In the previous post,
I spoke of the Philadelphia Sketch Club, the old time arts organization that I
am the Vice President of. One of the nice things about being in the club is
being able to take part in exhibitions. I say this because as a member you
usually are alerted to and reminded of upcoming exhibitions months in advance
by the members who are organizing them. Other exhibitions I usually find out
about too late or miss the deadline for entry all together . Thank goodness for
on-line entries that allow you to submit work up until midnight…
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| 1957 Chevrolet 210 gouache on paper 8"x6" |
One of the shows at the Sketch Club I
always try to enter is the Small Oils Exhibition. This year’s edition is the 149th
Annual Small Oils Exhibition, but I’m not certain those 149 years happened
consecutively, since the club is entering it’s 153rd year. I think they may have had a break in there for Sketch Club members to fight in the American Civil War. In any regard, it’s a great show to be juried into
it, and there have been years when I did not get in. One of the reasons
for rejection probably is that I do not work in oils, and I always find myself entering work
painted with something that approximates oil paint, like acrylics.
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| 1949 Buick gouache on paper 7" x 6" |
Lately I have been finishing
some work—all automotive subjects- in gouache. I always hesitated in working
with it, because #1, it is expensive to buy gouache, and I knew the first few
things I tried in it would be lousy; and #2, I can never really remember how to
spell the word “gouache”. If it wasn’t for spell check on this computer, I
doubt I would ever get it right.
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| 1956 T Bird gouache on paper 7"x 6" |
Gouache is similar to
a thick watercolor, or like the tempera paint we used in grade school that came
in glass jars with metal lids we hard time unscrewing when the paint dried
around the top. The gouache I use is a
much higher quality than that paint, and also comes in tubes so the tops are
easier to open. Expensive, yes; but it cleans up with water, dries quickly, and
doesn’t smell, so it’s great for me to work with.
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| 1959 Ford rear gouache on paper 7" x 6" |
It is a fun medium to
use, and one of the things I really like about it is the fast drying time and
the finished look it has. I had used it sparingly on my water colors after
seeing some of James Toogood’s (http://www.jamestoogood.com)
work in person- I was impressed with how he combines the transparent and opaque
effects watercolor provides. I also noticed that a lot of the automotive
paintings I really admired from the 1950’s and 60’s were executed using
gouache. Slowly, I got to the point where I was using the gouache exclusively to complete a painting more
opaquely, and this year I was able to sneak two of them past three jurors
into this year’s 149th
Exhibition of Small Oils. -Rich
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| 1940 Ford Sedan gouache on paper 7" x 6" |
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