Artist Journal: For Pete’s Sake, Why Gouache?

I’ve started and restarted this journal entry several times. I’m still not entirely sure what I’m trying to say.

Maybe the problem is the subject. Why gouache? More specifically, why would anyone choose to paint outdoors with this stuff? Gouache has some maddening habits. The colors dry to a value that isn’t always what I expected. It dries on the palette remarkably fast. Blending can take a certain amount of fortitude. And then there’s the little surprise when some dried paint reactivates at exactly the wrong moment.

And it can be a really disagreeable painting companion at times. Did I say “Companion?” Yes, but rarely a partner.

And yet I keep using it.

I didn’t entirely choose gouache. I mean, I did. I actually bought the tubes of paint. Nobody forced me. But I don’t really remember why I chose it in the first place. What I do know is that I’m an enabler, because year after frustrating year I’ve maintained this toxic relationship. 

That isn’t usually how I operate. If something continually frustrates me, I’m generally pretty good at just moving on. Life’s too short, right? Apparently gouache didn’t get the memo.

I’m pretty comfortable with off-the-cuff sketching. Give me a fountain pen and a sketchbook and I can usually get going without much thought. Loose and spontaneous lines on the page, and I don’t worry too much about whether I’ve drawn something perfectly.

My painting process with gouache can sometimes feel like a wrestling match. Frankly, plein air painting with the stuff can physically exhaust me.

For years I painted almost exclusively with oils. I still dabble with them. Oil paint behaves like it means business. It’s robust. The color is strong, and has a physical presence. I used to love pushing the paint around, like buttering a thick slice of bread.

Gouache doesn’t really do that. It is much quieter. Matte. Less flashy, whereas oil paint shouts. I initially expected gouache to give back some of what I loved about oils.

I fully embrace alla prima painting—the whole painting being completed in one session, wet paint going into wet paint, decisions being made while everything is still happening. It’s a natural fit for plein air painting. But gouache dries quickly. Sometimes too quickly. The paint doesn’t stay wet and workable the way oil does.

So why gouache? There are plenty of good reasons to use it. My limited palette is compact and relatively light. It dries quickly, so it is immediately transportable. It can be opaque or transparent depending on how I use it. It works well for the small format I prefer for outdoor painting. And after all these years, I do know it a little better. I continue to learn its quirks. I continue to learn how to anticipate the color shift from palette to dry paint. And I suppose there is something I like about that.

It’s not an easy relationship. But maybe that’s part of it. 

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I just returned from a week in St Louis, painting the parks in Creve Coeur. The first two paintings at the top of this journal are still available.