One of the mediums that is growing on me is gouache! Until I attended Lisa Bardot’s painting workshop in Portugal few months ago, I didn’t really get to use it that often. Perhaps I was not familiar with it yet and needed to get some supervised practice with it. Since discovering a bit more about since, I have become more confident and really enjoy using it! I love the color intensity, that solid matte finish and its versatility ranging from opaque to transparent. And on my Strathmore A4 sketchbook for watercolor, I began practicing away with my Holbein Gouache (not to be confused with Holbein Acryla Gouache) on a two-page spread, with one large painting and two mini ones.
Great practice it was, and once I completed the sets, I figured I wanted to add some cohesion to them so introduced some big circles and drops before finally framing the two pages with some cute Hello Kitty washi tape for added kawaii. See how vividly the colors just pop out? Love them all! I recommend using cold-pressed watercolor paper for gouache to maximize color intensity. In one of my work, Sunny Days Continue, I used Strathmore’s sketchbook as well but for Mixed Media so the paper was hot-pressed. The colors did not turn out as intense as I was hoping, and when diluted, the paint merely settled on the surface. A closer look at each sketch will demonstrate what a difference it makes.
Little One and Ginger
Happy Couple… us!
Teddy, Bunny and Kitty
And this is the Holbein Gouache set I was talking about! It is said to be one of the best quality, although I have yet to try out other brands. What makes Holbein so attractive though is the wide variety of beautiful shades, many which are my favorite including hot pink, turquoise and all the “jewel” colors. Naturally I helped myself to the largest set of 84 different colors, giving me an abundant range of choice!
Not only did I have fun with this session, but I am also very pleased at the outcome. Notice how the vivid colors stand out and somewhat bring out the cuteness of my characters. I now understand why many illuration artists prefer gouache as working medium. Lesson here is to definitely go for good quality cold-pressed paper. Although I have been quite busy with my Switzerland Travel Poster, I will definitely come back to more gouache paintings soon. Looking forward to that!
My Kawaii Quarter 