Gouache

Rajasthan, India: gouache on paper. Two women worship Shiva in a lotus-filled lake.Mughal style, around AD 1610. British Museum

Gouache, also spelled guache, is a type of paint. It is also commonly called poster paint. It comprises pigment, a binding agent (usually gum arabic), and some additives to make it opaque. An inert white pigment such as chalk is usually added. Gouache covers up whatever is underneath. Water colours, in contrast, are somewhat transparent.

After gouache has dried, any form of paint can be used on the surface, also pastels and crayons. Watercolours on top of a gouache surface are not so runny (fluid) as they are on plain paper.

The fast-drying quality of gouache makes it a favourite for en plein air (outdoor) paintings. It was also a favourite of J. M. W. Turner.

Gouache also refers to paintings that use this type of paint.

Gouache Media

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  Gouache paints come in many colors and are usually mixed with water to achieve the desired working properties and to control the opacity when dry.

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  Jacob Philipp Hackert, Lago d'Averno, 1794

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  12th-century Buddhist manuscript, India

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  Asphodelus ramosus; by Hans Simon Holtzbecker; gouache on parchment; 1649–1659;