Gouache

My Gouache Palette.

There are two styles of gouache that I have worked with. One has chalk added to make it more opaque. This is really lovely to work with fresh from the tube, but doesn't re-wet well.

The other is really just a very concentrated watercolour  - no added chalk. This is the type I am most interested in. As far as I am aware, the brands that created this sort of gouache are M.Graham, Da Vinci and Schmincke. I've ended up using a mixture of these brands in my gouache palette. I am looking for fairly opaque but re-wettable versions since it is a travel and teaching palette. They will all crack a bit if you fill a pan too fast - it needs to be done in many stages - but I find it is also helpful to add a drop or two of glycerine to help them to rewet. They are designed to work with watercolours or alone. I have shown how it looks if no glycerine is 
added when filling (always bit by bit) - you can see some cracking in the colours along the left side.
I have previously posted a couple of swatches of gouache when setting up a sketching palette -
M.Graham here and painted out here, Schmincke here the Zorn palette here and a photo of a swatch of my gouache palette here.





I will update these individual swatches, but I think it is more helpful to have them altogether.

I had some old gouache from the 1990s - some with no numbers or pigment information so I've included those too.

I used a 6 colour plus black and white set in the Art Spectrum range to create a whole range of colour charts and wheels here, but the Black and White, Deep Yellow, Ultramarine and Vermilion I used have long since dried up so I haven't included a sample of those.

Here are the various tube sizes - the Da Vinci 37ml tubes are enormous! The others range from 14ml for the W&N, 15ml for the Schmincke Horadam, the M.Graham and the smaller Da Vinci, and 22.5 ml for the Art Spectrum.






Here are the whites.

White Gouache - Titanium White Da Vinci) Titanium White Schmincke, Opaque White Schmincke, Permanent White Winsor & Newton, titanium White M.Graham. Cadmium pigments made a whole lot of sense if you want opaque colours without additives, but they are expensive.

Cool and mid yellow Gouache - Hansa Yellow Light Da Vinci, Cadmium Yellow Light Schmincke, Primary Yellow Winsor & Newton, Azo Yellow M.Graham, Primrose Art Spectrum.

Mid to warm yellow Gouache - Cadmium Yellow Schmincke, Cadmium Yellow Hue Schmicnke, Indian Yellow Schmincke, Cadmium Yellow Deep Schmincke, Gamboge M.Graham.

 I really love the pigment PR255 as a warm red. It's probably not as opaque as a cadmium scarlet would be but it's gorgeous.

War red Gouache - Vermilion Tone Schmincke, Vermilion Red Schmincke, Napthol Red M.Graham. Though made with PV19 - a transparent pigment - the Schmincke Carmine is a little opaque. Cool red Gouache - Alizarin Crimson (Quin) Da Vinci, Carmine Schmincke, Madder Red Schmincke, Quinacriodone Rose M.Graham, Crimson Art Spectrum. Magenta Gouache - Magenta Da Vinci

 I like the depth of the Schmincke Ultramarine Deep.

Ultramarine Gouache - Ultramarine Da Vinci, Ultramarine Deep Schmincke, Ultramarine M.Graham.

Phthalo pigments are not opaque. Good for tinting other colours though.

Cool blue Gouache - Phthalo Blue Da Vinci, Helio Blue Schmincke, Intense Blue Winsor & Newton, Myosis Blue, Winsor & Newton, Asure Blue Winsor & Newton.

 I think the Art Spectrum was a genuine cerulean pigment but the M.Graham certainly is.

Cool blue and cerulean Gouache - Paris Blue Schmincke, Peacock Blue Winsore & Newton, Cerulean Blue M.Graham, Cerulean Blue Art Spectrum

This is a lovely turquoise colour. I don't use it much but it is a little more opaque than the phthalos and can be used to neutralise a warm red, or to mix greens with the yellows.

Turquoise Gouache - Helio Turquoise Schmincke. Phthalo green is usually a transparent pigment.

Green Gouache - Helio Green Bluish Schmincke, Phthalocyaninie Green M.Graham. I really like PBr24 but only have it in my gouache palette. Gouache - Naples Yellow Winsor & Newton, Titanium Gold Ochre Schmincke. The Da Vinci Yellow Ochre is just lovely. Yellow ochre Gouache - Yellow Ochre Da Vinci, Yellow Ochre Winsor & Newton. Raw Sienna Gouache - Raw Sienna Winsor & Newton, Raw Sienna M.Graham, Raw Sienna Da Vinci, Raw Sienna Schmincke. Burnt Sienna Gouache - Burnt Sienna Da Vinci, Burnt Sienna Schmincke, Burnt Sienna Winsor & Newton, Burnt Sienna M.Graham. Apart from the English Red, these are old Winsor and Newton tubes with no pigment information. They probably pre-date the internet ;-) Red earth Gouache - English Red Schmincke, Chinese Orange Winsor & Newton, Venetian Red Winsor & Newton, Red Ochre Winsor & Newton. The Da Vinci Raw Umber is a lovely deep cool brown. Dark brown Gouache - Raw Umber Da Vinci, Raw Umber Winsor & Newton, Raw Umber M.Graham, Sepia Winsor & Newton. Schmincke Neutral Grey gouache, like their watercolour, is made from coloured pigments not black or white. I really like that :-). The Winsor & Newton tubes predate pigment information. Grey Gouache - Neutral Grey Schmincke, Grey No 1 (Light) Winsor & Newton, Grey No 2 Winsor & Newton, Grey No 3, Winsor & Newton, Grey No 4 Winsor & Newton, Grey No 5 (Dark) Winsor & Newton. I liked the Schmincke best in this range, though I tend to use the grey above.

Black Gouache - Black Da Vinci, Ivory Black Schmincke, Jet Black Schmincke, Ivory Black CMYK Winsor & Newton, Lamp Black M.Graham. I use some sparkly colours for calligraphy, not for painting. The Silver and Bronze are very old tubes.

Metallic Gouache - Red Pearl Schmincke, Gold Pearl Schmincke, Silver Linel, Bronze Winsor & Newton.