Trail Under the Pine Trees | gouache landscape painting

I love painting with gouache. Whether sketching, trying to work out an idea, or plan for a larger painting, gouache is a versatile medium.  It’s so quick to set up, and I love any medium that I can clean up with just a little bit of water!

An Additive Process

Part of the beauty of using gouache as a medium is that, just like with oil or acrylic paint, gouache is an additive process.  By additive process, I mean that you are applying the whites or light color-values that you see in a final painting. Light, opaque marks are placed on top of other colors or layers of paint.

Essentially, this means that you’re not masking things off or having to preserve all of your lights in advance.  Working in this allows for flexibility, spontaneity, and a much easier time making corrections or adjustments as the painting progresses.