Watercolor and Gouache: 3 Ways to Combine Them for Incredible Vibrancy Blog
As an illustrator, I'm always trying new things to mix up my style and continue to grow in my craft. Since I was a teeny art-loving child, and now I feel really confident with the medium. I've written an article about how to paint with watercolor!
However, in the early 2021s, I decided to dip my toes into gouache painting to see the things I was losing out by being only focusing on drawing watercolor. In the midst of butterflies, I bought a new set of gouache paints and decided to paint only with gouache over the course of three weeks as part of an artist's residence in the Mojave Desert. I was looking forward to some new ideas, however, I was afraid!
What I was not aware of at the time was just how similar gouache is to watercolor. Actually, a different term of gouache would be "opaque watercolors." It's essentially the thicker, more bold version of watercolor paint.
Although it's similar as watercolor, when working on it, it's possible to get completely different results when you choose to. It was my experience that I realized working with gouache isn't just starting from scratch! If you're at all experienced with watercolor, it's a great time to step into the realm of gouache.
An easy approach to getting started with an artistic new medium is slowly incorporating it into what you're already comfortable with. Since that initial foray into gouache in the past year and it's now an indispensable expansion of my palette of watercolors. These two mediums complement each other perfectly to create my artwork much more vibrant, lively and fun.
As I reflect on my previous work I'm struck by the muted way that the majority of my artworks looked. While I still like that traditional style and use it in my artwork, I'm thankful that I've developed the courage to use vibrant colors in my work.
When you're open to mixed media artwork your creative options are truly endless! The mixing of the two media is easier than you may believe.
- Add a Pop of Colorful Gouache to the Background
I sketched this white trillium flower with watercolor, followed by a bright lemon yellow oval in the center of the flower with gouache. When deciding on an unflat color to use for the background, make sure you pick a hue that is suited to the subject without overpowering it.
I picked the lemon-yellow background since the middle of the trillium (the the focal point) can be seen as bright and bright and having a background that is yellow helps to enhance it.
- Find the most vibrant areas of Your Subject and Enhance the Colors by using gouache
This mushroom was first sketched using watercolor, and despite employing my most vibrant reds and yellows, it didn't quite have the same dynamism that I noticed when I spotted the mushroom while hiking in the Smoky Mountains.
To remedy this the problem, I chose a vivid blue and red gouache. Then I added just a few small accents to the cap as well as the stem in the final process.
This addition of gouache to specific areas of the artwork highlights the hues, and yet preserves the beautiful natural, earthy tones of watercolor.
- Add a Funky Patterned Background by using Gouache
I chose to go wild with this watercolor illustration of ferns called fiddleheads which I observed growing along a trail in North Carolina last week. Fiddlehead ferns are unsettling to look at already, why not make the painting more fun?
I came up with a gradient light tan-deep pink color scheme because green and red are complementary colours and I thought that the subtle fiddleheads' greens would still stand out against those deep reddish shades. Then I just sketched out simple wavy lines and fill in the spaces between them with the gouache colors that I'd chosen.
Have fun painting!