Fearless Friday, Saving a Watercolor with Gouache
Watercolor is my favorite medium to paint with on summer days
I was drawn to this photo of a rose with a dark background
I loved how the darks made the flower pop
Normally I would paint this in acrylic but I decided to try it in watercolor
I started with the lightest rose petals
I indicated the center with dark pink
Then the smaller blooms were placed
Darker washes of color were used to build the flowers
Stems and leaves were painted with shades of green
and at this point I was very happy
I decided to start laying in the background with black
and knew right away I’d made a mistake
I kept going, but it only got worse as I got impatient and sloppy
At this point I stopped and walked away…
it was definitely a hot mess!
And then I had an idea 💡…
black gouache
Gouache is opaque watercolor
you can thin it out like watercolor if you want,
but it dries as an opaque layer like acrylic
Once the whole background was filled in it looked much better
I added more details and color to the blooms
To finish I did some loose ink outlines with a fine liner pen
“Night Rose” 9″ x 12″ watercolor and gouache on Fabriano 140 lb. hot press watercolor paper
Have you ever painted with gouache?
My experience is almost zero
so if you have any tips they would be much appreciated!
Try something new and Be Fearless!
I will be joining these fabulous parties and blogs:
Sundays on Silverado/ Love Your Creativity
What’s for Dinner/ Between Naps on the Porch
All About Home/ Common Ground & Follow the Yellow Brick Home
Oh My Heartsie Girl / Turn About Tuesday
Karin’s Cottage Linky Party / Creative Crafts / Crafty Creators
Full Plate Thursday/ Creatively Crafty/ Thursday Favorite Things
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Very beautiful! I really love the colour contrast.
Black always adds a lot of drama!
Jenna, the rose at night is beautiful. I love your watercolors. What you call a hot mess looked wonderful to me. Happy Friday!
Thanks Pam…enjoy your weekend!
So beautiful! I painted with gouache in college, once, but don’t really remember it much.
Thanks Dorothy, I need to experiment with it!
I love your beautiful art work Jenna. Thanks for sharing how to paint it. I hope you enjoy the weekend Jenna.
Thanks so much Julie! Have a lovely weekend~
You’re right — you saved it. Interestingly enough, it clicked something into place for me from one of those workhops I did during Sketchbook Revival. The background (black) went in last…. and it was so uneven — like yours. Now I know what to do. (And I remember that the workshop was supposed to be gouache but I did w/c because that was what I had available! Argh! (And your painting looks great!)
Thanks Jeanie, I learned my lesson quickly! I am going to do more experimenting with gouache…
You certainly lived on the edge this Friday. I wouldn’t have had any idea how to save that painting, but rescue it you did. Great job!
Thanks Linda, it worked like magic!
The gouache worked out so well. Great idea, Jenna! I’ve played with gouache a little bit. Sometimes I’ll use it for added highlights at the end of a painting or places where things ended up too dark. You can also use white gouache and tint it with a little watercolor.
Yes, it would be great for highlights…I bought a set of gouache paints a few years ago, and haven’t spent much time with it, I need to experiment with it and learn some new tricks!
You always make it look easy. Thanks for the inspiration.
Thank you Leslie Anne, happy painting!
Jenna, I love the dark background and how the color pops! Lovely……….
Thank you Emily, black always adds drama and great contrast!
Jenna, I love watching your paintings come to life – its so interesting! I have no idea what gouache is, but whatever you did, the finished product is beautiful!! Happy Monday!
Thank so much Kim, gouache is similar to watercolor but it’s not as transparent. It can be thinned out with water to look like watercolor, or applied with only a little water to be opaque.