Saturday, April 30, 2016

Tonora

Tonora, 4x6.6" watercolor/gouache, Diane Mannion

Sketchbook Page

Always a treat painting with my friends at the Venice Art Center Portrait Studio!  Worked with watercolor and gouache in a sketchbook.  Interesting how many artists never heard of gouache!  I sent everyone to explore my hero, James Gurney's work.  Gouache was once the mainstay medium of illustrators but has now gone out of fashion, a shame.  

Gouache is opaque watercolor and can be used to paint over regular watercolor or used alone.  Just think of all your overworked watercolors that can be "saved" with this wonderful medium!

Tonora, first sketched in pencil, was painted with watercolor, then the blackboard, nose and eye highlights... gouache.  All you need is one tube of white gouache to transform your watercolors into gouache.  Or you can purchase individual tubes of gouache in every color... or simply red, yellow, and blue to start.  I prefer Winsor & Newton Designers Gouache which can be purchased through Jerry's or Blick.

For excellent instruction and mega gouache inspiration, I can't praise James Gurney enough!

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