Painted this gouache study on a 4 x 6 postcard, from a photo I took on a winter visit to St John’s, NFLD, from years ago.
I was reminded that much of the appeal of painting in gouache lies in the brush strokes, and the quickest route to intentional brush strokes is to use the biggest brush possible. IIRC, James Gurney says to “use the biggest brush you can get away with.” So this 4 x 6″ study was painted with a 3/4″ flat, and the next one I’ll try a full 1″ flat I think.
Thing is, after using these brushes for years, I do know how to get tiny marks out of them – I painted the joggers, the posts and antennas and floodlights all with that one big flat. So the trick is to try not to make tiny marks – solve the painting with the biggest marks you can make. Something to remind myself of on the next one.
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