Gouache at the Beach
Plein air gouache at Goleta Beach One of the appeals of gouache is its portability and the fact that it’s easier to travel with than oil paints. For a vacation to Santa Barbara, I brought only gouache. Here’s what I experienced and learned: Every conceivable palette setup works—but none works perfectly. I ended up simply laying out paint directly on my Strada Easel mixing surface. I tried using soaked paper towels, but eventually just squeezed out small amounts of gouache and replenished them throughout each painting session. Working with fresh paint proved to be the best solution. My favorite surfaces are smooth ones: hot press watercolor paper and Strathmore Toned Sketch paper in either gray or tan. I haven’t yet tried Bristol, but I’m looking forward to it. For brushes, I’ve gotten excellent mileage out of the Richeson Plein Air Travel Brush short-handle set and Princeton Select synthetic brushes. Anything that is relatively stiff and doesn’t absorb much water works well. ...
