gouache – coralie's contemplations in markup

Art: Mickey-Raccoon (step by step)

Wet blue paint around the cat and in his eyes. The ceramic pan is nearly empty.

Gouache painting of my siberian cat, Mickey-Raccoon, curled up on the side.

(Commission from DanielD for his sister who regularly gives me hand-made ceramic items <3)

Step by step

Loose pencil sketch on a watercolour paper pad. On the table around it are ceramic pans where I mixed blue paint, grey paint and brown paint. There is a water jar and brushes, and the gouache tubes.

My right hand holding a brush and mixing brown with grey to add darker patches to the fur of the cat on paper.

Art: Japanese river scene (step by step)

I tested acrylic gouache. They are similar to regular gouache, and even watercolour, except that they dry much quicker and once they’re dry they can’t mix anymore.

It’s both an advantage and a challenge! An advantage because you can layer other colours without any smearing. A challenge because the error margin is much narrower: if you don’t get it right the first time your mistake has to be worked around.

This is a river scene with two persons using long poles to maneuver their boats, and passing next to patches of grass where trees like willows are growing. It must be the start of autumn because the trees are bare but there is still grass. A few huts are visible on the horizon. There is a big orange setting sun, and grey and orange clouds.

Framed in black, 10×15 cm (4×6 in.) [and since then sent to my friend Isabelle for whom I painted it.]

Rough pencil sketch

Grey, blue and orange in the sky, including dark orange for the sun; and blue for the river

Transparent blue, grey, and orange.

This looks and feels just like watercolour.

I added patches of pale yellow where the huts are, the men's hats and the front and back of the larger boat.

A bit more colours in small areas: specks of grey and blue-grey to add vegetation in the background, and yellow for the huts, boats and the hats.

Brown and black added for the trees, the boats, the men and their poles. Green added for the grass.

The green is now added to the meadow and another darker layer for shading. Brown and black for the trees, boats, men and their poles.

I realised this was going to lack a lot of contrast. The colours are much paler than I thought.

Thin black lines for the reed, and various outlines

I added many thin black lines in ink to try to make up for the lack of contrast.

I added my stamp, dated and signed.

Stamped, dated and signed.

Finished piece, in a little black wood frame with a white mounting card.

Art: Fairey Fulmar taking off

Now that I’ve started doing pieces of Art Deco, I naturally and happily venture into propaganda poster art!

This is a Fairey Fulmar taking off from an armored flight deck (apparently a feature of British carriers) during World War II.

My kid liked it, so I put it in large frame and it now hangs on his wall.

Mixing blue and white gouache paint in a ceramic pan with a toothpick

Mixing blue and white. This is going to be the main colour.

Mixing black and white gouache paint in a ceramic pan

Mixing black and white. Grey is going to be the colour of the visual components.

Overview of the finished 21x15 cm painting on a cutting mat next to the ceramic pans of the mixes I used: grey, white and blue.

I painted this on the back of a cereal cardboard box (21×15 cm).

I love how it turned out!

The finished 21x15 cm painting, signed and dated, glued to a back sheet and put in a large frame with a white mounting card. — The finished 21×15 cm painting, signed and dated, glued to a back sheet and put in a large frame with a white mounting card.

Art: Fujiwara, 38th station of the Tōkaidō, v2 (step by step)

I did a second version of the my painting last week of Fujiwara, 38th station of the Kyoka edition of 53 stations of the Tōkaidō, by Hiroshige.

I later sent it to Isabelle.

Pencil sketch on a white sheet taped to a black cutting board. The outline is of a person on a horse and trees at the sides on a high spot, and a sprawling village at the foot of the high spot.

Rough pencil sketch.

Grey and white gouache paint applied. The ceramic cup I used to mix the paint is visible on the mat.

Grey and white gouache.

The brown ink brushpen I used to colour the horse and outline of the trees.

Brown ink from a Kuretake ink brushpen.

Small areas on the drawing are now coloured in yellow for the crates on the hors and the straw capes a couple people are wearing, and a couple of blue small patches.

The center of the painting features a few spots of yellow and blue.

All I need to add now are white spots for the falling snow and black outlines.

Finished version with black outlines, date and signature. The painting is framed in white wood. — Finished version of the gouache painting of a person on a horse and trees at the sides on a high spot, and a sprawling village at the foot of the high spot. The painting is dated and signed. I put a white mounting card and framed it in white wood.