Video

I use a dry brush for many of my pastel paintings.  A dry brush is nothing more than a smooth paper towel, like Viva or Shop Towel, which is folded to create an edge.  I use this edge like a brush to fill in the initial layer of pastel across the tooth of the paper.  This is especially helpful with paper like UArt or PastelMat where the tooth shows through for the first few layers.  I also use paper towel to create unique edges and shapes in my paintings.  You can learn more about this and other lessons on pastel application in my video Expressive Mark Making for Pastel Painters which is available on my website.