I noticed in my last sketchbook painting session that I was getting a bit of a drag on the paper, like it was soaking up a lot of the water and drying things out. I remembered seeing Dina Brodsky using acrylic ink as an underpainting, so I thought I’d try it out and see how it went.

I used a very thin layer of Light Rose, Amsterdam Acrylic Ink, and then used M. Graham gouache paints on top. It definitely affected the flow of my paint. Generally I ended up with either too much water (paint pooling) or not enough (paint clumping). You can see in the final pictures, as I start to rough in a background, I often use a thin wash in the back and build it up until I’m happy, a carryover from my watercolor practice. The wash was breaking up over the top of the acrylic ink, and I’m not super patient in my sketchbook so I just slapped some more in there to block the color in, lol.

Knowing it feels a bit different though, I am intrigued. I think it may still give a little more control over flow if I practice a little. My next step will be a series of swatches, testing paint consistencies and layering over just paper, and paper with acrylic ink over it.

With this gouache sketch I noticed that the paper was absorbing quite a lot of water and affecting my paint flow. As I was struggling I remembered Dina Brodsky mentioning that she uses acrylic ink as a first layer in her sketchbook and that it seals the paper. I decided to pick up some inks to experiment with to see if it helps paint flow better on the page.

I’ve been using my sketchbook to try to figure out my ideal gouache painting process. I quite like outlining my main shapes in a color that contrasts the main focal points. In this quick sketch I’ve used a cerulean blue opposite gamboge and hansa yellow blend (all M. Graham gouache). The outlines give me a map to follow. I find when it’s just a pencil sketch it doesn’t take me long to lose track of the lines, and then I get lost. I also like to leave a bit of the outlines showing to bring a little energy and contrast into the piece.

With this gouache sketch I noticed that the paper was absorbing quite a lot of water and affecting my paint flow. As I was struggling I remembered Dina Brodsky mentioning that she uses acrylic ink as a first layer in her sketchbook and that it seals the paper. I decided to pick up some inks to experiment with to see if it helps paint flow better on the page.

I worked my way through the Repertoire program over the last few months. There is so much content and so many new things to try. I have been focused on developing my flowers. I also took Lettering Bootcamp from MATS and I have been having fun trying out different lettering styles and ornamental shapes. I’ve also been working to make progress on my first hand drawn half-repeat continuous allover pattern, a bamboo forest to accompany my clouded leopards collection.

More gouache studies, this time working with snakes. I’m experimenting with layering order, and the kinds of marks I can make with different brushes.

The blue snake worked out pretty well, the green lost the shape of their head a little bit. It is a smaller painting and that made it tough to control the shape of the marks the brushes made.

I do love the bright vibrant colors of gouache, these are M. Graham, they really pop off the page, which makes it really fun to paint with.

I’ve been trying out gouache paints. I had a primary set of Windsor Newton so I’d been using those, but they felt a little sticky to me. My local shop had M. Graham so I grabbed a few of those. They are smooth and opaque, I highly recommend them. Here’s my swatches for cerulean blue, sap green, gamboge and cad red, with zinc white and lamp black.

Still working with gouache. This week my 5 year old nephew sent me (via my brother) a picture of a snail he named Gerald. So naturally I painted it.

I’m still figuring out this layering thing. Working with an opaque medium like gouache just feels different than transparent medium like watercolor. I think I like it though.

I’ve been using gouache this month, trying to get a better understanding of how to use it in a way that gets results that I like. I’d never had luck with gouache previously but recently realized that I’d assumed it was to be used like watercolor, and it can be, but it can also be used with much less water, as an opaque medium like acrylics. I haven’t quite figured out the process yet, but I really love the vibrant matte colors it creates.