The Beginners Guide to Gouache

 

Usually, before you start thinking about making gouache or even trying this type of paint, you will learn that gouache and watercolor are two closely related mediums that are famous for how easy it is to get involved with it. For the same reason, it is not uncommon for them to be the gateway to many other media even at an early age, since they provide a large number of possibilities while their handling remains quite simple and enjoyable with the beginning artist.

Of course, when you  begins to go more towards the detail and precision in the representation, you can discover that it is a medium that contains a large number of techniques with which one can work in great depth.

Do you know what are the main characteristics of gouache and the difference it holds with watercolors? In this publication, American artist Ari Glass will identify them and what is more, he will explain how to make your own artisanal (or homemade) gouache, which will allow you to work at oyur ease with this fabulous medium.

Gouache

While the term “gouache” wasn’t introduced until the 18th century, similarly opaque water-based mediums have been used by artists for thousands of years. This form of gouache was widely used in manuscript production, and the colors used were those present in the medieval and renaissance color palette:

·         Red: Cinnabar, Vermilion, Brazilwood, Alizarin, Dragon's Blood (no dragons were injured in the process; it was obtained from a plant), Lake Caramine

·         Blue: azurite, crozophora, ultramarine, enamel

·         Green: malachite, verdigris, terre verde

·         White: lead (toxic), lime white

·         Yellow: ocher, saffron, orpiment, Naples yellow

·         Brown / Black: Charcoal, Ivory / Bone, Lamp, Amber

Some of these are no longer in circulation due to their toxicity, but they were key in the pictorial arts for a long time.

Certainly, it is likely that the tempera-style version of gouache is the oldest of all (and ultimately, it is also one of the forms of preparation that we will see to make gouache), but today we can find a considerable number of variations due to the diversification of materials with which it is possible to work , that have been discovered over time.

Today, contemporary artists like Ari Glass value gouache because it provides precision, full, flat color coverage, and crisp edges. It can be used to paint lettering or fill in drawings, it allows flexibility because mistakes can be covered up.