I tried both techniques. When I took the class with Colleen Wise she had us only apply the paint to the freezer paper (which had already been ironed to the fabric. We then used the stencil brush to ‘push’ the paint off the freezer paper and onto the fabric. This was very useful for creating shadows because the paint was heaviest just off the paper and it gradually got lighter as the brush stroked out.

When I used them for the prayer flags I found I couldn’t get enough paint where I wanted it with that approach and applied the stick directly to the fabric. It took me a couple to figure out how hard to press when applying. Too hard and it made lines that I couldn’t brush out. I tried applying it to the brush but couldn’t seem to get enough paint on it.