What is Drybrush?

Drybrush is a classical painting technique in which water-soluble pigments are used directly or mixed with only a minimum of water.  When applied with a fine-tipped brush, the artist can create effects of great precision and beauty.

The unique power of drybrush arises from its use of translucent pigments.  Oil paints allow for outstanding detail – but because the paints are opaque, the viewer can only perceive the final layer of paint. Conventional watercolors, on the other hand, hide nothing — so that one luminous washes can truly glow through each other.  Yet when diluted into a wash, watercolor has a very limited capacity to define crisp feature and contrast. 

While difficult to master, drybrush offers the best of both worlds. Its rich pigmentation and miniature brushes allow for extraordinary detail — while its natural water solubility generates glowing, flowing layers of translucent color.   

Richard Eyster’s works are made with the world’s finest and most expensive materials: pigments from the 200-year-old British firm Winsor & Newton, brushes made from the finest Russian Kolinsky sable, and the finest archival watercolor paper from the Vosges region in France.  Each work takes weeks or months to reach completion.