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Paint Ability
Gouache
Gouache Paint
An introduction to Gouache paint.
Gouache - pronounced gwash as in squash.
Gouache paint is often called 'Designers Gouache' due to it's
opaqueness, speed of drying and matt finish, being so necessary for
designer, illustrators and commercial artists. It is also often referred
to as 'opaque watercolour'.
Image courtesy of Daler Rowney A good quality Gouache paint is a mix of pigment and Gum Arabic. Gum Arabic is the binder for the pigment, giving it a creamy 'flow' consistency, cheaper varieties may have chalk added to the pigment and they often 'flow' less than a better quality product. Gouache can be used thin to give a wash at the start of a painting allowing the thicker layers to be used towards the end.
A star or letter rating gives the permanency of the colours. I would suggest for fine art use 'extremely permanent' and 'permanent' colours. If you are lacking a permanent colour in Gouache, try using a permanent watercolour/acrylic colour instead.
Gouache
is a quick, direct and amenable medium, with superb covering power. You
don't need to reserve your 'white' as in watercolour; it's more
controllable then watercolour and you can remove mistakes and re-paint.
Sable or Synthetic brushes are ideal, bristle brushes if you want more
expressive brush marks
Gouache
painting techniques are usually used on watercolour paper, white or
tinted. You can also use coloured pastel paper or mount board. I would
recommend heavier papers to give a more stable surface for the paint,
especially if you like to paint in numerous layers. They are also best
preserved under glass using a mount.
Gouache
paint is designed to be applied fairly thickly; diluted with too much
water and they can 'powder off'; applied in too many thick layers and
they have a tendency to crack. The cracking is due to the under layers,
absorbing the water and Gum Arabic out of the newly applied paint, but
it only become apparent when dry. 'Less layers are best layers' with
Gouache! I especially like them for small and detailed paintings, give
them a try, they can be very rewarding.
In our eShop we carry the Penman Liquid Gouache range of inks, these are ready to use straight from the pot, to find out more about them click the Liquid Gouache ink or to purchase click to go to our eShop.