Airbrush

Revisiting Gouache

Gouache was originally the name of the technique of painting with opaque watercolor.  It is made with the same materials as transparent watercolor—the same pigment with the addition of precipitated chalk to make it opaque.  But today the word gouache refers to the medium rather than the technique.

This paint was preferred by illustrators and photographic retouchers alike, and years ago it was handmade by artists.  It is somewhat easy to make and was designed to not necessarily be colorfast nor permanent.  Illustrators were primarily interested in speed of application rather than longevity, since the artwork was to be reproduced and not exhibited as fine art.  However, years later many renowned illustrators regretted doing renderings that had become valuable over time in a less than permanent medium.

Today the commercial brands of gouache are referred to and known as designer’s gouache, still manufactured for the commercial field but also as a fine art medium.  Contemporary gouache is lightfast and very durable with a brilliant color range. 

Because gouache is a water-based medium, it is ideal for airbrush technique, and artists/illustrators have relied upon it throughout the years.  One reason it is well suited for airbrushing is the ease of thinning, reducing with just water (to the consistency of milk) for spraying through the brush.  And, once dry, it holds up well to frisket film without picking or lifting with removal of the frisket.

The wide range of designer’s gouache colors is available in tubes, jars, blocks and powder form.  There is also a line of grey value gouache that is value coordinated for black/white photographic retouching.  These greys are ideal for illustration and painting and are numbered by value, 0 (white) to 7 (black), with six greys in between.  These are identified easily by the camera and come warm, cool and neutral to match the tone of photographic paper.  Although today the retouching of photos by hand is not as popular as in the past, it can be a very interesting process for the artist.

Designer’s gouache is compatible with paper surfaces, illustration board, Claybord, Mylar, acetate, photographic paper and canvas panels.  It is recommended for use on rigid surfaces but can be painted on canvas when it is gessoed and the finished painting is varnished.  Because gouache is not permanent when dry, it can be reworked as in watercolor technique.  A painting done in gouache is usually exhibited matted and under glass or Plexiglas.

Gouache is one of the least toxic materials to spray and is easily cleaned from the airbrush with soap and water.  Revisit gouache as a material to consider for your airbrush paintings.  You may find that the radiance of color cannot be as easily achieved with any other medium.

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 19 No. 1 — November 2008