paint brushes cpp x6

i'm having trouble using the paint brushes in photo paint x6. i open a jpeg or bitmap then use a paint brush to paint on the image but there is no paint. do i have to use a mask now? i tried copying a dupe for a second layer to see if that worked but nix. i still have x4 and i do it there. but what's with x6? all the other tools work but the paint brush.

thanks