21 Jun A Beginner’s Guide to Brushwork, Lesson #2

I’ve been so excited to start this new handicraft! Brushwork is our precursor to watercolor painting. In this handicraft, we are going to learn the basics of watercolor – how to handle and control a brush, how to load a paintbrush, and how to maneuver a brush on paper. Having covered all of the basics in A Beginner’s Guide to Brushwork in a Charlotte Mason Education, we will be moving on to brushwork lesson #2, which involves making a pattern with brush forms.

Materials Needed

• The book, Brushwork, Elementary Brush-Forms by Marion Hudson (also available online HERE)
• 1″ absorbent grid paper
• Watercolor paints
• Watercolor Paintbrush, we used Princeton Velvetouch round size 6 or round size 8
• A glass of water (not used for drinking)
• A small plate for mixing paint and water
• A napkin to dry the brush

Happy Handicrafts Video: A Beginner’s Guide to Brushwork Lesson 2

Hopefully you have spent some time practicing the brush strokes in our first lesson. I did several sheets of grid paper, attempting to perfect this brush stroke in all four directions. Each direction presented a new challenge. However, brushwork is a very relaxing and enjoyable handicraft, so despite the challenge, the practice was something that I really looked forward to.

The grid illustrated in the book is not the same as the 1″ grid paper that we purchased. My guess is that the paper in the book is probably about 1/2″ grid. Because of this we had to adapt our pattern slightly to fit into the grid. The book seems to acknowledge this potential size difference, advising us to “fill in center to suit size of paper, in a similar way to example given.”

In order to make our pattern as similar as possible, we started with the border and then identified the center and worked outwards.

Overall, I don’t believe it’s the pattern in the book that is of most importance, but rather the practice of painting the brush forms in all four directions. So take your time, use the book as a guide, and make something fun and beautiful!

I have enjoyed all of our handicrafts so far, but this one is also bringing us such relaxing energy. If you’d like to join us, be sure to follow us on our YouTube channel, Happy Handicrafts. We post a new handicraft video weekly especially for homeschooling families who follow the Charlotte Mason method. But, of course, our video are available to everyone who loves handicrafts and the joy of creating.