If you've been following along on my blog you may have noticed that painting in oils is my usual MO. But sometimes it's fun to mix it up and try other mediums. Recently I experimented with colored pencils. For this particular drawing I toned a piece of Stonehenge paper with a medium gray wash, since I don't like working on a stark white surface. Then I set up a still life with a handful of lovely Mandarin oranges, and proceeded to draw them in color. For the finishing touch I punched up the highlights with a bit of white gouache. Here's the result:
Mandarin Oranges, Colored Pencil with Gouache
But after a few drawings, I'm not sure I've really got the patience that colored pencils require. After all, it's much quicker to lay down a wash with a paintbrush than to glaze layer after layer of tiny little pencil strokes. Not to mention how maddening it is to mix colors that never quite morph into the exact shades I want.
So, in a second version of the oranges I attempted to save time by painting the initial color block-in with watercolor. My diabolical plan was to draw in the details on top of the paint with colored pencils. But curses--foiled again! The pencil absolutely refused to adhere to the paper after the paint was applied. Which was puzzling, because I 'd been informed that this was a tried and true technique.
Well. Okay then. Nothing to do but give it up and go to Plan B.
So, in a second version of the oranges I attempted to save time by painting the initial color block-in with watercolor. My diabolical plan was to draw in the details on top of the paint with colored pencils. But curses--foiled again! The pencil absolutely refused to adhere to the paper after the paint was applied. Which was puzzling, because I 'd been informed that this was a tried and true technique.
Well. Okay then. Nothing to do but give it up and go to Plan B.
Mandarin Oranges, Gouache on Paper, 5x7 in
Rhymes with Squash
Watercolor is a transparent medium, and gouache is its opaque, pesky little brother. For oil painters gouache is kind of a gateway to water based mediums. With watercolors you've got to be smart and plan ahead. Because once you've painted something dark you can forget about ever making it light again. That means that if you want an area on your paper to be white, you can't get any paint on it. None whatsoever. And woe to you if you do. But with gouache it's a different story. It's thicker. It's opaque. You can paint a light color on top of a dark one. And you can even, ahem, cheat, and use it to paint the highlights on a watercolor painting. If you're not a purist, that is.
Gouache to the Rescue!
So I decided to live on the edge. I fished out my gouache colors from the back of the closet and dusted them off. Even though previously I hadn't had much success with them. Gouache can be a bit tricky, because it has a habit of drying out on the palette too damn quick. And I'm used to creamy, delicious oil paints, which stay wet and wonderful for hours. But this time I used my noodle. I added a dab of glycerin to the gouache to keep it moist long enough to work with. And I shpritzed it with water every so often. Whenever I could remember. Okay, so there are a couple of shiny spots on the painting where too much glycerin got into the gouache. But hey, we learn by doing.
Do you know any tricks for keeping gouache fluid? Or have you used colored pencil on top of watercolor? How did it work out for you? Let us know in the comments!
Do you know any tricks for keeping gouache fluid? Or have you used colored pencil on top of watercolor? How did it work out for you? Let us know in the comments!
