We all have a different approach to painting with gouache. Out in the field, it's an easy set-up and a great way to get a painting at least started. Some finishing work in the studio and you're done.
Taking reference photographs, making drawings and compositional sketches, then working them up into a finished painting in the studio is another approach. The beauty of the medium is that you can keep working on it until it's ready, completed, finished or just 'there'.
Libby and I taught 3 workshops at the Wildling on how to work with this versatile paint. It was great to see the many approaches that the participants tried. We both did demos and hopefully gave everyone enough information and time to at least get a taste.
the travel set-up I use in the field and the same basic palette that the students had: spectrum yellow, ultramarine blue, spectrum red, burnt umber and white.
I used a photograph of the weir house at Jameson Lake that Connie took, as my source image.
I did some cropping into a square format and started to lay down the first layer of color
I did some cropping into a square format and started to lay down the first layer of color:
brighter color for underpainting and establishing shadows
cooler colors, more layers
more layers until it comes together - you can see the difference along each step and how the picture brightened up with my interpretation of it.