Improving Your Brush Confidence & Agility

Name: Improving Your Brush Confidence & Agility
Rating: 4.8 (82 reviews)

Using the principles of ink wash painting to refine and enhance your brushstrokes

Created byJill Poyerd

Last updated 10/2022

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

Brush techniques that can improve agility.
Easier form simplification.
Increased confidence when applying paint.
Strategic use of white space.
Improved appreciation for the use of values.

Course content

1 section • 11 lectures • 2h 1m total length

How to Use the Course Tools (Optional)13:25
Explore the course tools and dashboard, learn to navigate sections, watch lectures, use bookmarks, adjust playback and captions, rate the course, and manage announcements and support options.
Introduction and History5:38
Learn the history and core techniques of Sumi painting to improve brush confidence and agility, focusing on monochromatic ink, value, and minimal composition with thoughtful white space.
Supplies & Set Up10:25
Identify essential sumi ink supplies—permanent black ink, rice paper, and a round sumi brush—and master setup steps with ink stones, mixing dishes, and a protected workspace.
Ink Basics8:55
Learn ink preparation and application techniques using preprepared liquid ink or an ink stone, including dilution, brush loading, pressure, angle, and gradients.
Object Practice25:46
Practice object painting with Sue Me techniques to convey forms in few brush strokes, focusing on shape, value, and brush agility across grapes, bamboo, swan, bonsai, and mountains.
Applying the Brushwork11:48
Practice sumi painting with ink on rice paper, mastering brush loading, dry brush, and white space to build balanced, expressive compositions inspired by branch, needle, waterfall, and mountain scenes.
Interpreting Scenes10:36
Interpret scenes from photographs or live subjects in sumi, emphasizing simplification, three value mixes, and minimal brushwork to render landscape and waterfall with flowing form.
Adding a Single Color12:43
Improve your brush confidence and agility by adding a single color to sumi painting. Mix red with blue and green, apply color to floral forms, and preserve white space.
Other Painting Mediums10:56
Translate sumi ink techniques into your chosen medium by planning with a thumbnail and practicing brushwork. Focus on white space, value, and adapting to watercolor or oil.
Implementation10:12
Prepare watercolor paper, choose colors, and apply an initial cool wash to set a winter mood, then use sumi brush and dry brushing for texture with deliberate white space.
Final Thoughts1:11
Celebrate completing the course and its impact on art. Establish a Sunni painting spot as a warm‑up, explore ink wash with higher level rice papers, and practice with provided images.

Requirements

There are no prerequisites for this class, although general painting knowledge is helpful.

Description

"Once again a stunning course, I have learnt so much about using brush strokes and ink to convey different effects. I will definitely pursue this form of art as a hobby." - Jennifer F.

This course really could be called "Mastering Brushstrokes III". It's a skill-building course that uses the permanence of ink and the fast absorption of unsized paper to teach students how to paint more confidently and to use their brush in a more creative, strategic way. Although working with ink throughout most of the class, students can then translate the information learned to their chosen painting medium.

The course begins with an overview of ink and how it performs on rice paper. Students then practice painting forms, pushing their minds on how they can best convey the form in the least amount of strokes. After that, students mimic simple paintings as a way to apply the brushwork and learn about the use of white space in a composition.

Next, students interpret photographs of scenes, and then add a single color, carefully gauging the color’s impact and placement within the scene. The course ends with two activities intended to help students apply what they learned to their primary painting medium.

At the end of this course, students should notice an improvement in their brush handling, feel more confident when they stroke the brush, be better able to eliminate unnecessary details, and more aptly simplify forms.

This is a hands-on training class for artists working in any medium.

2 hours of lecture; 26 student activities

Who this course is for:

Painters working in watercolor, acrylic, tempera, gouache, oil, or other painting mediums.
Painters who feel they could use more confidence when they paint.