What is Gouache Paint?

It’s a Gouache, it’s an Acrylic, it’s…Acryl Gouache!
The Super Hybrid Versatile Paint
!

Although acrylic colors are very versatile and have been employed in more uses than any other type of paint, they still are lacking something, they have been missing the opacity and matte properties of acrylic gouache. (To know the differences between each acrylic and gouache: Acrylic Paint vs. Acrylic Gouache: What’s the Difference?

If you were looking to get those matte and opaque colors similar to watercolor (water-based) you had to paint heavy layer over layer again and again, ending up with a painting surface that would probably have brush texture built up where you don’t want it.

Well, not anymore with gouache paint

What is Gouache?

What is Gouache?

Gouache is a water-based paint that has a matte, opaque finish (water-soluble, opaque painting medium). Because of this, gouache produces a thicker and more opaque mixture than watercolors do. This makes gouache ideal for creating bolder and darker colors than you can achieve with pure watercolor. Gouache is opaque, dries quickly so you won’t have to wait long between coat

Gouache is made by grinding the dry powder into a paste with gum arabic, which acts as a binder. This makes it possible for gouache to be thick and thinned with water, depending on your needs.

Unlike traditional watercolors, gouache dries to a matte finish and is used for illustration, fine art and design work. Can be mixed with other mediums to create additional effects

What is Acryl Gouache?

Acryl Gouache

Acryl gouache paint is a water-based medium that is similar to acrylic paint. It is used for fine art and commercial applications. Acryl gouache paint is created by mixing watercolor pigments with acrylic polymer emulsions that allow the pigment particles to bind together more tightly than they would if they were simply dissolved in water

Like traditional watercolor paints, Acryl Gouache is easily used in many different ways from scientific illustrations, architectural color layout, fashion design illustration, and even tole painting. Acryl Gouache maintains the same matte finish needed for high end imagery to be photographed or scanned from commercial or print images, without the shine that complicates color and registration of the image. What other properties make this paint so special?

Paintability:

Acryl Gouache has been a favorite of illustrators and painters alike because of its easy paintability. It thins easily with water, and spreads smooth and consistently. The color doesn’t vary from lighter to darker like other paints when spread out over a canvas or paper surface, and if thinned with water, the colors can spread even further.  With Turner Acryl Gouache’s super high pigment load, a little goes a long way, and thinning slightly is even recommended for ease of leveling without losing the brilliance or opacity of the color. Popular amongst Fine Artists, Illustrators & Designers!

Turner Acryl Gouache (pronounced gwaash) is a fast drying, matte acrylic paint that provides opaque brilliance, and can be applied to almost any substrate,  making it more versatile than traditional acrylic paints. It’s fully pigmented, and are most colors are totally light fast. Another great feature of the Acryl Gouache is that the color stays constant– there is not the color shift that occurs as with most acrylics from wet to dry.  No matter how much you spread it, there won’t be darker and lighter striations of the same color! The color stays throughout the drying process and is quite permanent, as a result of the acrylic resins in the Acryl Gouache.

Turner Acryl Gouache
A beautiful velvety matte finish!

Lightfastness:

With the exceptions of their decorative and fluorescent paint ranges, Turner Acryl Gouache is incredibly lightfast for traditional indoor art applications, whether used for fine art and illustration, furniture decoration, or even wall murals.

Adhesiveness:

One of the main benefits of using an acrylic gouache is its adhesiveness. since it uses a high-quality acrylic resin to bind the high pigment load together. The adhesiveness is what originally attracted artists to use this paint for tole painting, or the painting of furniture, glass, metal, etc. Even though this is a hybrid gouache, it’s adhesiveness is still much higher than other kinds of paints. It can bind to wood, stone, paper, metal, cloth, canvas, acrylic board and even clay!

Quick Drying Time:

Since Acryl Gouache is such a pigment rich paint with a lower resin amount than acrylics, it dries considerably quicker and to a hard film. This is one of the reasons illustrators prefer using gouache and acrylic gouache (besides the matte finish for photography purposes)– the quick drying time helps when making tight deadlines! Word to the wise though: artists using this paint should be ready to keep their brushes well rinsed and palettes misted at frequent intervals, because we aren’t kidding about how fast this dries!

Artwork example Painted with Turner Acryl Gouache
Painted with Turner Acryl Gouache

Water-Resistance:

Just like an acrylic paint, Acrylic Gouache Paint is very water resistant, and you can paint over it easily. If you thin the paint significantly with water when working, some of the colors lose their water resistant properties– but this can be fixed by sealing the final work with a few light coats of spray varnish.

Finishing Sprays / Varnishing for Gouache:

Because they dry matte and the paint film is not totally permanent, you can finish your pieces by spraying with Krylon Archival Matte Spray or Krylon UV Resistant Clear Gloss Spray.


More Resources

  1. Acrylic Paint vs. Acrylic Gouache
  2. How to Pronounce Gouache
  3. The Best Watercolor Brushes
  4. Watercolor Painting Tips for Beginners

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