Why Paint with Gouache?

When I tell my friends about my painting hobby (re: see my art!), it’s easy to explain what and how I paint. However, explaining what I paint with is more difficult. Most people are familiar with acrylics, watercolors, and oils. While each has its advantages, I always found something lacking in their consistency, drying time, and blending ability. That’s why for the past three years, gouache (pronounced gwash) has been my go-to medium.

_{One of my paintings of street in Spain}

Before discovering gouache, I preferred oil paints because of their wide range of colors and smooth blending ability. However, they’re expensive and take a long time to dry. Plus, the strong smell was overwhelming on humid summer days when it filled my living room. Watercolors were cheaper but didn’t suit my style; they were sheer and unpredictable. Mistakes were hard to correct and I often ended up flooding the page and starting over. Acrylics are popular but their plastic finish wasn’t to my taste.

Then one day I found an old set of gouache paints collecting dust in my cupboard. Before trying them out, I looked up opinions online. The artist community was divided; people either loved or hated gouache. So I decided to test it for myself.

My first gouache painting is shown above. I used the Lefranc & Bourgeois Linel Artist’s Gouache on watercolour paper. I have to admit, the medium is alarmingly different from the rest. It is almost exactly similar to how it is called — very “gouache-y.” In that I mean it is almost has a gooey consistency, but not in a sticky way, more like Kinetic Sand. The texture and appearance of gouache paint reminded me of matte lipstick - familiar but trendy and different. Despite its texture, it adhered well to watercolor paper and was great for quick compositions and cards!

So, why would anyone want to paint with matte lipstick Kinetic Sand paint? Many reasons:

1. The Matte Finish#

Gouache provides an opaque and deep colour that can easily applied and ultimately turns out uniform. Bonus: that helps with taking accurate pictures since it eliminates glare.

2. Easy Cleanup#

If you want the opaqueness that oil provides you, but despise the tedious amount of hard-to-remove residue that it comes with, gouache is for you. It wipes off glass like watercolour!

3. Reusable Colors#

With gouache, I can reuse pre-mixed paints without worrying about having to remake my sky color for hours. Even if the gouache dries on my palette tray, I can just add water! However, unlike oil paints, it can be difficult to regenerate shades after they’ve been left out for a day.

4. Instant Dry#

Gouache dries as quickly as watercolor (who likes watching paint dry?). I can frame a small painting in just a day or two - perfect for quick scenery paintings while traveling.

Overall, gouache can be washed like watercolor, blended like oil paint, and dry-brushed like acrylic.

Gouache Setbacks#

Nothing's perfect, though. Gouache does have a few inconsistencies:

• You will run out of white fast — beware. Buy two tubes if possible.
• Gouache paint dries darker after application on paper (why you need more of the white to get those brighter tones).

All you have to do now is take my word and get some water, a paintbrush and some get your hands on some matte lipstick Kinetic Sand paint.