Artist tools: gouache paint; description and how to choose

Gouache — almost opaque water-adhesive paint. The hiding power of this paint is associated with a significant amount of pigment in the composition, in relation to the content of the binder. The classic composition of gouache is pigment (dye), gum arabic (binder) and whitewash (matting agent).

Features of gouache for which artists love it:

• It has vibrant colors (close to natural), rather thick, flexible.
• Gouache is capable of overlapping areas with dark paint with light colors and vice versa, which allows making changes in the process of work.
• It is made of water-based, which also contributes to the ability to make changes in the process of work.
• Gouache is universal in use. It can be used on paper (but not less than 280 grams), cardboard, primed canvas, plywood, and other materials.
• After drying, the painted surface acquires a noble matte velvety.
• There is no unpleasant smell.
• Dries quickly.

There are four types of gouache: artistic, poster, children's and acrylic.

Art gouache is most often used for easel painting of highly artistic. It is produced both in banks and in tubes, while the consistency regardless of packaging is the same.

A poster gouache is convenient to use in the open air. It is more opaque than artistic. In poster gouache, gum arabic is replaced with kaolin, this makes the colors more vivid.

In children’s gouache, glue is used instead of gum arabic, which makes the paint cheaper. Such gouache is better placed on the surface, it dries faster, it is easier to work with it. It can add gold, silver, fluorescent paint and paint with the effect of “metallic”. It is not recommended to buy cheap children’s paint for kids.

Acrylic gouache is more resistant to water, but it retains all the properties of ordinary gouache.

Expensive and cheap varieties of gouache differ not only in the composition but also in the quality of the coloring matter: high-quality pigments, carefully crushed, are used in good gouache.

Brushes and accessories

Both natural and synthetic brushes can be used for gouache, but it will be more difficult to work with viscous thick paint with a soft brush.

To get started, when meeting with gouache, you can purchase brushes No. 4, No. 10, No. 16; A round brush number 3 is suitable for drawing details. In order not to suffer from the problems of selection, storage, and transportation, you can immediately purchase a set of brushes. After finishing the work with gouache, rinse the brush well enough with water and allow them to dry.

Sometimes, on areas of work that should remain light, put masking fluid. This liquid is made on the basis of latex, so it is easy to put on paper, and then remove in one motion, without disturbing the paint layer.

To make the work more textured, you can use a palette knife, sea or foam sponge, in some cases — a brush with bristle pile. To mix colors and search for the desired shade, purchase a white plastic or porcelain palette.

Fundamentals and soils

Any paper with high density, not less than 280 grams will be suitable for gouache. (if you take a less dense paper, then in the process of applying gouache it will ripple). Gouache is better placed on the paper with the texture, but if you wish, you can apply it on any surface, including glossy ones (there are problems with painting glass and plastic). No problem to write in gouache on cardboard, primed hardboard, plaster, canvas, and even wooden surfaces.

Features of work with gouache

Gouache is a water-soluble paint, so to get the desired shade, it can be diluted with water. If the water turned out to be overkill, then you can paint with heavily diluted gouache like watercolor.

If an error was made in the figure, it can be corrected. Either wait until the paint dries, and wash off the unsuccessful stroke with a wet brush, or apply one layer to another (the upper layer can wet and blur the previous layer, and if the thickness is excessive, an uneven surface will be obtained). High covering ability is convenient both for drawing small elements, and drawing a generalized sketch, followed by detailed pictorial elaboration. After drying, gouache brightens due to the presence of white in its composition. Also, do not add a lot of white or black, it will significantly reduce the brightness of the color, and make the shades "cooler". Before starting a great job, experiment with shades, make colorings (test samples on the material used).

To fix the work using varnishes that can be applied with a brush or airbrush. Varnishes for working with gouache are more often glossy, and their use gives the finished work a slight shine.

Thick texture allows you to work in gouache in various techniques, including the impasto technique. The ability to dissolve makes it possible to use gouache in the glaze. Special techniques help gouaches to imitate various textures on canvas. Gouache is often used in mixed canvases, for example, it is combined with acrylic and pastel. Fans of temporary tattoos love to draw on themselves patterns of good professional gouache, as it is well applied, dries quickly and is quite easily washed off. True, gouache is not intended for drawings on the body: it is hardly possible to cause irreversible harm to your health with this paint - but still it is better to use special paint with natural ingredients, as some types of gouache that have harmful chemical substances (eg phenol) can cause allergic reactions and can be poisoned. Be careful!