{"id":869,"date":"2020-09-26T13:27:25","date_gmt":"2020-09-26T13:27:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/urbansketchingworld.com\/?p=869"},"modified":"2023-06-12T16:29:31","modified_gmt":"2023-06-12T16:29:31","slug":"what-you-need-to-know-about-urban-sketching-with-gouache","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/urbansketchingworld.com\/what-you-need-to-know-about-urban-sketching-with-gouache\/","title":{"rendered":"What You Need To Know About Urban Sketching with Gouache"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As you have probably noticed, most urban sketchers seem to use ink and watercolour for their on-location sketches. The reason for this is predominantly because it is convenient. Watercolour paints are fairly low maintenance. Pull out your paints, get a brush and a little pot of water and off you go. If you have a water brush (the brush that can store water in its handle that when squeezed releases it) even better! It is a very easy and portable setup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, there are urban sketchers who like to use other mediums. Some just use pen and ink, some use markers (which you can read more about in this post<\/strong>), some use colour pencils, watercolour pencils, pastels etc. I do not often see urban sketchers using gouache though. Perhaps occasionally a bit of white gouache for highlights at the end of a sketch but that\u2019s about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undoubtedly one of the most high profile Youtube artists who uses gouache out on location is James Gurney. I see James as a hybrid between an urban sketcher and a plein-air painter. The reason for this is because he does sketch whatever is at hand and like to record life around him, especially seemingly mundane scenes. He doesn\u2019t search for the perfect scene that will make a beautiful painting like a plein-air painter tends to. However, he usually paints using an easel, with a light reflection umbrella over him, and has a fair bit of kit. Perhaps this is because of filming his Youtube videos but it just speaks more of a plein-air painting setup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Either way, to be honest, it doesn\u2019t really matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I bring it up because, for the casual urban sketcher who likes to whip out their sketchbook at a moments notice, gouache perhaps is not the best medium. It takes a bit more organisation and some more preparation than pulling out a box of watercolours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s take a deeper dive into exactly what you need to know about sketching on location with gouache.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Gouache?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gouache is a hybrid that falls somewhere between watercolour and acrylic paint. Gouache is opaque, so you can paint light colours on top of dark colours like you can with acrylic paint. However, by adding water gouache works equally well and becomes translucent like watercolour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which brand of gouache should I buy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I would recommend you buy tubes of gouache rather than the dry pans of gouache that are available. I use Winsor & Newton predominantly because that\u2019s all I can get here in South Africa but they are an excellent choice. I think it\u2019s worthwhile investing in a brand such as this rather than cheaper brands such as Reeves. It\u2019s a false economy buying super cheap art materials and the cheap gouache will just not behave as it should and won’t be as pigmented either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

James Gurney uses the brand M.Graham<\/a> and he has also mentioned Holbein favourably before too. I have seen some Youtube artists use Arteza gouache as well which is probably the best more affordable option, especially if you just want to mess around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Do you want to learn how to sketch your own adventures in ink & watercolour?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

GET 50% OFF FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY!!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I will show you my exact sketching process in ink and watercolour<\/strong>. I have travelled around the world in the last 3 years and this is my go-to system of creating beautiful yet quirky illustrations to capture the magic of my discoveries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We will work through 3 projects, step by step<\/strong> (pictured below), all of which are real-life examples of things I have sketched along my travels. I provide the photo references you can work from.
We will start by choosing a composition, laying in the initial pencil sketch, adding ink lines, layering watercolour and adding the final touches.
This and much more are included in my course, Sketch Your Adventures<\/a><\/strong>, click the button under the image to find out more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sketch<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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FIND OUT MORE<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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How Many Colours \/ Which Colours?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I recommend you start with a small set of colours. I just recently bought the \u2018CMYK\u2019 set of Winsor & Newton gouache. This set comes with white, black, yellow, red and blue. To be honest, I have to do a lot of mixing to get the colours I need and I feel like I am getting through too much paint. A slightly larger set with green, brown and yellow ochre would probably be most convenient. This \u2018introductory\u2019 set by Winsor & Newton is a great option<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, this depends on what you want to paint. I am speaking with urban sketching in mind, however, if you are doing brighter or imaginative illustrations perhaps your colour selection will need to be a little different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you use watercolour and gouache interchangeably?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yes, you can use gouache and watercolour together and interchangeably. By using watercolour straight from the tube, it too can have more of an opaque quality. When mixed with gouache it becomes fully opaque so you can use colours interchangeably from your watercolour and gouache collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is actually pretty convenient as it means you don\u2019t need to have a huge set of gouache paints. If you check out some of James Gurney\u2019s videos you will see he tends to use 3-5 tubes of colour for a painting, some of the tubes will have gouache written on them and others will have watercolour written on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the video below James Gurney gives a super quick demo of how he paints with both watercolour and gouache in the same painting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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https:\/\/youtu.be\/iAUekdr7Rc0<\/a>