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.