CANVASES, CARATS AND CURIOSITIES

What is Gouache Paint?

Gouache is traditionally a mixture of pigment with gum arabic as the binding agent. Manufacturers include differing amounts of substances, such as titanium dioxide, talc or marble dust, to add opacity to the paint. Gouache, beloved by artists such as Marc Chagall and Camille Pissarro, results in bold graphic works with matte finishes. Illustrators also prefer gouache for its ability to dry fully between layers quickly. Gouache can be used on a variety of painting surfaces, such as canvas, paper, wood panel, or even photographs.

Salvador Dalí, a fearless innovator, masterfully blended diverse techniques and otherworldly motifs to shape his legendary Surrealist career. Among his favored techniques was gouache, with his works in this medium often commanding around $1.8 million at auction. Bouche mystérieuse apparaissant sur le dos de ma nurse (1941) exemplifies Dalí’s ingenious use of gouache, applied over a magazine cover featuring actress Betty Stockfeld’s face.

The medium’s unique versatility allowed Dalí to transform Stockfeld’s photographic image into a surreal coastal landscape. This metamorphosis is further elevated by the repoussoir-style composition, where archways and trees frame a dreamlike tableau that seamlessly blends memory, fantasy and psychoanalytic themes.

The gouache Dalí used to create The Golden Calf (Chariot Tarot Card) provides another valuable glimpse into the unique properties of the medium—lending a vibrancy and fantastical quality to an otherwise straightforward photograph. This work emerged from a commission by Albert Broccoli, the producer of the James Bond film Live and Let Die, who sought a tarot deck for the movie. Although the collaboration ultimately did not materialize, Dalí pursued the project independently, completing a full 78-card deck. The Golden Calf was not part of the original set but served as an inventive reimagining of the Chariot card, symbolizing triumph and self-determination.

Dalí used gouache to create the black form at the center of the composition, the vivid blue sky and the accents of yellows and greens throughout. Beneath the necklaced bust floats the superimposed image of an Egyptian pharaoh depicted on the Chariot card. The brightness of the blue gouache complements the earthy plum of the foreground subjects, creating a more vibrant counterpart to his final, darker rendition.

What is Watercolor Paint?

Watercolor is also a water-soluble paint, though it has no additional fillers in its formulation. Watercolor is gouache in its simplest form: pigment ground with a binding gum. The transparency of watercolor comes from its simplistic formula. Watercolor is most commonly painted on watercolor paper, and its thickness allows the thin layers of color to appear most luminous. Due to its transparency and watercolors’ quickness of drying, multiple layers are necessary to create depth. For works aiming for airy, light-filled compositions like landscapes, watercolor is always a great choice.

Watercolors date back to the Paleolithic era, where they were used in cave paintings, and they were later employed in manuscript illumination by ancient Egyptians and throughout medieval Europe. They did not become a staple in the artist’s toolkit, however, until the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution played a pivotal role in this transformation, as the invention of portable materials significantly boosted watercolor's accessibility and popularity. Between 1853 and 1870 in England alone, an astounding 11 million pocket-sized “shilling color boxes” were sold. This newfound portability made watercolors an ideal medium for plein air painting, enabling artists to capture the ephemeral effects of light and atmosphere with immediacy and precision.

Watercolor paint is expertly used in the vast, marshy landscape of Emil Nolde’s native Schleswig-Holstein region—depicted above in brilliant, amorphous fields of color. The ample application of watercolor conveys a sense of dynamism in the passing storm clouds in only a few brushstrokes. The fluidity that watercolor affords perfectly matched Nolde’s approach to painting. He once said, “I try to avoid all thinking. A vague concept of color and luminosity suffices, and the picture evolves during the act of painting.”

Diego Rivera, the renowned Mexican artist, uses a more opaque watercolor technique in his portrait Vendedora (1937), which he completed while living with Frida Kahlo in Mexico City. Focusing on a lone woman holding a woven bag, Vendedora explores the dichotomy between the nobility of her trade and the austerity of life in rural Mexico. The woman sits peacefully at the center of this composition with her hands neatly crossed over her wares.

A glowing yellow hue frames her head, much like a halo, and her bag's rich earth-toned palette contrasts the darkness of her shawl. Rather than loading his brush with water, Rivera uses a drier paintbrush to achieve the pigment-heavy and textured brushstrokes. Inspired by the light of the Mexican landscape, the present painting reflects Rivera’s cultural identity and his deep compassion for the people of his homeland.

When to Use Gouache and Watercolor

Now it’s time to decide which medium to use in your artwork. Watercolor is perfect if you’re looking to build layers of less pigmented paint for luminous depth like Emile Nolde. Gouache, on the other hand, will give you vibrant coverage from the first application. Watercolors’ finish is delicate, whereas gouache dries bold and matte.

Technique is another important consideration between the two. Watercolor is especially adept at manipulating water drops with pigment and building multiple light washes. While gouache can be used for pigmented washes—for example, the way diluted white paint washed over a large area can create an atmospheric effect—the medium is also suited for more abstracted, flat layers of paint.

Erté, the iconic graphic artist and designer, relied on gouache to create detailed and elegant paintings. The matte and bold nature of gouache emphasized his striking high-fashion illustrations, leading to Erté‘s recognition as a trailblazer in the Art Deco movement.

If you prefer to take breaks from your painting while retaining the flexibility to rework it later, gouache is an excellent choice. Unlike dried acrylic, which cannot be reactivated, gouache remains fully reusable with a few drops of water, restoring its original workability even after it dries completely. This quality makes gouache one of the most cost-effective art supplies, not to mention it being more portable than acrylic or oil paints.

Why Not Both? Combining Gouache and Watercolor

Many artists paired watercolor and gouache together to create compositions complemented by the unique qualities of both mediums.

In Chevaux de courses (1929), Raoul Dufy harnesses both mediums to create an abstract and colorful scene of a horse race. In the foreground, horses and their jockeys prepare for their moment in the spotlight, while in the background, a race unfolds at full speed. From the green turf and blue railings made with watercolor to the swathes of multi-colored horses with opaque outlines in gouache, Dufy playfully captures the lively spirit of the 1920s.

Gouache and watercolor can also be used together to create paintings on the opposite side of the abstraction spectrum from Dufy’s playful work. Fortunino Matania did just that for his landscape in Piccadilly Circus (early 20th century). While he worked in the same period as Dufy, Matania created more academic and narrative paintings that realistically portrayed his environs, as opposed to some of his more avant-garde contemporaries.

In this scene, the evening business of Piccadilly Circus in downtown London is depicted nostalgically. The streets are aglow with the golden light of lanterns and storefronts, and hoards of well-dressed Londoners stroll the busy streets. To create the glowing light bulbs, whose brightness is aptly depicted with beaming luminosity, Matania uses light washes of watercolor around white gouache circles.

The fogginess of the classic London sky contrasts with the matte boldness of his subjects’ clothes. In a whimsical twist, the artist rendered some important historical figures in the work, including King George V, the well-dressed gentleman smoking a cigar near the center of the painting. Matania acts as the perfect flâneur in the scene, harnessing gouache and watercolor to create the highly detailed observation of early 20th-century London’s boundless energy.

Ultimately, both watercolor and gouache share a foundation of pigment, gum arabic and water solubility, offering unique ways to express creativity. Whether you’re drawn to watercolor's soft transparency or gouache's bold opacity, each medium opens a world of artistic possibilities. As Marc Chagall once said, “I work in whatever medium likes me at the moment.” Why not experiment with both and see where your imagination takes you?

Explore our many gouache, watercolor and works on paper paintings for more!