as i've mentioned before, i am strictly a beginner where gouache is concerned. 
i haven't used it enough consistently to really know what i'm doing. which is why i decided to start playing around with it everyday. so far i've been doing a rudimentary pencil sketch then going in over the top with gouache. i draw fewer details since everything gets covered up anyway.
on the shells below i drew the bottom one with pencil then switched the position of the shell and just painted the one on top without drawing beforehand. and all the while i was doing it i was thinking of how much better it would look if i drew it with a nice inky pen then doused it with watercolor when it was dry.
but of course that would really defeat the purpose wouldn't it?
and i wouldn't want to do that. not in the first inning anyway. maybe by the 4th i will be down for some purpose defeating. but not yet. i'm still in the gung ho stage.
happy friday working stiffs! monday is a holiday. ahhhhhhhhhhh. 72 hours worth of chillaxing. sends a shiver up my spine just thinking about it. ya know?
Love the paintings – it’s good to see you having fun.
I know you want to get better at gouache, but I think your paintings are fabulous just as they are. They are every bit as engaging as Maira Kalman, etc… So keep up the good, I mean, GREAT work!
Ohhh lucky you to get Monday off! We don’t get it off here… bummer! Have a great time gouaching the day away! Love the brightness of gouaches compared to watercolors. Have both, need time to play!
ha ha ha!!! i have used that gouache – a friend has some. its just matte acrylic paint. i think. but the colors are awfully pretty. cheap craft paint is…well cheaper…and does the same thing. for me anyway…
When you play I smile. I love how that works out. Enjoy the extra super duper longish weekend. Yeah for you! I’m pretty darn sure you are gonna make good use of every second. Yesterday I was in my favorite art shop and I saw this amazing color chart behind the counter and asked what the medium was…watercolors…yummy, yummy,I was smitten with them and totally entranced. My cogs and wheels are spinnin’.
Update from gouache-quest 2014, I went to my local art supply store (also our only art supply store, c’est vrai!) and bought Holbein Gouache in primary colors. Got home, squeezed it into a palette, waited for it to dry, and then saw it is “Holbein Acryla Gouache”. Not Artists Gouache, but some sort of acrylic based stuff. Foiled again! I shall play with it, of course, but acrylic gouache? It seems to defy the laws of the universe, just a bit.
I think putting watercolor in the seashell study is a lovely enhancement, and besides, gouache and watercolor are cousins, so they can play together. Unless one has ‘black sheep gouache’ of the acrylic variety – that’s just confusing 😉
yes, what is Monday for? Cesar Chavez?
every thing okay your way after the earthquake? love all your gouache work. have a nice relaxing extended weekend.
Great work on the sea shells. Love em.
Monday holiday? I want that work week!
What holiday is Monday?? Loving your gouache — sounds like something to eat…no wait, that’s ganache! Have a great weekend!