Gouache painting from a Rembrandt + Thoughts on gouache painting, want to bump ?

[Ryu]

A gouache painting, from a Rembrandt,
tell me what do you think ;)

Cya

http://membres.lycos.fr/riou00/Sketchbook/Rembrandt02.jpg

[omarpac]

this is really nice
wud u mind plz writing me a small tutorial on how u did it i want to learn gouache painting i can paint in watercolors but i want to take up gouache how did u get it to be soo smooth?
plz reply

[Ryu]

Man, someone saw it !!
incredible :p

So concerning a step by step,
i can only give you some tips.
First, a good thing to learn is to copy the master you like, old or new.

Second, concerning gouache, the thing to remember, is that unlike acrylic and oil, with each new stroke, your color gain in saturation, especially if the understroke is something like bright red or something.

you can paint with thickness (which overgo saturation) but you got to add something to your water, don't remember the name, or the paint will crackle.

Concerning how i paint, i don't do succession of layers.
I try to have a good feeling of form this way :

On a decided surface, i know if it will be shadow or light.
So i paint a first color base, NOT TOO THIN, in the area.
Then it's like sculpting (so exciting ;) ) you get brighter, by adding, white, or yellow, on the paper directly or by a mix on the palette,
then you can add more shadow, with the complementary of the base color (often do the mix on a palette before) .
Color theory is something you got to learn if you want to paint.

But one thing, VERY IMPORTANT :

Painting is like drawing.

if the painting sucks, it may not be the cause of color, but of values !
you got to check the value first, then put color. begin by black and white painting, then add colors (or burnt umber and black, better looking results ;) )
Gouache is smooth, organic, drow little slow so you can act on it, get focused as soon as the brush hits the paper.

Remember, you don't like the painting you just made?
then check for the highlight, are they in the right place? shadows ? are they well designed ?

Do you know drawing ? when you know how to draw, you learn painting a lot faster.

Here are my thoughts, anyone wants to bump, really welcome :)

cya

[omarpac]

so let me tell u what i understood
u start with a base fleshtone color then u start modelling with the complementary of the colour for example u used orange and to get the darks u will add blue
but still the question of how do u get to be soo smooth
when i model the features theres a hard edge between the dark and light colour do u blend with a clean brush of water?
like on the cheek of ur painting u have light orange and a darker value
and they are well blended
how did u achieve that
and also when i paint large areas of the paper my paint dries and the strokes show how can i get to be more flatter do i add more water so its watery
and one last question which is really technical
how do u use gouache
i put parts of paint from the tube into a palette and make it watery by addiing some water with a brush and if i want to mix colors i mix them on a clean side but sometimes the paint runs out
is this right?
i know this is a lot but i need help man

[Ryu]

Give me a url where i can see some of your tries, so that i can tell more.

here little more to answer your questions :

To blend two colors, (with soft edge, not to overabuse) :
1/ paint one color
2/ paint the other one
3/ take a clean brush, put it into water, then take the stock of water off with a towel, so you have a wet brush
4/ lighlty hatch in one direction from one color (usually the brighter) into the other
5/ clean the brush, wet etc;..
6/ hatch in the other direction
7/ clean brush, or take another one, i take a flat one to do this, and just pull the colors along the seam you just made

i hope you can understood, if not tell me, i'll try to show pics (if i have the time)

Concerning drying time, i don't know, you trie all the way, you'll find the good one (maybe less big part, or quicker work.. you see)

Sometime the paint runs out. That the way it goes. Usually it does it often when you begin :)
At this time, the only tip i can give you, is not shooting at your palette, but try again !

cya

[omarpac]

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=36240
scroll down u will find about 3 attempts in gouache
wud appreciate it if u showed me with pics
i really understood what u said but a pic is worth a thousand words