Gouache is a versatile and easy-to-use painting medium, yet few artists are aware of its fantastic qualities. In this inspirational book, professional artist and bestselling author Jeremy Ford expounds the benefits of this exciting medium, and leads the way to its long-overdue renaissance. What is Gouache? Sometimes known as ‘body colour’, gouache is an opaque water-soluble pigment dispersed with calcium carbonate (chalk) in gum, usually gum arabic. A form of gouache or body colour has been used for centuries to enhance paintings and increase the opacity of watercolours.Widely used by designers, commercial artists, and illustrators, a designer might use a ‘fugitive’ or non-lightfast colour which might be for photographic reproduction where the original painted design afterwards becomes superfluous. The Art Of Gouache - Learn a series of techniques including: Washes This is a universal technique, but it can be done more thickly with gouache.Most of this painting was done in a watercolour style, leaving bits of the white paper showing in the ripples in the foreground. Where any white paper was lost, I used thicker white gouache, for example, at the distant water’s edge. Spattering Use this technique to add a bit of texture to your painting, or some finishing touches.Make three colour mixes, all in a milky consistency. You can achieve this by adding water to the paint colours. Start by mixing burnt sienna and intense blue together to give a very dark green. If you want it to be darker, you can add a small amount of black. Next, mix a dark brown using burnt sienna and black. For your third colour, use permanent rose and intense blue to give a violet. I use a size 10 round brush. Using plastic food wrap to create a striking effect This is a watercolour-type technique which is not solely limited to gouache. I use it to create texture, effect and interest in semi-realistic floral pictures. It would not work quite so well in a traditional-style landscape picture, because the pattern it makes could be distracting. Any colour paints with plastic food wrap will create the kind of patterns you can see here and the stronger the colours used, the more obvious the patterns will be. Overlaying You may find that you frequently need to paint over a previous layer of paint, either to alter it or to get rid of it, and it is all too easy to disturb the underlying colour without meaning to. Consistency of paint is important in this respect.If the underlying colour shows through when you don’t want it to, let it dry and go over it again, possibly with stronger, less watery paint. The great advantage of gouache is that you can go over and over multiple times, so keep going until you get the effect you want. Styles in gouache Creative Gouache Gouache is a very versatile medium. Henri Matisse used gouache in simple, bold statements of blocks of colour, whereas other artists such as Valentin Serov used it in a more figurative and traditional way.However, there are any number of styles of painting, and gouache will enable you to paint in a variety of ways to suit your own individual preference. For myself, the way I use gouache varies according to my mood!I sometimes like to use it rather like watercolour in a very fluid way, whereas at other times I choose to apply the paint much more thickly as one might work using acrylic paint. My own approach encompasses more styles than just these two I have mentioned. You too will discover and develop your own unique style of painting using gouache. Poster Style The poster style is a simplified depiction of a subject which usually involves little in the way of blending colours. Instead, it uses areas of solid colour, painted with a creamy consistency.When each part of the picture has dried, layers are overpainted with other colours and tones if necessary, making sure each layer is dry before painting the next area of colour. Layering is perhaps the most distinctive feature of poster-style painting.The poster style can be a very simple, effective and graphic way of painting, although attempting to depict the maximum effect with the minimum of suggestion is not always easy! Illustrative Style Gouache has traditionally been a popular medium for professional illustrators and botanical painters because of its versatile and precise qualities. As seen, you can rework or improve areas very easily with this opaque medium, which lends itself to more accurate or detailed work.Although gouache can be used in looser, more expressive styles – as shown elsewhere in the book – this more detailed approach is a great strength of the medium; and it can be used to make illustrative paintings more easily than looser media like pastels or watercolours; and more swiftly than with oils. If I wish to paint in an illustrative style, I almost always use gouache because of this. Moving Forward Composition I often play around with ideas, doing small thumbnailsketches or studies to work out an appealing composition, so do be prepared to experiment too. Many of my paintings that people see might not be the first version. I frequently paint the same or similar paintings over and over, until I settle on something I’m happy with. The ones that people don’t see are seldom wasted, but instead have provided me with learningstepping stones to achieve the one that works in the end. Painting portraits Painting people or animals is always challenging!However, gouache gives you the possibility of makinga realistic finished portrait in an illustrative style. All the features have to be in the right places and being just fractionally out can completely alter the look of the subject. It takes a lot of concentration and attention to detail to capture a likeness. Painting animals I rarely paint animals from life unless they keep still for a long while, so using good photographic reference is essential. If you are taking photographs yourself, shoot from a variety of angles so you have as much information as possible and a number of different poses to choose from. Framing and mounting Paintings in gouache should not be varnished and should always be behind glass. I see a lot of paintings by a lot of people and I seldom think it’s a good idea to put a painting in an old frame that’s been sitting round in the garage or attic somewhere. A mount lifts an ordinary picture into the extraordinary, and a good frame projects it into the spectacular, so don’t be tempted to scrimp or make do with a poor substitute if you want to show your hard-wrought creation in the best light.
✔ Author(s): Jeremy Ford
✔ Title: The Art of Gouache: An Inspiring and Practical Guide to Painting with This Exciting Medium
✔ Rating : 4.6 out of 5 base on (411 reviews)
✔ ISBN-10: 1782214542
✔ ISBN-13: 9781782214540
✔ Language: English
✔ Format ebook: PDF, EPUB, Kindle, Audio, HTML and MOBI
✔ Device compatibles: Android, iOS, PC and Amazon Kindle
Readers' opinions about The Art of Gouache by Jeremy Ford
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The depth of character development was astounding. I felt like I knew each person intimately, understanding their hopes, fears, and dreams. It made the story so much more meaningful.
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I loved the powerful messages hidden within the story. The book tackled important social issues and made me ponder the world we live in. It's a must-read for everyone.
Katherine Stevenson
The way the author handled complex emotions and relationships was remarkable. I felt deeply connected to the characters, and their growth throughout the story was both inspiring and moving.
