New Gouache Painting: Classroom

While the previous painting I started is “resting,” I’ve begun a new small gouache painting. This is on a Claybord panel from Ampersand, 9 x 12 inches.

Preliminary line drawing

Ink Tones

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I first started with a light color line drawing using a Derwent Cadmium Yellow watercolor pencil, and then added a wash of grey tones made with white and grey acrylic ink (Liquitex.) The ink helps keep the board surface from being too slippery as well as starting to set the values for the final painting.

Gouache added

Detail of gouache

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Here I am beginning to add the gouache paint, working as I habitually do from left to right. I first placed a few dark blacks in gouache, and then painted in the blackboard wall color before starting on the figure and signs on the blackboard. The head of that figure is about 1.75 inches tall to help give you an idea of scale.

You can see a sheet of wax paper on the right side of the image above. I use this to protect the painting from my hand. I could use a maul stick, but this works just as well. That brush is what I’ve been using for most of the painting so far. It’s a Lowell & Cornell “American Painter” shader brush #2. This is my typical “workhorse” brush for small paintings, and I’m very fond of how it performs.