The Dry Brush

Ages 12-15

Breina's painted line spreads beyond its pencil edge.

She lifts the brush. A drop hangs beneath its tip.

Beside the picture, a folded cloth has one damp corner. Breina pushes it away and reaches for the paint again.

The next line is supposed to run beside the first.

She holds the brush above it, then puts it down across the paint pot.

At the next work session, Breina unfolds the cloth before she opens the paint.

She leaves its damp old corner folded under. The dry part rests beside a plain scrap.

Breina dips the brush. She touches it against the cloth, then draws one stroke on the scrap.

It is too pale.

She dips again and presses only the tip against the dry part. The next test stroke has a clear edge.

Breina turns to her picture.

The first smudge is still there. She begins the second line a little farther away.

Her brush reaches the end. She lays it on the cloth.

Beside the old blurred line, the new one ends at its pencil mark.