Opaque Watercolor: combining watercolor with gouache and painting in an opaque manner.
Watercolor is usually synonymous with the idea of transparency, but combining watercolor pigments with gouache and painting in an opaque manner (applying paint somewhat thickly and in layers) allow me to work in the kind of spontaneous and improvisational way that appeals to me. With opaque watercolor, I can put colors down and if I don’t like what I see, I can quickly make adjustments, changes, and corrections because I can easily cover darks with lights, melt colors together to create intriguing new colors that can’t be named, or remove colors entirely and begin again. I also love the velvety matte picture surface that results with opaque watercolor.
With opaque watercolor lights can be painted over darks.
While many watercolor artists equate opaque painting with the word mud, I find that I get brighter, clearer and more beautiful colors with the opaque approach. However, it did take quite a bit of experimentation to determine which pigments would deliver the kind of color and surface qualities I was after. Initially I mixed only white gouache with my watercolor pigments and worked that way for many years. Recently, I’ve been experimenting more and more with tube gouache pigments. What I’ve found is that there is very little difference between gouache colors and the watercolor-mixed-with-white-gouache colors that I mix up on my palette.
For the most successful results, I’ve found it’s best to think of opaque watercolor as a distinct medium separate from transparent watercolor because each requires a different mindset and different painting techniques. Most of the problems I encounter with opaque watercolor have to do with adding too much water to my pigments (a habit left over from my transparent watercolor days). Controlling the pigment/water ratio is key, and the only way I know of to acquire that key is through deliberate practice. In terms of techniques, I use techniques borrowed from oil painters, acrylic painters, and pastel painters.
Choosing a medium and molding painting techniques to suit an artist’s personality is a very personal journey. It’s not as simple as selecting a medium and learning “how to” paint in that medium. It’s about finding a medium that speaks to us, because that medium is going to speak for us. In choosing a painting medium, two important tasks must be taken into consideration. The first is discovering what touches our heart and stirs our soul. And the second is figuring out how we’re going to to express all that with our chosen medium.
Happy Painting!
