A Little Dash Of The Brush Here

The greatest enemy of the dash is the habit of "overworking." Novice painters (and novice human beings) cannot resist touching the dash again. They see an edge that is "too rough" and they smooth it. They blend. They fuss.

In painting, overworking turns a vibrant dash into mud. The colors lose their clarity, and the energy dies. The painting becomes "tight"—technically correct but emotionally dead. A Little Dash of the Brush

The same is true in life. To constantly revise a decision, to apologize for a spontaneous gesture, to smooth over every rough patch of your personality—this is overworking. A little dash of the brush requires the courage to leave things unpolished. It requires trust that the viewer (or the world) will meet you halfway. The greatest enemy of the dash is the habit of "overworking

The execution of a dash changes drastically depending on the tool and paint. What you are looking for is the "broken"

If you want to inject life into your own work, abandon the search for smoothness. Here is a 10-minute exercise to master the dash.

Exercise: The One-Stroke Lemon

What you are looking for is the "broken" edge—the slight roughness where the brush lifted. That roughness is light. That roughness is life. Within five attempts, your lemon will look more real than a smoothly blended lemon painted over fifty strokes.