Gouache, by Gosh! Part I

Looking at my paintings it is rather obvious that I am not a water-colorist. Secretly, down deep I would love to be able to control and manipulate this most elusive of painting mediums, bend it to my will, delight in its winsome ways. But alas, my hand is heavy, my paint is strong and thick.  But I have tried; bought watercolor magazines,  technique books, checked out the blogs and tried to get it from head to hand to paper. Unfortunately watercolor loosened on to the thick creamy white watercolor

paper, just goes BLAH as in really BLAH! I forget to leave the white of the paper until last, or to work backwards. Converted long ago to oil and acrylic techniques, I forget I can’t just pile the watercolor onto the substrate!

A number of years ago I discovered a marvelous painter, Charles Sovek. I devoured every word and picture on his website,  ordered his technique books. And after two years of yearning to take a workshop with him,  I got up the courage to sign up for his class in Provincetown, Cape Cod. Cape Cod home to so many painters of light, home to the ocean breezes and sweet smells, home to the eccentrics and I was going to  study for one week with Mr. Sovek. I would pour over his paintings, his very generous website full of free information, downloads and books he had written. I was so excited. With a room and car secured, I had four weeks to wait. 

 One spring day the phone rang and it was PAAM the arts organization calling about the workshop. With tears in the caller's voice she relayed the information that Charles had died very suddenly. No this wasn’t possible!!   Like Mozart and van Gogh he had years more to paint and share with the world. No No No ! But it was true and I carried remorse for a long long time in my heart, wrote to his wife, even though she didn't know me, and was grateful for what I learned from Charles through his website and generosity.

Charles encouraged painters to learn from the best artists,  studying and copying their techniques. I have an art journal filled with his inspiration...I would add my own painting  to his work, try to copy, or improvise....it was a great learning experience.

Now why do I share this story when we are talking about  being a watercolor misfit? Simply this: Charles could paint in EVERY PAINTING MEDIUM and they were all supreme-o, filled with light and energy. His composition skills are without question among the best. As he grew older his work became more and more loose, but it was right on! When you view his website his paintings are listed by the following categories:

                 Oil----Acrylic----Watercolor----Gouache

Why his gouache looked just like oil or acrylic. I studied his  examples, I painted some of his examples, I had to try  ….buy the gouache paints, mess around, experiment. I could feel Charles behind me…well that is a little dramatic, but it is a nice thought. A door seemed to open.

Here is my palette…messy and wonderful….also my sketchbook full of experiments and full paintings. This is how I came to love Gouache, by Gosh!!!

For this  blog on painting with gouache, I am using a sketchbook that is dedicated to Asian motifs....most everything is painted in gouache.

Materials that I use include:

Watercolor sketchbook (90#) or (140#) block of watercolor paper. Sometimes I put a thin coat of colored gesso on the paper then sand very lightly. You don't need this step but I prefer a colored background.

Pencils, water-soluble pencils, markers whatever you like to doodle with.

Some of my sketchbook pages have collage paper glued in random positions.

Watercolor brushes synthetic--flats, fitch and oval. 

Gouache: many brands available. I use tube color and love Holbein.

Techniques used for this particular Art Journal include:

1. Sketching a series of Asian children and women.  

Keep it simple.  Start with pencil, then over-draw, correcting shapes with thin waterproof pen

THE BIG SECRET!!!!! Gouache has WHITE in every color making it opaque. Ah, that is the secret ingredient that made it possible for me to paint. It dries and you can paint over it without lifting...pure magic.

2. Lay in  colors with thinned gouache, adjust  with water.  You can also use water soluble colored pencils and sketch in color, use small amount of water to blend with a brush.

3.  Paint gouache full strength, creamy like thin sour cream and brush rich, lush color. The painting will come alive!!!  Make sure the bottom layer is dry before adding more color, or the bottom layer will bleed into new color. Avoid really thick paint as it will crack with time. Just experiment and have fun!  It is just paper!

Here is a view of the use of collage, using Asian newspaper and decorative papers, applied with mat medium at any time in the painting process.

Some of the paintings I drew over the completed painting with thinned black gouache or thicker marker pen.  This gives a more illustrative effect to your design. 

Gouache paintings have a unique mat finish, just like velvet. You can use a spray sealer but they are lovely left with no finish.  Like watercolor they do well under frames with glass.  In a journal this isn't an issue. 

 A few more Asian images from my Art Journal.

I recently traveled to New York and Chicago with a small carry on with all I needed to paint when the opportunity presented itself.

Thank you Mr. Sovek. We imagine you hiking the clouds, paper, canvas,  paints, brushes and easel in your back pack searching for rainbows to capture in your unique style.  Maybe someday we will meet and I will get to take a heavenly workshop!

Note: Charles Sovek's books are available at his website and some are available on Amazon.  Website on side bar.

Peggy his beloved wife runs the website now, posting his paintings for sale, DVD's, and the original site as Charles set it up. 

Plein Air, Painting the American Landscape - Cape Cod, Taos, Trinidad episodesPainting IndoorsOil Painting: Develop Your Natural AbilityCatching Light in Your PaintingsPainting IndoorsOil Painting: Develop Your Natural AbilityCathcing Light in Your Paintings

What About Faces

Each FACE is an universe, a separate identity, wrinkles, crinkles, splotches from one's life journey. Much can be learned about a person by carefully observing their face. Photographers and artists learn to look at a face deeply, to capture the soul and persona each in their own manner.


As a painter, PEOPLE WATCHING is high on my list of pleasures. There are so many ways to capture the image of someone who intrigues you, who mystifies you, who teaches you.


I have tried my hand at portraiture, exploring many different techniques. This beautiful Tibetan woman caught my attention and is painted in a more realistic manner.

Two little girls absorbed in their knitting are more about story telling and   body language.

These girls chatting in Times Square are vague but you can almost imagine what they look like.

Then of course there is PHOTOGRAPHY, the lens captures what the eye might miss. My camera like my iphone stay close to me at all times. One never knows.......

Great fun is IMAGINATIVE PAINTING...inspiration flowing from head to arm to brush.

There are so many places to go for inspiration, more magical places than time to travel.  A few years ago I ran across the multi-media work of a very talented artist, Misty Mawn. I followed her work through her blog and magazines that feature her work and was intrigued with her style of painting faces. She offered an on line class and I decided to try something new.  It is a terrific class if you are interested in exploring something from a different point of view.


Those who participated in her online class uploaded their paintings onto a Flickr group. I realized, looking at the over all work, that my own style of personal painting technique created a challenge for me and I couldn't quite attain her style like other participants. However, I did learn many things and at that time fell in love again with the OIL STICKS which she had use in an exercise.


The following are few of the faces I did specifically for her group. They are all done on heavy #180  hot press watercolor paper. I am binding them into a book. Most faces rely heavily on Stablio watersoluable pencil and Oil Sticks from several different sources.  Others involve acrylic and collage. All were drawn from imagination with no references.

I wish I could share more photos, but for some reason they won't upload. Another time I will post them on the Flickr Badge on this page.   

Looking Up

When we were in New York what quickly caught my attention were the hundreds of people walking; to and fro, over and under, path or highway, park or business, jay-walking or patiently waiting for lights, but always walking, walking, walking. The “Walkers” for the most part had several things in common: one, they had earphones filling their heads with hypnotic sounds; two, the “Walkers” looked down to the cracks in the cement or just slightly ahead; and three, were usually alone-solo-aloof-self absorbed-single-solitary.


Walking is a positive form of exercise, inviting a new perspective on one’s surroundings, filling senses with sight, sound and smell. But for the most part the “Walkers” looked down absorbed in their ipods and world of schedules and expectations.

But to change one’s direction and LOOK UP there is an entire new world hovering above one’s head; surreal skyscrapers, gigantic cranes with cavernous mouths, deep green trees, stately cathedrals showcasing intricate carving, flags waving and flapping in delicious colors, carvings on fountains and statues, clocks that chime, signs clashing and competing for attention, LED screens on Time’s Square.

UP PUTS ONE IN ANOTHER WORLD.

But there is still another UP. The UP beyond the skyline of New York or any other city. And it is even more amazing, more imaginative, more breathtaking than any fancy human made structure.


This is the MAGICAL WORLD of our SKY, that outer world that poets and dreamers write stories and songs about. Remember Dorothy lamenting, Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

The Sky is a mystical, nowhere land were rainbows dance, a land that we dream of, a place where we contemplate the mysteries of life.

In one month, our family has lost three cherished FRIENDS. Three months ago my mother passed away. Are they in the land that they dreamed of, have they discovered the mystery of life? I do believe that the SKY with its amazing CLOUDS hold part of the answer.

In honor of our beloved friends and mother, grandmother I share with you some favorite photographs of the sky and its dream-inducing clouds.


May they take you over the RAINBOW TO YOUR OWN DREAMS.

May your Sunsets be as beautiful as your Sunrises.

Spring into Chicago

 We took a short flight from NYC to Chicago....we have come to spend spring break with a really cute, funny, energetic  granddaughter, E.M., who just happens to be a budding artist. Her favorite painting style is abstract and she has an unfailing eye for shape, color and contrast.

Of course this all gave us a reason to go to the Art Institute of Chicago, where two giant Lions sit elegantly on the steps welcoming all.  The institute is hosting a new Matisse exhibition, Matisse Radical Invention 1913-1917.

Our family once lived in Chicago and spent many wonderful hours at the Institute of Art. It was smaller then. Most memorable was one main hall full of armour, axes, helmets, tools, implements everything from the medieval period... our family LOVED it.  So it was quite a surprise to see the museum as it is today, all refigured, redesigned and the Modern Art wing attached to the main building. The "Knights of the Round Table" artifacts are now replaced with all things "Asian." Two large halls are sparsely filled with beautiful sculptures, Hindu, Buddhist, Asian, etc. There is a peaceful presence.

Of course we were excited to see the Matisse exhibit, but first a visit to more familiar works of art. Our granddaughter loves Mary Cassatt and we actually had to search to find her paintings. We walked through a maze of halls, relief when we finally came upon two of her favorites.

 

 E.M. is working on her photography skills this week. Her favorite photos have been inside the museum and shadow photos outside.

 Back in Maryland, I joined a small group of artists gathering twice a month for life modeling classes. This has added a new challenge in my own artwork, improving my sketching and drawing skills.  I looked for  works of art with strong drawing techniques.

 Almost all impressionist painters were equally skilled with charcoal, pen, ink and pastel. Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt were especially gifted in their use of pastel.

It is fun to focus  on a particular artist when visiting an art museum, this time it was Vuillard and Bonnard. The following are a few gems that I cropped closely  so  you can enjoy  the details. The strong composition,  texture, value and story telling elements are exciting!

 We were ready to see the Matisse Exhibition, but very disappointed to not be allowed to take photos. Sorry we can't share with you. In all honesty it wasn't my favorite Matisse exhibit. But we did enjoy his larger, more colorful, abstracted paintings. The Museum of Baltimore has a very large collection of Mattise paintings, donated by the Cone Sisters.

As with all good things, it was time for the  museum to close. Saying goodbye, we enjoyed the Bucket Players, full of enthusiasm, adding to our fantastic experience.

But here is my favorite artist ...with a great future ahead of her.