http://www.painters-online.co.uk artistMarch 2020 27
PRACTICAL
Paul O’Kane
tutors painting holidays for Arte Umbria and
Art in the Algarve, among others. For details
see his website, where you can also nd his
Blog: https://paulokane.co.ukTANext month: Plein-air time-saving techniques FINISHED PAINTING
Fishing Boat, Bangor Quay, gouache and acrylic, 8 11in (20.5 28cm).
For the mid-tones I added tiny amounts of Lascaux acrylic white in liquid form to a variety
of my pan colours. French ultramarine and cadmium red made a grey for the boardwalk and
boathouse. I t ’s di cult to gauge gouache tones as they dry slightly di erently to how y o u ’d
expect. So there was a lot of applying paint. Correcting. Correct again. Always seeking a tonal
balance between lights and darks, warms and cools. The harbour water was repainted a few
times: lighter, almost pure white to the left of the boat, opaque cerulean to the right. I like the
way three diverse blues sit comfortably together. A few colourful highlights added the nishing
touches. In truth, my palette became so contaminated with white that I could not achieve
a vibrant highlight. For that reason I often carry a selection of tube colours and apply them
straight from the tube. I enjoy dragging a dry-brush rigger of dark accents over the textured
paper for some calligraphic touches
drawing’ effect. I limit my palette to
six or seven colours and I mix them
as little as I dare, to avoid mud.
Mixing harmonious colours is safe. Mix
contrasting ones with extreme caution.
Because gouache dries quickly it suits
painters with a loose sketchy style. I try
to see a subject abstractly as a series of
connected shapes. I will group a subject
into a family of harmonising colours. I
say to myself ‘It’s only a sketch. Don’t
take it so seriously, stay loose’.
Whatever the paper size I tend to
zoom in on a subject/cameo so as to
avoid the big picture. This allows me to
limit my palette to a dominant colour.
If in doubt I warm it up; if there’s no
doubt I lighten up.
I usually then stand back, assess my
work, then proceed to fine-tune it –
because I can easily do so in gouache. I
always try to stop before I go too far so
as not to overwork a piece, even though
it usually looks unfinished. I peel off themasking tape, take a few photographs
and pack up. If I can limit a sketch to an
hour or so, then I have time for another.
The painting is completely dry within
minutes and ready to pack away in my
backpack. I protect the block in my
backpack with a piece of card and two
elastic bands.