Hi Karen...
I like gouache for its imitation of how I most often paint oils, that is laying a colored or neutral tone down on the support. With gouache...its so easy simply buying a high quality acid free mat board...which this is.
When I go to my framers and get some work framed up...I'll buy a large sheet or two of their matboard, and cut it up.
My black surfaces are #400 series Strathmore presentation board...and the gouache to a creamy consistency. A lot of fun...
and I use negative space most often to start a work...and its a bit like the subject emerging out of the support/board like Michelangelo would say about a figure trapped in stone or marble....
