Home Forums Explore Media Casein, Gouache, and Egg Tempera An Invitation to the Gouache Corner

Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #448423

    Those of you who love to paint with Gouache are invited to join in The Gouache Corner October activity “Anything Goes” in the Watercolor Studio. You will find it here.

    Lots of beautiful reference photos to choose from are there, or you can use one of your own since “anything goes” as the title says.

    #509000
    Deborah Secor
    Default

        Thanks so much for posting this, Sylvia!

        I hope everyone will come on over and see what we’re doing. :D

        Deborah

        "All glory to Him, who alone is God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord."
        Landscape Painting in Pastels (free online book)
        Gouache Blog

        #509001
        Deborah Secor
        Default

            Someone remarked that most of the gouache painters have migrated over to the Gouache Corner over in the Watercolor Studio, so I want to give you the link to the Gouache Corner Archives. We have a monthly challenge thread where we share images to paint, but you can paint anything your heart desires and share it there, too. This month’s (May 2011) is here. Come on over and join us any time!

            Deborah

            "All glory to Him, who alone is God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord."
            Landscape Painting in Pastels (free online book)
            Gouache Blog

            #509003
            Just aj
            Default

                I started out painting with the 8 pan of Prang watercolors when I was just 6 yrs old. As I’ve grown up I learned to mix my own colors from there. As an adult I’ve bought tube watercolors, and the little half pans. I’m still a fan of the pans. But my question is what is the difference in gouache and watercolors?? I had done some, all from the same pan set, and a man commented on my “gouache painting. I’m standing there like a dummy, not saying a word, and wondering what he was talking about. Is it that painted, in a heavy paint, watercolor becomes “gouache”?? And “watercolor” is mostly transparent washes?? I though watercolor was watercolor. That’s what I’d bought was watercolors. I’m confused, and could use some info. Thanks in advance.

                #509002
                karenlee
                Default

                    Here is part of the article on gouache from Wikipedia:

                    Gouache paint is similar to watercolor but modified to make it an opaque painting medium (non-transparent). A binding agent, usually gum arabic, is present, just as in watercolor. Gouache differs from watercolor in that the particles are larger, the ratio of pigment to water is much higher, and an additional, inert, white pigment such as chalk is also present. This makes gouache heavier and more opaque, with greater reflective qualities. Gouache generally dries to a different value than it appears when wet (lighter tones generally dry darker, while darker tones tend to dry lighter), which can make it difficult to match colors over multiple painting sessions. Its quick coverage and total hiding power mean that gouache lends itself to more direct painting techniques than watercolor. “En plein air” paintings take advantage of this, as do works of J.M.W. Turner and Victor Lensner. It is used most consistently by commercial artists for works such as posters, illustrations, comics, and for other design work. For example, comics illustrators like Alex Ross use mostly gouache for their work. Industrial Designer and Visual Futurist Syd Mead also works primarily in gouache. Most 20th-century animations used it to create an opaque color on a cel with watercolor paint used for backgrounds, and gouache as “poster paint” is desirable for its speed and durability.
                    As with all types of paint, gouache has been used on some unusual papers or surfaces.
                    One variation of the medium is gouaches découpées created by Henri Matisse, cut paper collages. His Blue Nudes series is a good example of the technique.
                    ———————————————————————-
                    ———————————————————————-
                    As mentioned in the above article, illustrators use gouache, so the range of colors and of pigments has been much greater in gouache than the range of colors and pigments used in artist’s watercolors: gouache includes many pigments that are not lightfast, as they serve the purpose of providing bright color for reproduction purposes. However in recent years, artist’s gouache has become more lightfastness-conscious. Nevertheless, some some very fugitive pigments such as Opera and Alizarin Crimson are in such high demand by artists that they are still in production, even in artist watercolor lines.

                    #509004
                    BobCantPaint
                    Default

                        Hi there! I’m a definite newbie to gouache. I was working in acrylics for years, but found out that the type of paintings I like to do, primitive illustrations such as found on toy boxes of the 1950s and 1960s, was often done in gouache. So, I’ve tried a few small things, with fairly hair-raising results. If I ever feel brave, I’ll post some pix.

                        So I have a couple of questions. Firstly, where is a good place to start re: gouache mixing and brushing technique?

                        Secondly, what I’m doing is fairly simple stuff, which might be more towards the commercial illustration (graphics) category rather than fine art. Is gouache even the right medium to use?

                        Thirdly, why do some of my gouache paints (like my new tube of Da Vinci white) go down all muddy and gloopy and will not create an even coat? Is this a brand thing, or a sloppy artist thing? Other colors/mixtures brush nicely. My last cost of white is so rough, it looks like textured paint.

                        More later… I like gouache at times, but at others, I feel I have no handle on it at all. I did learn the hard way if you put on a thin layer over a thick first cost, it can “remove” that nice first cost, and you gotta start all over again.

                        BC

                        #509005
                        BobCantPaint
                        Default

                            I did find the Gouache Corner, some good tips there. I already discovered about a zillion things I’m doing wrong!

                            BC

                          Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
                          • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.