Speed Drawing Portrait of Charlie Chaplin by Dry Brush Technique in Oil Painting

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Dry brush technique

For this photo-realistic portrait of Charlie Chaplin. I used the dry brush technique with black and white oil paint on paper. You can follow through the process of portrait drawing in a so called ”speed drawing” fast-tracked video format. Based on the size and the subject preparation time for oil portraits takes about 40-50 hours depending on how photo-realistic or hyperrealistic the painting is aimed to be. A drawing or a painting is never completely finished as this special technique allows us to work out and get lost in the smallest detail during the process. This oil paint was used on 50X65cm sized pasteboard.

The dry brush technique is a very sophisticated technique which unlike traditional painting requires less material yet closer attention and higher concentration. As correction is rather difficult try to avoid making any mistakes while drawing.

Oil paint is applied in such thin layers that if you dragged your finger along the surface of the painting with your eyes closed, you would feel as if you were pulling your fingertips on a plain paper. Several thin layers of paint are applied meticulously and for this reason the overall effect becomes photo-realistic. You can also create a hyper-realistic style by using the same technique. The dry brush technique can be applied in many ways using different materials f.i. oil paints, graphite, charcoal, pastels, acrylic pain, on different surfaces f.i. paper, canvas, wall, etc.


Dry brush technique with black oil paint

Requires minimal material usage. Dry brush technique supplies: oil paint, linseed oil, sewing machine oil or machine oil. Variety of brushes in different sizes, rubber eraser and of course a lot of patience, attention and dedication.

Squeeze out a small amount of black oil paint onto a wooden or metal surface or a palette then add a few drops of machine oil as solvent. Rub it in and spread out the mixture evenly onto the surface. Slightly touch the paint with the paintbrush and the brush will pick up the diluted oil dye then rub the excess onto a piece of paper so that the brush is actually almost dry. Repeat it until you get the perfect shade you want to use for highlighting and emphasizing specific details in the drawing/painting. The oil paint has to be applied very gently in several layers. Use rubber eraser for correcting the light areas and to highlight the shadows and the lights of the painting.

Traditional linseed oil has a yellowing effect when exposed directly to intense sunlight otherwise it can be used without any problems.

The dry brush technique can be used along with various other techniques or independently. Currently dry brush technique is considered to be one of the most advanced drawing techniques, therefore I don’t recommend it for beginners. As the first step it is advisable to learn and practice how to tone.