Testing Commercial Gouache Mediums

Following my success with using my own gouache medium to make paint as shown in my previous post, I wanted to try a couple brands of commercial pre-made mediums that I ordered online. I bought a bottle of Rublev “Watercolor Medium” and Schmincke “Gouache Binder”.

I used some Phthalo green pigment to mix with the Schmincke medium, and I used the Rublev medium with some red Pozzuoli pigment that I purchased recently to make some gouache paint.

Both of these brands were easy to use, and quite similar to my own gouache medium that I made from raw gum Arabic powder and a little dextrin. They both had what seemed like the same level of viscosity and appearance. In the swatches above you can see the full masstone of the tubed paint, a diluted sample, and a mix with titanium white. The Schmincke medium is a little more expensive than the Rublev for approximately the same volume, and I ordered my bottle of Schmincke from Jackson’s art supply in the UK, which took awhile longer to arrive but they had the best price.

Overall, the results are equal between my own medium, and either of these two commercial brands. It’s much less expensive to make my own medium, but certainly more time consuming and not as convenient.