Gouache Painting Essentials — Everything You Need To Get Started
Often described as an “opaque watercolour”, gouache is a water-based paint medium made from pigment suspended in a water-soluble binder such as dextrin or gum arabic. The high pigment load allows the paint to dry to a flat, matte finish with minimal visible brush strokes and, like watercolour, can be diluted, thinned and reactivated with water once dry. The bold, opaque quality of the paint allows for easy reproduction, making this medium a popular choice among illustrators and graphic designers, and its easy set-up makes it a great choice for beginners.
The Painting Essentials
Gouache Paint
We stock Royal Talens’ range of extra-fine quality gouache paints, chosen by us for their intense colours and beautifully smooth finish. Each colour can be used directly out of the jar to create even blocks of matte colour, or by mixing with water to improve the paint flow, mix colours and increase the transparency. Although this paint dries quickly, it remains water-soluble and can be reactivated with water so you can keep painting for longer.
We offer sixteen of the extra-fine quality gouache colours from Royal Talen’s range, but if you’re just starting out we’d recommend the following colours, as from these you'll be able to mix the widest range of colours and shades.
Permanent Rose (Magenta), Yellow, Prussian Blue (Phthalo), Burnt Umber & White.
Gouache Paint Brushes
As gouache is very similar to watercolour, synthetic and sable watercolour brushes are a great choice for using with this medium. We’d recommend our range of Daler-Rowney’s Aquafine watercolour brushes and Pro Arte’s range of Prolene synthetic brushes, which all offer a soft bristle ideal for creating smooth, fluid lines and fine details.
When starting out with a new paint medium we always suggest picking out two or three brushes to experiment with and then adding to your tools as you get more confident. Round brushes are always a popular choice as they are a very versatile shape, being able to create lines of various weights depending on the pressure and size of the brush. Flat Shader brushes are great for blocking in areas of colour, while Spotter and Liner brushes are great for adding precise details to your artwork.
As a water-based paint medium, any excess gouache can be easily cleaned from your brushes with soap and warm water. Avoid leaving your brushes to soak in water however, as the soft bristles of watercolour brushes can be easily damaged and deformed if left resting against the base of a pot.
Gouache Painting Surfaces
As these paints are water-based, we’d recommend choosing a paper that can withstand a high level of moisture without wrinkling. Thicker, textured papers such as Daler-Rowney’s Optima Mixed Media paper pads are a great choice for those working with gouache paint as they are designed to take layers of wet and dry media, and are especially suitable for artists looking to combine their gouache with other drawing and painting techniques.
Watercolour papers such as Winsor & Newton’s Cold-Pressed Watercolour Paper Pad also make a great surface for gouache artworks. If you’re looking to create flatter, more detailed artworks, the smooth surface of a hot-pressed watercolour paper might be better suited to your style, whereas the more textured surface of a rough watercolour paper is best for those with more expressive techniques.
Anything Else?
Once you’ve got your paint, surface and brushes, you’re ready to start painting! An old glass or mug from the kitchen is all you need to hold the water to rinse your brush, and the paints can be used straight out of the jar or tube. However, there are a few more supplies that we’d recommend to help improve your painting experience and experiment creatively.
Painting Palette
Gouache paints are ready to use straight from the pot or tube, but we find it’s often helpful to have a palette to mix colours or dilute the paints with water. We’d recommend using a ceramic palette for gouache artworks, as they’re sturdy and easy to clean, and the paint can be left on the palette to be reactivated with water later. Our flower shaped ceramic palette is a great option, as it offers seven individual wells to help keep colours separate while you work.
Paint Water Pot
When painting with gouache, you’ll need a water pot for wetting and rinsing your brush as you switch between colours. An old glass or jar from the kitchen will work perfectly, but if you don’t have anything suitable you could also choose our handy Clic-and-Go water pot. Made by Faber-Castell, this pot has a practical collapsing mechanism, allowing it to be folded flat to store away or take with you on the go. The scalloped edge of the pot has been designed for you to rest your brushes across when they’re not in use, keeping your desk or workspace from being marked with paint.
Masking Fluid
Ideal for those creating layered gouache paintings, masking fluid is a liquid medium you can paint on paper to create a “mask” over certain areas. Once the medium has dried, you can paint your design over it and then carefully peel the masking fluid away to reveal the white paper underneath. This medium can be applied with a fine tipped brush or shaper tool, helping artists to create very fine details and highlights.
Mixed Media Techniques
While the vibrant, opaque finish of gouache paints is beautiful on its own, the flat, matte finish offers an excellent base for those looking to experiment with other mediums. You could use a Sakura Pigma Micron fineliner pen to outline and draw on top of the paint, or Faber-Castell’s Polychromos artist’s coloured pencils to create shadows, highlights and add texture to the gouache colour. Watercolour paint also works well alongside gouache, with artists often painting initial washes of colour with watercolour and then adding bold, painterly details on top with gouache.
Looking for inspiration?
We offer many different art and tutorial books to help inspire those getting started with new mediums. For gouache, we’d recommend “15 Minute Art: Painting” by Hannah Podbury, which features fifty different botanical painting projects with easy-to-follow steps, practice pages and lots of helpful tips and tricks. We also love “Keeping a Creative Sketchbook” by Emma Block for its fun, creative prompts and advice on finding inspiration and exploring different materials.
Have any questions? Please feel free to email us at hello@saltartsupply.co.uk, and we’d be happy to help you! We love to see the work you create using our tools, materials and recommendations, so make sure to tag us @saltartsupply on Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok.
