Let me begin by saying that in an attempt to curtail my evergrowing collection of art supplies, I have fastidiously avoided discussions of many media outside of watercolor and ink. Recently those Discord discussions have included new, lightfast drawing pencils, water-soluble oil paints, pens, and pastels, to name just a few. But, I have now been pleasantly captivated by gouache.
As I always do, I approached the idea of this purchase with the premise that I didn’t want to make a mistake and be burdened with supplies I don’t enjoy. I already have plenty of those (Can you say 18 tubes of various pigments of violet watercolor?). So, I started researching. For my upcoming Colombia birding/sketching workshop, the instructor’s recommendation was for five tubes of Holbein Artist Gouache in specified colors that he has found most helpful for sketching birds and nature. But, I couldn’t just buy those and be done with it. “Because,” I rationalized, “ if I am going to use gouache, I will want to have a full range of colors, and a brand that I like using.” I have a few brands in different colors in the selection that Logan (aka Billy Idyll) generously lent to me, and a couple of my own, so I got started. Below is the palette of fresh pigments and brands I have been trying out, set in a spare Mijello 33-well palette. It is not one of the airtight ones with a silicone ring, but that wasn’t important to me since I want to know how the paint functions once it’s dried then reconstituted.
My first observation was that this is a well-rounded palette, similar to what I’d choose for watercolor. There are two different brands of ultramarine to compare, but otherwise, I have a full spectrum of color without redundancy and at the same time, quite a bit beyond a limited starter set. Because I plan to travel with the paints and have concerns about leakage with a stay-wet palette, I let them dry in the palette overnight. Some pigments were cracked and a bit crumbly, but many were just like I was used to with watercolor. After swatching at this stage, I didn’t see a ton of differences among them in terms of how they panted. For the most part, I could get okay opacity, but in order to get a nice creamy texture for a smooth opaque brushstroke, I had to add water multiple times and really let the paint sit and absorb the moisture. They weren’t close to feeling like fresh paint, though.
In my previous post I discussed a few attempts I made to rewet the gouache, and ended up concluding that I would need fresh paint to get the bold blocks of color I was seeking from gouache. How wrong a novice can be! Because I will likely want to travel with gouache, and after reading and watching Sarah Burns, The Fearless Brush, rave about painting outdoors with dried gouache for 40 days, I tried one more method for refreshing dried gouache: Still in the same non-airtight palette, I sprayed the paint lightly with water, then added a soaked shop cloth before closing it up for a couple of days. I then swatched the colors by brand, and made some initial notes about each, included below.
Then it was time to create some art. While I didn’t include every color, the painting experience mirrored what I observed in the swatches. The Winsor Newton permanent yellow deep and both raw and burnt siennas were super challenging to use. They remained crumbly, despite added water and wait time, and I had to really watch out for clumpy residue in my brush strokes on the page. It’s evident in the swatch photo how the Spectrum Red dried and even crumbled off the page in one spot. The Holbein leaf green was very hard to rewet and remained pretty solid, though I was able to get enough paint on my brush to get the coverage I wanted. I didn’t have the opportunity to include the black to compare another color from the brand. With the Schmincke and M Graham I had a different and very positive experience. I was able to paint smoothly, the brush gliding across the page. Colors from both brands were positively soft, with just a light crust that melted when touched by a slightly wet brush. They were close to a fresh paint stage; pigments picked up nicely, with just a bit of water. I didn’t lose opacity and they were a pleasure to use. Here’s the result:
So far, I’ve approached painting with gouache more from the perspective of an investigation into its qualities than as a creator of art. However, I’m already beginning to see and feel what some artists love about it. As I’ve begun to figure out how to make the paint flow, I’ve gotten a glimpse into the beauty of the intense colors I can create and the benefits of the opacity. The opportunity to layer not just dark over light, but dark over light allows for correction and adjustment in a way that isn’t possible in watercolor. In my own initial palette, I will primarily stick with Schmincke to start, as in this limited trial it’s been the most consistent for me, with the Winsor Newton Permanent Yellow Deep added to fill a color slot that I will replace down the road. It’s been an interesting exploration to get to know a new water-soluble media for my art, and I am looking forward to continuing this journey in combination with my work in watercolor and ink.
Oh, And P.S. Here’s where I landed with colors and the gouache I will be using for a bit.
Comments
2 responses to “Going Down the Gouache Rabbit Hole Part II: Setting Myself Up in Gouache”
Sarah Burns’s name was going to leave my lips, just before you mentioned her. She has so many interesting resources on gouache. I’m resisting getting into the medium myself because I also have experience going overboard purchasing art supplies, but I like learning about it and seeing what it’s capable of. If you really get into it I think having more voices in this space would be great.
By the way, have you ever experimented with adding honey or glycerin to your paints? I do it to almost every pan I prepare, and together with my spray bottle I never have issues with rewetting with a variety of brands, though I’d give the following cautions:
– Mr. Billy “Logan” Idyll often mentions stickiness as something he dislikes, and I’m sure this increases it
– It probably dilutes the paint a little, this might be more or less dramatic with gouache
– The pans take longer to set up or form a film over, as you’ve probably experienced with your M Graham paints
– I have made the mistake of adding honey to M Graham paints before…. it makes it so it never ever ever dries or stays put.
You don’t need much to make a difference. I’ve found that honey and glycerin are both effective humectants, but I find creamed honey a little easier to work with, and it presumably has more antibacterial properties. I also enjoy the little ritual of stirring the ingredients together to make everything just the way I like it.
Hi Kathryn,
The only additive I’ve tried with paints is gum arabic, just a couple of times with Daniel Smith’s French Ultramarine, and it worked like a charm. I’ve been thinking about glycerin for the gouache; I’ve seen it mentioned in a few places.
I hear you on the art supply resistance – I unfortunately lost the battle with gouache. I’m now a huge fan. The bold color block look is very attractive to me, and the layering capacity is a true bonus. Plus it’s pushing my artistic growth to have to think about mixing with a different medium, and how to create effects I’m looking for. We’ll see if it lasts!