Don't worry if you have never used gouache or Indian ink before. This course will suit you. If you are a more experienced artist who likes to try exciting techniques, then you will love it too.
You will come away with lots of transferable skills, confidence and knowledge. Watch the introduction film. If you like landscapes, then you might also enjoy this course, which uses a view of the Ridgeway trail as its inspiration: https://www.lizchadertonstudio.co.uk/ink-resist-aka-gouache-wash-off
This course is intended to be as close as possible to sitting next to me in my studio learning. We will cover how ink resist works, the materials and techniques you will need specifically for gouache wash off and then go on to plan and paint a turtle together. At the end, I will give you tips on presentation and specifically show you how to adhere your painting to a cradled board and wax it. This presentation allows you to display your work without glass, but it is entirely optional if you prefer a more traditional framing.
This is not the right course if you don't like surprises!
The gouache wash off process needs to be followed carefully for it to work. In this lesson I introduce you to each part of the process and it will also allow you to check that the paper you have chosen is robust enough to withstand the wash off. We will explore how to achieve different effects before starting on our main painting. It is vital that you don't skip the test stage!
Ten minutes spent planning will save lots of time down the line and ensure that you achieve the end result you want. I will show you how I take a reference image and make it my own and I would encourage you to personalise the subject matter too.
With our ideas developed, it is time to select our colours. I show you the ones I chose and tested, but please feel free to choose an entirely different palette. You will find some colours wash away more than others, so I always swatch them out on a scrap of paper and wash them off to see what is likely to happen. You can use white gouache throughout if you prefer and then tint your black and white image with watercolours at the end.
At last it is time to start on our turtle painting. I have chosen to start with the dots around the frame. You can chose to work in whatever order which feels right for you. I would leave the background until last, to enable you to balance it against the focal point which is the turtle.
Now we move on to the star of the show, painting the turtle in swirls of gouache being careful to leave bare pieces of paper which will be black in the final image.
The background is painted in two layers to achieve light coloured lines on a different colour background. It is important that the first layer is dry before going onto the second.
You need to be brave! In this step we will cover our entire painting with black Indian ink. It is vital that the gouache is fully dry before doing so. Aim to touch each area only once with your brush to avoid reactivating the gouache. You can think of this like grouting tiles or a mosaic. The ink will go into the gaps and then the excess will be washed off.
In this film I show you the wash off when our final image is revealed. This is so exciting! You can either use running water (even a hose outside if your piece is large) or a bowl of water. This is the best bit....
Almost inevitably there will be parts of your image you love and parts you want to change. In this film I show you how I add more ink, echoing the natural marks of the process. I also show you how to enhance the colours if you are not happy with the final result. You may or may not need to do much at this stage, it all depends on how the wash off has gone.
If you want to, you can frame your painting in the normal way under a mount and glass. However you might want to consider a different approach, so I will take you through the process of mounting your painting onto a cradled board and then waxing it. You can use this process with any watercolour painting and I love it as a contemporary twist.
Having adhered your work to the board and dried it, it is now trimmed to size. Please watch your fingers, as you need to use an extremely sharp knife.
You can seal your painting with acrylic varnish if you like, using a matte, satin or gloss. However using a cold wax medium, such as Dorland's wax, really enhances both the colours and the final look of the painting. It's very simple to do...