My First Real Gouache Painting in Years (An Oil Painter Experiments with Gouache)
Every once in a while, I like to experiment with different art supplies. I primarily work with oil paints and they will forever remain my favorite. I love the buttery feel of the paint on the brush and the ability to blend endlessly on the canvas. Honestly I even love the smell. (I know, it sounds a little strange, but I think that explains a lot about me.)
The problem right now is that my oil painting setup lives in the unfinished basement and the lighting situation down there is tough. Since there are no extra outlets near my easel, I can't just plug in a lamp to brighten things up. I have to rely entirely on natural light, which I personally think is better anyway, but it really limits my window of time. I can only paint on bright days and certainly not in the afternoon when the light fades. Between the lighting constraints and the effort of making the trip down to the studio, it creates a real barrier that keeps me from painting as often as I would like. But the urge to create is still there.
So this little collection of strawberries became my first serious attempt at gouache in years. I thought it would be a simple and fun way to explore gouache painting again without putting too much pressure on the result.
A small strawberry gouache painting study created while experimenting with gouache at my office desk.
A Blast from the Past
This is not my first time trying the medium. I dug through my blog archives and discovered my last attempt was way back in 2017, when I first experimented with gouache and tried to figure out how the paint actually behaves.
At the time I was using a small set of Holbein gouache and struggling to understand the right water ratios. I remember writing that my biggest challenge was finding the balance between “watercolor soupy” and “too thick to spread.”
Apparently some things never change.
Travel gouache paint set used for this strawberry painting experiment
The Practice Session
For this experiment, I dusted off my travel tin and found a reference image of some strawberries. My goal was not to create a masterpiece. I simply wanted to sit down at the kitchen table and paint something small and cheerful.
As I worked, a few things became very clear.
The Re-activation Struggle
Because I was working with dried pans, I had a hard time finding that perfect consistency. I was never quite sure if the paint was opaque enough or if I had added too much water.
(Spoiler alert: my paint consistency ended up looking suspiciously similar to the way I water my plants - OVERWATERED.)
A Shift in Mindset
Gouache seems to encourage a flatter, more illustrative style. Coming from oils, where I blend everything into smooth transitions, this was a bit of an adjustment. Instead of blending endlessly, you have to commit to blocks of color and build up layers.
That alone makes gouache painting feel very different from the way I normally approach oil painting.
If you know me, it will not surprise you that committing to a color decision was a little difficult (I still have start white walls and no artwork in my house after a year here!)
The Highlight Gamble
I did not have the exact range of colors I wanted for the highlights and shadows, so there was a bit of guesswork involved. With oils I would normally mix a lighter tone directly into the wet paint and blend it gently. With gouache you have to layer those lighter tones on top. I suspect my highlights ended up a little more dramatic than I originally intended. Again, not surprised here that my highlights, much like myself, are more dramatic than intended! It seems my gouache painting experience may be reflecting that as well!
Despite the STEEP learning curve, I really enjoyed the process.
The biggest win was the setup. Being able to open a small tin at my office desk and start painting immediately, without solvents, easels, or waiting for the perfect light feels like a completely different creative experience.
If a tiny tin of paint helps remove the friction and gets me painting more often, then I think gouache and I might be seeing more of each other.
If you are curious, you can also read about my very first attempt with gouache painting back in 2017, when I was just beginning to figure this medium out.
