Recipe for success

I read with interest Robert Brindley’s recent gouache articles in The Artist (February, March and April 2021 issues). It was only when seeing the depth of colour and luminosity he achieved with this medium did I realise what I had been missing. Particularly as I have only used gouache to give highlights on my own watercolours.

Eventually I produced my first gouache painting, thoroughly enjoyed the process, and was pleased with the result. However, I began to understand Robert Brindley’s warning that, because of gouache's water solubility, it is very easy to disturb underlying paint, which can make it difficult to achieve the desired effect.

This problem reminded me of a fascinating article that I read years ago by Britton Francis, a celebrated Canadian watercolourist. To achieve the luminosity he needed for his paintings he used multiple glazes, which inevitably suffered from dragging and smearing. His solution, akin to egg tempera, was to make an emulsion by mixing the egg yolk with a small amount of distilled water. The emulsion stabilised the watercolour, thereby allowing multiple layers without bleeding in any way.

I did exactly the same to my gouache with exactly the same result. Following his recipe I used a fresh egg and very carefully separated the yolk from the albumen. I then rolled the yolk on a paper towel to clean off any white then split the yolk and carefully emptied it into a small jar before adding a small amount of distilled water. The emulsion should be kept in the fridge and will last a few days.

Using a clean brush each time I dipped into the emulsion I added a very small amount of the emulsion to the gouache and then brushed in the normal way. The result is fully stabilised layers that are not disturbed with subsequent layers.

Tony Frazer-Price, by email

This month’s star letter writer will receive a Sennelier portable watercolour palette, worth £29.95.