Gouache is a water-based paint consisting of pure pigments suspended in water and certain with a water-soluble gum arabic binder. Just like watercolor and tempera, gouache is opaque and will be thinned with water. Not like watercolor, gouache dries to a matte end and will be re-wetted and reactivated. This makes it a flexible medium for quite a lot of portray strategies, from skinny washes to thick impasto purposes.
Gouache has an extended historical past, courting again to the Center Ages. It was a preferred medium for manuscript illumination and was later utilized by artists reminiscent of Albrecht Drer and Hans Holbein the Youthful. Within the twentieth century, gouache was adopted by a lot of fashionable artists, together with Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Edward Hopper. As we speak, gouache remains to be utilized by artists of every kind, from illustrators to effective artists. It’s a versatile and inexpensive medium that’s well-suited for quite a lot of portray strategies.