Gouache

Gouache (from the Italian guazzo, "water paint, splash") is a type of watercolor paint, made heavier and more opaque by the addition of a white pigment (chalk, Chinese white, etc.) in a gum arabic mixture. This results in a stronger color than ordinary watercolor. Many forms of 'poster paint' are actually gouache, as are some products lablled as tempera

The term was originally coined in the eighteenth century in France, although the technique is considerably older, having been in use as early as the sixteenth century in Europe.

The pigment dries slightly lighter than it appears when wet, which can make it difficult to match colors. The medium can also be susceptible to cracking if applied too thickly; this problem can be alleviated to some degree by the use of thickening media such as aquapasto. It can be very effective when applied to colored paper, for example in works by J.M.W. Turner.

Today the term gouache can be used interchangeably with body color, although the latter is made in a slightly different way. It can also be used as a term for any painting produced entirely with gouache.

Gouache was the original, and is still the primary, paint used in the production of decalcomanias.

The paintings are the excellent portrayal of the events and scenes that we see around us. The painters are the best cameras of the world. They reproduce many different types of pictures. They even draw imaginary pictures that do not exist in this world. We tend to use both thinned oil paints and dense oil paints. Masterpieces can be dyed more than once, but each time it may be different from the existing paintings.

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