When I picked up painting again, I went straight into acrylic paint. It was fun and forgiving and I enjoyed the medium. Over the last couple of years, I have taken lessons in watercolour, pastels and gouache. I love various mediums, given I do mixed media, that is a good thing! For the last twelve months, I have been enjoying the medium of gouache. So what is gouache, I hear you ask. Gouache is a water-based paint not dissimilar to watercolour, it is however, matte, opaque and creamy. Being similar to watercolour, it is more opaque, which means you can layer from dark to light and correct mistakes. I love how the medium quickly dries to a matte finish, making it ideal for photographing, and scanning for prints and doesn't have that shine. As I have been venturing out on en plein air excursions, gouache is an ideal medium to take out and about. It is compact enough for a small palette, dries reasonably quickly and can be activated with water. I enjoy being able to sketch and then paint while I am out, sometimes in my sketchbook and sometimes on watercolour paper. These en plein air paintings are then reference guides for future work. The fact I can paint in the colours of the day is ideal to capture the moment, the shadows, the highlights and the essence of the session. Although you can paint larger paintings using gouache, it is often associated with smaller works from an A3 - A5 painting. Smaller work on A3 to A5 is ideal when you have limited time and space, making gouache the perfect medium. The artwork you see here is a small artwork on paper using gouache. This was done with an initial light translucent wash and then layered with a more creamy gouache texture to give depth to the piece. Have you heard of gouache or do you use it? Leave your comments below, I would love to see your comments. Featured Artwork: The outback shed
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At the time of writing, this morning was the monthly paint out on a cold, windy and drizzly morning. It would have been oh, so easy to snuggle up in bed and not venture out into the Melbourne Autumn weather. Yet, eight of us rugged up, packed up art supplies and made our way to the park and gathered under the rotunda. We all came with varying degrees of art kits, chairs, cushions and layers. For some it was the first time to paint en plein air, for others, it was a familiar way to spend a Saturday. We were all there for the enjoyment of spending some time to indulge in our love of creating, being outdoors and most importantly connecting with like-minded creatives. The monthly paint out sessions is not about who makes the prettiest work, the best kit or has the best skills, it is about the enjoyment of connection, and the people, it is about painting and creating too. I believe the biggest benefit of the monthly paint out is putting ourselves in the priority seat. It's great to take two hours once a month on a weekend to say hey everyone “I’m not available on this morning, this is my morning of meeting up and doing what I enjoy.” The pleasure that is derived from being in the fresh air, chatting with familiar friendly faces and losing yourself on the page of the sketchbook is so fulfilling. Sharing ideas, tips, and stories and finding out more about each other is building a new group of people to enjoy. As we pack up and finish our hot drinks, the chatter reaches a crescendo of last-minute info and well wishes until the next time we meet. We all head off back to our various tasks for the day, helping each other to take our bits and bobs to the car, and then off we go. And that is what meeting monthly and painting outdoors is all about, painting, people and priorities. Do you want to join us? It’s free and everyone is welcome. Visit here to register for the next one. I remember as a small child the gift of a point and shoot camera, the type that had a flash cube click on top. Pocket money was saved up for the purchase of film and then developing. Being able to capture moments in time was thrilling to me. My love of photography continued into adult life when I completed a photography course which also had a component for dark room developing. Nowadays, we are so lucky to have a camera with us wherever we venture. Our phone can capture those moments in time. We can capture any exciting or beautiful inspiration right then and there. I take many photos when we are out and about. It may be the perfect rose bloom, an unusual colour combination, a bike leaning against an old fence, a cloudy sky, some shadows playing amongst trees or the reflection in a pond. If you look with art in mind, it is amazing you will find something for inspiration, everywhere. At the art classes I run, I am often asked, where do I find ideas for my artwork. The answer is everywhere. I take photos when I am out and about, I save photos from the web, I cut out photos from magazines that have a colour, texture or design that speaks to me. Found objects such as shells, twigs and leaves are a particular favourite. All of these combined offer me inspiration for creating a new piece of artwork. One piece or many pieces together may spark an idea for an artwork, sometimes it could be a single word that carries me away. Where do you find inspiration? Leave a comment below. En plein air, a French phrase meaning “in the open air,” describes the process of painting a landscape outdoors. Artists venture into natural settings, to capture the play of light, colour, and atmosphere from nature. When I started back painting in 2020, often we would grab a couple of camping tables and sit in the backyard and paint our beautiful outlook. I forgot how much I loved being in fresh air, sun shining and being at one with nature. Last year I had planned to start running en plein air mornings in the local area. With personal illness and family matters, it went on the backburner, until now! After a few promptings from some of my classes, I realised now was the time to execute these monthly jaunts into nature. Funny, the website page had sat there for the best part of 12 months waiting for the right time. I am looking forward to the first one coming up in just a few weeks. The artwork above is from the day I went out and scouted around for some lovely scenery. Using a sketchbook, pencils and some Gouache I was able to capture the day in my sketchbook. The colours, the shadows and the feeling. It was wonderful to be there amongst the bird life, the chitter chattering and the different bugs that make ever so slight noise. Every now and the, the feet on sand of the runners would break the sounds of the bush. It is a fantastic experience and something I think is great to try. Any level of artist can enjoy a paint out in nature. You can take what is in front of you and put your spin on it, your interpretation of what you see. You don't have to have a swag of supplies, you can take minimal supplies or go all out. I have put together a comprehensive list of what you could take with you. Obviously, you can be as thrifty with your supplies as you wish. If you would like to take a look at the list and even join me you can find out more here. Do you do paint outs? What do you take as your essentials? Share below your best tips for en plein air supplies. |
AuthorLee Cummins is a mixed media artist, workshop and art class facilitator. Archives
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