Trying Gouache

 

With a trip to California coming up this summer, I decided to take gouache instead of oils or watercolors. Gouache has several advantages for travel: it’s easy to clean up, it can be painted on paper, and it packs into a very small space. Plus, I love the beautiful opaque finish it provides.

This isn’t my first experience with gouache. I’ve always kept a few tubes on hand to add details to watercolor paintings, but I had never completed an entire painting using gouache alone.

There’s a lot to like about it. The colors are rich and inspiring, and it layers beautifully, allowing me to create depth in a way that’s quite different from watercolor.

There are challenges, too. The first is the value shift that occurs as the paint dries. I’ve been tackling that by making swatches and learning how much of a shift to expect. The second challenge is keeping the paint moist enough to work with. I’ve been placing the colors on a damp sponge or wet paper towels, which seems to be working well. I’ve also found that squeezing out small amounts of fresh paint more frequently helps keep the colors workable.

So far, I’ve completed about a dozen gouache paintings. By the time my California trip begins, I hope to feel comfortable enough with the medium to simply head outdoors, paint, and enjoy the experience.