to fade into another color without hard paint lines. Work in small sections and keep the cheesecloth rinsed clean and damp. Wipe the dry brush on a clean rag after each use.