Gouache – Not a Four Letter Word
If you are like me you made have heard the term “gouache” occasionally when reading about art or talking with friends but had no idea what it meant. That is why I decided to find out something about the word.
Obviously the first place I checked was a dictionary any dictionary will do since they pretty much give the same definition. The root of the word “gouache” comes from the French and the pronunciation is shown as [gwahsh, goo-ahsh; Fr. Gwash]. The main definition is ‘a technique of painting with opaque watercolors prepared with gum.’ Also, the word “opaque” means ‘not transparent.’
To make a comparison “watercolor paints” are considered ‘transparent’, whereas “gouache” is considered a water-soluble paint that is opaque. However, since both are water-soluble they can be used together. One difference between the two is that with gouache the pigment particles are bigger and the ratio of those pigments to the water content is higher.
The term “gouache” in the art community also has a variety of aliases such as “body paint” or “opaque watercolor” or “designer’s gouache”.
If you have tried painting using watercolor then you know the challenges that it presents. Well, working with gouache also has its own challenges. The values of the colors are not the same wet as they are dry. In general the darker tones will have a tendency to dry lighter while the opposite is true of the lighter colors. The lighter colors tend to dry darker. Gouache dries immediately and usually to a matte finish
