Gouache Paintings

Gouache Painting

By Bradley Jimerson,Gouache Artist

"Water Runs Through It"

By Bradley Jimerson, Gouache Artist

I learned to gouache paints since high school and The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. It is used for painting illustrations for any paints and drawings art classes that I attended at The Arts Institute of Pittsburgh to be a commercial artist. I learn to use the base board which is a thick bristol board so that it would not warp when wet. To use for any paints to apply on the bristol board.

I was taught to apply only a small amount of gouache paint. The paint colors comes in a set of 6, 10 or 18 gouache paint set or whatever it is available in the art stores nearby.

To apply the paint is almost as if your watercolor painting. There is a trick to change a color or fix a mistake just using the brush strokes technique over the color or line to remove or simply change a color that it can be reactivated with water.

Gouache is opague and dense in covering. It differs in it's opacity from watercolors. Where as the acrylic paints, dries faster and at times it is hard to fix any mistakes. 

Gouache dries rapidly and it has a matte surface that does not reflect light, it gives a beautiful colors as you put it all together. As you see the samples of a paintings shown here.

At times accidents happens. Perhaps it turns out a great idea that you were not expecting when after you applied colors or water for different textures or techniques that it may look awesome!

You can simply used very light water to rub out the color you do not want. There is another ways to apply layers upon layers as 2D illustrations to work with the paint that would give you a dazzling choices of a color you want for the subject matter that would pop out to get your crowd of fascinated onlookers!

Cattails Milkweeds

Illustrations by Bradley Jimerson

Gouache is unpopular these days. It was consider an art supply rather painting a medium for a long time. It is used in plein air studies, children's use them in schools, designers used them in flat surfaces and animations. Very few artists use it as their main medium.

Since I started using gouache paintings to paint flowers or shrubs to incorporate it in seneca language for the names of the plants. I would showcase my artwork on various social medias through facebook, twitter and instagram.

It's been great using this particular paints. Try it! You might love it. I sure do!

There you have it!

Sgë:nö'(Peace),
Bradley Jimerson
Owner of
Bradesign Arts and
   'Just U Pose' Photography