Summer Crafting: Dish Brush Painting

Fireworks painted by my 8 year old.

I've seen this technique featured all over Pinterest for 4th of July fireworks painting. The  instructions can be found here. Basically, you use an old dish brush as a paint brush, but there's a bit more to the technique than it first appears.

If you can't find an old dish brush, or if your dish brush was gross like mine, you can use a new one from the local dollar store. To get it ready for painting, take a dry brush and (bristles down) squish it against a hard surface with the heel of your hand. You want to separate the bristles.

You'll use the same technique to paint, too.

The second trick is to go easy on the paint. Dip your brush, then dab it either on a paper towel or an empty area of your palette. Then, firmly press on the brush until the bristles are flattened and the paint creates an impression. The dry brush technique gives you that wispy look for the fireworks.

Lastly, use different brushes for each color or thoroughly clean the brush between colors. I'd recommend letting the paint at least partially dry between colors.

The fluffy looking fireworks reminded me of colorful dandelions, so I applied the same technique using white paint and black paper. I also used a bit of gold paint in the center of the dish brush and dotted it in the center.

Now I'm wondering what else I can use this technique on...