Couple of experiments in gouache

Bartc

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After a wild scramble due to highly variable weather yesterday, our plein air group ended up indoors at one of our member's teaching studio. Lovely setup and we had fun, even though we weren't out in nature.
I got a present of a gouache set and was fooling around with that. Some paintings from imagination. I have a long way to go on mastering this medium, because I keep falling back on my transparent watercolor habits, when this is an opaque medium, but I'll get there. The first was an impression of a scene at Quarry Park, where we were supposed to have painted; the second a totally imagined scene loosely in the style of John Blockley.
Not my best work, but wasn't a wasted morning.
Both 11x15" on watercolor paper.
Nina 1 dec 23.jpg

Nina 2 dec 23.jpg
 
Never a waste when you get down to painting, the second would look good in the right frame. I once heard this girl artist say that she would look at her paintings in a week as directly after she was too on the moment to fairly evaluate them.
 
Both are very attractive but I really really like the second one, Bart! Those colors!
 
Good job on both of these, especially considering these are done with an unfamiliar medium. It's never a waste of time when you're experimenting - it's fun!

First one does it for me, I love these colors.
 
This was my first shot with a gift set of Prismacolor gouache. In the past I've only used a tube of the stuff a couple of times, after tossing a recommended pan set that felt like kid's stuff. Two or three of my painting buddies do extremely well with gouache, so since I know watercolor well, figured I should give them a try. Acryl gouache a few years ago and tried once again this past year simply didn't do it for me.
What I realize is that I'm used to either transparent media or heavier opaque media (acrylic) and quite comfy with either. Painting flat areas of color without much if any glazing or scumbling is not the way I'm used to painting. I'm going to have to make myself do that to really see what this medium has to offer.
Body parts notwithstanding....
 
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