Part I: Gouache Is Not Watercolor
by Lynne
It all started when I signed up to go to Colombia this February on a combination birding/sketching trip. Eric Losh, the birder/illustrator running the Colombia trip was kind enough to provide an intro supply list to me so that I could get familiar with the materials I would be using. And in addition to the 12 watercolor pigments he suggested and that I am accustomed to using, there was gouache.
I have never been especially tempted by gouache. In fact, I don’t much like watercolor pigments that have more than a semi-transparent rating for opacity. However, I have on occasion wished I could layer a bright yellow on top of other colors without it disappearing, and I do get that opacity provides that opportunity. I have also sometimes used white gouache to sprinkle snow splatters on a wintertime scene or to add a highlight here and there. But that’s about it.
In response to a query on his Discord, Watercolor Rebels, Logan offered to lend me his lightly used collection of various artists gouache brands and colors, and the exploration began. But, my knowledge of painting is watercolor, where the goal (at least mine) is to host the pigments in a good amount of water so they can intermingle and create colorful shapes, shadows, and textures almost without my interference. I had no idea how this approach would play out in gouache.
I decided to draw a simple ink sketch of a nighttime mountain scene with a moonlit field of snow and rows of evergreens; one that I have done in the past just for fun. Not a particularly unique composition, but one that I could render pretty quickly. I used an inexpensive Handbook 5’x8” 200gsm watercolor journal that I had laying around. Given that I had not painted with gouache before, I had visions of a bold, color-blocked scene but no idea how artists familiar with the medium got there. So, I began as someone familiar with watercolor might…I added lots of water to a palette of dried gouache.
First Gouache Scene
A hot mess. Certainly not the result I envisioned or hoped for. I did learn some things pretty quickly though: 1) Gouache gradients are much harder to create and brush strokes show EVERYTHING, at least, when a lot of water is involved. 2) Gouache dries fast. Though that may have partially had to do with the paper, it still felt faster than my past watercolor work in the same journal. 3) Lifting happens way too easily, even with pigments that I rely upon to be staining in watercolor. 4) Despite the water, paint didn’t seem to move nor did colors intermingle the way they do with watercolor. And, 5) Maybe starting with a dried palette wasn’t the best idea. Hmmm.
Next, for comparison and to see how much impact the paper was having, I rendered a similar scene with a similar palette of colors, but in watercolor. My initial observation was partially correct; the watercolor did dry more slowly, but the paper quality definitely impacted the results. Not in a good way. I remembered why this journal was hanging around unused.
Watercolor Version
I decided to stick with this paper anyway, to keep things consistent as I changed other variables. Sooo, after a little bit of reading about how to soften dried gouache, I sprayed the paint in the palette and let it sit for a bit. Then painted again.
Gouache with Refreshed Paint
Still looking like a hot mess, but I could see the places where I had used softer paint and less water were more opaque and…not completely unpleasant. I also started to get a sense of how to use white as opposed to water to lighten the values, and that helped. It began to bring back some muscle memory of painting with acrylics as a kid. Finally, it made me realize how I should have started to begin with, and I then painted the scene using gouache fresh from the tube.
Gouache with Fresh Paint
This is much closer to what I was looking for. Don’t get me wrong – I have a long way to go before I will even call myself a novice gouache painter. But using fresh paint allowed me to feel like I have a shot at it. I created much smoother blended effects. I figured out how and when to spray the mixes on my palette to keep them usable, how much to let the paint dry before it was safe to layer on a lighter or darker color and how to avoid lifting by ensuring that I didn’t have too much water in the added layer. Brush strokes and paint consistency will be an ongoing learning curve, as will combining transparency with opacity so that areas of a painting don’t look disjointed. Then, of course, there will be color mixing and a pigment selection. I suspect that I will want at least somewhat different colors in gouache than I regularly select for watercolor. In the meantime, I think I will stick with fresh (or VERY refreshed) paint and a whole lot less water as I continue to figure some of these things out on my gouache journey. Pretty much the complete opposite of what I strive for with watercolor. Live and learn!