New Gouache kit

Watercolour and guache kit

Nathan Fowkes has a website and blog that I really like. He has a plein air approach that appeals to me and I’ve prepared for myself a compact kit shown above that is as close as I can get to the one he uses. Basically it’s a selection of watercolours in a tin with a tube of white gouache. This means I can paint watercolours (the purists hate this bit) from dark to light, much as in oils. I like this for where I’m at at the moment, because I want to stay in the oil painting zone.

I had an old watercolour japanned tin doing nothing, so I have adapted it and cut down a few suitable brushes. The large moleskine sketch book was given me by my big kids on my birthday, so away I go. In passing, it’s many years since I last bought watercolours in pans. You can buy empty pans for very little, and then fill them from large tubes of Artist’s quality watercolours. It takes a few days for them to dry out (they will still work fine because good quality watercolour has gum arabic in it which keeps the pigment moist.

My next post will be my first attempt at using this set-up. I haven’t done this before so it will be interesting I think.

~ by noelgarner on June 19, 2009.