I love Jerry's Artarama. If you're an artist, go check them out.
I'd been seeing other artists talk about this stuff called gouache. I heard is was great to paint with. I discovered it was stupid expensive. I struggled with how to even pronounce the name. It always reminded me of Jordache jeans for some reason. [Insert face smack moment.]
That's where Jerry's came in.
Jerry's Artarama is a great site for all things art supplies. They usually have everything that you need at a great price. You can buy in bulk. AND, they ship to you super fast. Around Memorial Day, they had a sale on their gouache paints. I'm a girl who loves a good deal, so I had to check it out. Discount? Count me in!
If you aren't familiar with gouache: it's a paint consisting of natural pigment, water, and a binding agent. Most gouache comes in either acrylics or watercolor. The colors are meant to be opaque. You have to use the paints on paper, not canvas. The bottles are tiny and can run you over $200 for a set. What was the big deal?
So why use this type of paint when there are so many other options that are cheaper and look great? My overall impression of the product was that the colors are rich. They're beautiful. The paint goes on smoother than other types of paints I've used before. It hugs the paper more than a canvas would hug other paint. It still blends well, but because it's on paper instead of canvas, you can't create the texture from this paint like you can for other heavier bodied acrylics.
Overall, I love it. It's fun to paint with.
I don't know that I will only use this paint on my paintings on acrylic paper. I am aware of how expensive this paint is while painting with it, so I don't use as much as I normally would. That's probably a good thing, but I like to be loose with my art. I like to have lots of paints available to mix, blend, and build upon. I typically don't know what the painting will look like until it finds its way onto the canvas. I didn't feel like I had this freedom using gouache.
So, I amend my previous statement: I love gouache, but it won't replace the other types of acrylics I use for my art. Perhaps my mind will change over time. For now though, I'm happy painting loose flowers across a canvas with too much paint in order to create that texture I love.
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