Thursday, October 24, 2013

Two Gouaches

I've been working with gouache (opaque watercolor) for almost a year and am still learning of course.  For the plein air paint-outs I go on, sometimes I feel gouache will work better for what I have in mind than transparent watercolor.  On many plein air outings in the past few months I've painted a gouache piece in addition to my watercolor.  While my transparent watercolor washes are drying I can work on a smaller gouache.  Or, sometimes the time I have to spend is short so I just try a gouache.  The paint dries faster than watercolor and I paint at a smaller size, 5x7", so far.  

I have two recent gouache pieces to share.  The first I painted last Saturday with the group on Avenue 64 in Highland Park, a neighborhood of Los Angeles.  Our location was the Church of the Angels, 1889, but the hillside across the street from the church caught my eye.  I thought the houses and trees might be fun to try in gouache as I wasn't feeling up to the church's architecture.  I found an old photo of the church online which shows the hillside I painted before it was covered with homes.    

Another recent paint-out was at the Pasadena Playhouse, 1925, built in the Spanish Colonial Revival style.  Finding some shade the day we were there was a challenge so I decided to use gouache to paint my view of the courtyard arches and hibiscus from some shaded steps.  I'll be back at both of these locations to paint other views!

5 x 7"



5 x 7"



    

8 comments:

  1. It is interesting to follow your gauche work. I don't think many people use it, including me. You do have good results.

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    1. Thanks Polly, it's fun to try but feels so opposite from transparent watercolor.

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  2. I have never used gouache often - very intriguing. Looks like the colors dry darker - do they? Your paintings are lovely. Thanks for sharing. Have a great day.

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    1. Thank you Debbie! I'm still learning how gouache behaves. I do think maybe the light colors dry darker and the darks dry lighter. Plus it also depends on the color underneath which might show through a bit.

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  3. Your continued use of the gouache has really paid off for you Sherry, I only use the white if I have lost the paper white, I have seen some DVDs with it being used mixed with wc for tone and then added has highlights, might try some in my mixed media pieces. Cannot believe how you manage to paint a couple of scenes in the same session

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    1. Thanks Lorraine! Gouache is used in many different ways for sure. Still experimenting!

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  4. Both stunning, Sherry! Your use of color with gouache is so exciting.

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