24 artistMarch 2020 http://www.painters-online.co.uk
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A
fter an oil painting trip to
Venice, where I spent two
hours looking for a hardware
shop to buy white spirit
as I could not take it with me on an
aeroplane (my preferred quick-drying
oil painting medium was disguised in
my hold luggage and I had to convince
airport security that the flashpoint of my
oil paint tubes was above regulation)
Travelling with
GOUACHE
In the first of two articles Paul O’Kane outlines the
benefits of using gouache on your painting trips
I made a few decisions. I would take
everything in a 10kg carry-on case
(saving c£60 on hold luggage) and no
more air travel with oils. But I’m an oil
painter at heart so the hunt was on for a
compromise.
Gouache has huge benefits for the
travelling artist. It’s odourless, water-
based (no medium required) and dries
within minutes. It can be applied thinlyin very much the same application as
watercolour, so choosing a support is a
breeze. Most importantly for me, in the
latter stages it can be applied in the
same style as oil painting – thick and
juicy – but with the added advantage
that you can apply dark over light or
vice versa (not too thickly or it will
crack). The fat-over-lean oil rule does
not apply. And whereas watercolours
are applied from light to dark, gouache
has no such bind, which is very
liberating.Preparation
Sometimes I paint on quarter-sheet
watercolour paper, but I prefer to paint
on Clairefontaine textured paper with a
masking tape border. I love the thrill of
removing the tape.
Sometimes I apply a pale blue acrylic
ground (gouache would reactivate
and contaminate subsequent layers).
This set-up reminds me of my oil
preparations and encourages me to
paint as though I were using oils. I buy
an A3 pad and cut it into 4 3 A5 pads
and use padding glue to form a block
(glued on all four edges, except for a
tiny space at the top to insert a blade).
The glue holds the paper taught when
wet. Not as good as stretched paper,
but a similar idea. The small size suits
Instagram and Facebook, where images
may well be viewed on mobile phones.
Because gouache dries so quickly I
use a combination of tubes and pans.
As in oils I initially follow a dark-to-light
sequence, so I begin with darks using
Caran D’Ache pans followed by ShinHan
Pass tubes for my lighter colours. I
moisten the pans before beginning so
as to soften and clean them – just a
swipe with a wet brush. I then progress
to mid-tones, still predominantly using
dark pan colours with a tiny amount of
white.
My preferred colours are FrenchMY TRAVELLING GOUACHE KIT
Manfrotto tripod with home-made 4in ply shelf to which I glue non-slip fabric; Caran
D’Ache gouache pans transferred from their tin container to a plastic alternative; Daler-
Rowney Aquaine brushes: lat synthetics 4in, 2in, 4in and rigger; Rotring Tikky 0.7mm
or an Ultra Fine Sharpie pen; Sea to Summit collapsible water cup; microibre cloth;
Nalgene water bottle; small folding seat. Everything its in a small backpack
p.26