August 2024 Water Media Challenge- Join the fun/ all welcome!

[john]

Really nice Jo. Yes, fresh.

Thank you Christine for hosting this. I wasn't sure what to paint next so that Scotland pic and this challenge helped decide.

It was time for me to finally try painting with gouache. Which I want to spell - gwash because it makes more sense. Sounds weird enough as is. That's the problem with gwash. It sounds weird and is spelled weird and it acts weird too. Like it's not sure if it's watercolor or acrylic. It has aspirations to be oil, but it just isn't built for it. So it occupies some twilight zone of overachieving but yet falling short. It confuses everyone. Can't spell it, not sure how to say it, sounds weird, it does something but we're not sure what. It's like the new foreign student, Gwash. Good in math but can't play baseball and his lunch smells strange.

I'm afraid that Gwash will never be fully accepted. Forever an outsider watching from the sidelines. No fraternity for that one. But I think I like him.

One knock on gwash is that it dries matte. Well I sprayed this with gloss acrylic UV varnish and the colors and contrast came out a little more and now it's protected. Can wash it with soap and water if needed. So now it's essentially an acrylic painting with no need for glass.

C&C welcome Thanks again Christine and for the advice about how gouache works. Nice being able to paint light over dark. Can't do that with watercolor.

11 x 15 inches

 

[PaintBoss]

I opened up this post and literally whooped in delight John!!! I LOVE IT!!
You knocked this out of the park! Well, the new kid did a great job! I would never know that you had issues with this medium. And it absolutely delivers for the viewer. Although I did giggle all the way through your post. I like the way you put things. I hoped the new kid’s lunch would not smell like fish, and it doesn’t!!!
I took this picture when I was 18 years old on the side of the road going up the West Coast of Scotland. 1989. Beauty everywhere. John you captured it and I am so thrilled. I love how you handled every bit of it. That light over dark really worked here in the foreground. And that acrylic varnish is a great tip!
Thanks too, I’m very happy to host this challenge and I’ll be hosting more and hope people will join in. Very pleased how many people have joined in here this month and thrilled to see everybody’s offerings.
Perhaps I’ll do next month. Anyone interested in joining along?
Once again, I’m absolutely tickled at your treatment of this reference photo!

 

[PaintBoss]

Well, I did a small miniature in watercolor, gouache and some ink pen.

 

[Jo Castillo]

Anne, the inktense brought out the beauty in both flowers. You do beautiful work.

John, look at that landscape. You gouached (crushed) it! Beautiful.

PaintBoss, Christine, the little house and picket fence is amazing. Love the rich color.

 

[ams]

John, I loved your commentary on gouache. What a chuckle! But even better, I like the results you got with it. It makes me want to give it a try. Beautifully painted, taking advantage of all the little quirks of gouache.

Paintboss, a delightful little scene. Another gouacher.

 

[PaintBoss]

Thanks Jo and ams.
I like John’s suggestion…”gwash” lol

 

[Joy]

John - Stunning and ethereal! Reminiscent of the masters.

Christine - What size is this? The fence is really well done and must have been very tedious.

I am working on an "experimental" piece for this month. Off to start applying paint to the drawing now.

 

[PaintBoss]

Oh, I can’t wait to see the experiment! I like that people are trying new things here.
The fence was tedious, and I was going to use frisket on it. Maybe it would’ve turned out a little nicer if I had. But, it was so tiny that even with a tiny brush, I didn’t think I could control the frisket. Especially as the fence boards got narrower. Frisket can get goopy if I don’t work quickly enough. That might be interesting to try. Do it again, just differently, and see the results.
It is 9 cm x 6 cm or 3.5” x 2.25”

 

[john]

Thanks Christine. Good to hear about the history of when and where of the photo. I was wondering about that. Adds more to it. Cool. Good eye for that photo! Glad that you took it and glad that you like how I painted it.

And cute miniature. Don't know you paint so small. Very nice.

Thanks Jo

Thanks ams, Anne. Glad you like the commentary. Sometimes I think that I get too carried away with the writing stuff lol.

Thanks Joy, you're making me blush. Look forward to seeing your experiment.

**********

Hey I have a question for you guys. What about water mixable oils? Is it water media? It's essentially like acrylics, so.......? Seems like a stretch though. I don't know.

Just asking because I'm currently doing a large palette knife painting with it. Good thing it cleans with water because I make a mess while using it.

 

[Jo Castillo]

John, I think the water miscible oils are oil paint. But I'm not particular, I just like everyone taking part! They are watery.... I'm smiling.

 

[PaintBoss]

I can see why you asked the question John. Hmm. Dilemma. We might keep it with oil, but if you would like to share something you painted, I’d love to see it here.

 

[ams]

I agree. If you want to share your work in the thread, it's ok by me!

 

[john]

OK I went to the forum description ......Any water media, like watercolor, diluted acrylic, gouache, ink washes, sumi-e, and water tempera

Diluted acrylic. That's the key word and makes sense. So no, not water miscible oils. That's the oil forum.

I was being silly. I'll post it in oils. We need to have some discipline somewhere.

 

[PaintBoss]

Your forum friends will break the rules for ya!
I shall go look for it.

 

[moscatel]

John, stunning gouache landscape! Very well done! I enjoyed your comments about gouache. That's exactly what I feel about it.

PaintBoss, Excellent work on your gouache and ink pen cabin view ! I was thinking for a while how to paint this ref. but couldn't figure it out + not to forget (knock, knock) I have a problem with gouache. But you painted it well.
Please host next month, I'll be joining in absolutely. I might be traveling in Sept. in Europe crossing it from north to south but I do carry gouache (and oils of course) along with me and have plenty of time to paint with them because I'll be stuck inside in a ship for two days. So, gouache is perfect for the ship.

Anne (ams), thanks for your comment on the gouache eggs. You painted beautiful flowers. So lovely to see them! Inktense pencils are new to me too.

 

[ams]

John, I think the water miscible oils are oil paint. But I'm not particular, I just like everyone taking part! They are watery.... I'm smiling.

Maybe the challenge should be in the All Media Events area and open it up to all media, not just water based.

 

[Joy]

Well, this is a horribly failed experiment in Shizen Handmade 140HP. This mainly watercolor, 11 x 8. The paper is a very textured (certainly not anything like HP) surface and is soft and tears readily. Rather like working on paper towels. I did a crop to get more of an attempt at an abstract. After applying a wax resist for the highlights (another mess), I did some light and medium washes, as illustrated by the WIP pix. It was taped to a board, so only some of it scanned. The tape tore the paper (I knew it would) and the wax looked too stark and unnatural, so I used a Pigma Micron pen to cover some of it. It looks out of place, but I have wasted enough time on it. Any attempt at the slightest "correction" tears the paper.

This paper is only suitable for light washes. Since I use buckets of water and overwork, it was not a good experience. Oh, and one cannot draw on it readily, as a pencil )even a soft one) scores the paper and leaves a minimal graphite mark. Any tips on what to use it for would be appreciated; it was part of a multi pack on Etsy to try different papers.

 

[PaintBoss]

Oh, I’m so sorry to hear your experience was so lousy. That is so frustrating Joy! I had that happento me once before too. It’s amazing the difference in papers and I’m really not sure what that kind of paper is for. But let me just tell you something. It looks really gorgeous from here. All your struggle is not obvious. And it’s a lot better than you think. Definitely crop it, matte it and frame it.
I have a brand new pad of hot press watercolour paper that I cannot stand for the exact same reasons, sitting in my cupboard. Of course it fell apart halfway through with very little washes and after the painting had been coming along well…I got a big hole in the centre, so never again! I also think it’s perfectly all right to show us and tell us the things you’ve tried and what has worked and not worked. It happens to us all, and it’s nice to know to avoid this paper now. I want us to push ourselves and experiment a little bit to try and get some very cool results. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.
I love your painting, truly.

 

[ams]

Eeeek! It sounds like this paper was a nightmare! Glad you only had a small sample of it and not a whole package. Despite the difficulty of working with you, I like your results.

Choosing a paper can be such a challenge. When your find one you like, just stick with it.

 

[KreativeK]

Jo, this one is so lively and fresh! Bristol is very smooth and lends itself to watermedia well, I think.