Daniel Smith Gouache Paints

Photo (c) Lee Kellogg

I recently splurged and bought the entire release of the new Daniel Smith gouache paints. I have used M. Graham gouache and felt they were fine, as a mid-range gouache (same for their watercolors, mid-range). Daniel Smith’s paints are always at the professional level, with great pigments. Their gouache is in the same league.

Why gouache? Gouache is an opaque watercolor. Regular water paints are translucent, allowing the white of the paper to show through. Gouache is thick and covers over the layer below. Like oil painting where the layers are built upon each other you can sort of do that gouache. The thickness and opacity of gouache allows you to paint on old book pages and cover up the text.

I filled pans with the gouache to use in a pallet. I also like to use gouache fresh from the tube. With fresh paint, it is easier to get a nice thick layer on the paper. However, by having the paint in a travel tray I can take it with me when I work in the field. Mixing regular watercolor paints and gouache creates new colors and allows for a wide range of shades. Just know that when adding a regular watercolor to titanium white it will go pastel. Gouache paints tend to be a bit pastel mainly because of the thickener.