Painting in Gouache

Aside from reading and writing, I also love to paint in gouache. I mean, I enjoy painting in watercolor and acrylic too, but for some reason, gouache just hits the spot.

I can’t remember exactly when I started to play with gouache, but I’m guessing it was about five or six years ago. My first set of gouache paints was by Arrtx. It was a jelly gouache similar to HIMI. Later, I tried another brand (can’t remember the name) that came in sealable pots. They had a super strong rubber smell, so I only used them once and couldn’t bring myself to open the jars again.

After that, I decided to get some MIYA and HIMI gouache and then from there on, got into the more familiar brands: Holbein, Winsor & Newton, and M. Graham.

Below are all the gouache brands that I have.

In the photo above, you can see that I haven’t opened the MIYA gouache set yet. It was a Christmas gift from my daughter. I’m almost too scared to open the cups because I know they’ll dry out before I could get through all the colors. I could just open the ones I plan to use, but eventually, I’ll have to open them all. Once dried, they’ll look like the HIMI cups on the left. They’re still usable, but they’re so much more fun to use when they’re jelly-like.

So far, Winsor & Newton (I have the student grade) and M. Graham (professional/designer) are my favorites. What I learned from using gouache is that you need good watercolor paper and brushes to really make it fun. Good gouache is always a plus.