Thursday 12 October 2023

Daniel Smith Gouache



Daniel Smith Gouache has been in the pipeline for some years, with the first 22 colour selections available in late 2023. Made with concentrated pigment and gum Arabic, these paints can be used straight from the tube and dry with a matt finish.

Titanium White and Buff Titanium lend themselves to gouache as they are more opaque pigments. The yellows give a cool, medium and warm option which is very useful for mixing. I've opted for the Hansa Yellow Medium as a single mixing yellow in my 16-colour gouache palette, but the classic 'cool and warm' pair of Hansa Yellow Light and Hasnsa Yellow Deep are also available.

Daniel Smith Goauche - Titanium White, Buff Titanium, Hansa Yellow Light, 
Hansa Yellow Medium, Hansa Yellow Deep.

The scan doesn't capture the vibrancy of Pyrrol Orange. Pyrrol Scarlet is just on the orange side of red and Pyrrol Red is a rich tomato red. Quinacridone Magenta is a classic mixing red. Wisteria, like the watercolours in the same name, has added white.

Daniel Smith Goauche - Pyrrol Orange, Pyrrol Scarlet, Pyrrol Red, Quinacridone Magenta, Wisteria.

Lavender also has added white. Ultramarine is a classic blue in any palette. Cobalt Blue is less often found in watercolour. Cascade Green is an exclusive Daniel Smith colour created for the Cascade Mountains. 

Daniel Smith Goauche - Lavender, Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt Blue, Cascade Green, Permanent Green Light.

You can see that Indian Red is the most opaque of the colours, as this is also an opaque colour in watercolour. Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna and Burnt Sienna are really useful earth colours. The Burnt Sienna is a particularly beautiful rich orange earth colour.

Daniel Smith Goauche - Spring Green, Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Indian Red.


Burnt Umber and Lamp Black complete the original set or 22 colours. Raw Umber and a large range of other blacks, greys and darks have since been added.
Daniel Smith Goauche - Burnt Umber, Lamp Black

May 2024 update

Here are five more of the gouache colours that I have bought for my own palette. Very few companies make Cerulean as a gouache at all using PB35 or PB36, but this is a beauty. Phthalo Green is so useful for mixing. I like to have Raw Umber in a palette as great shade and earth colour. Jane's Grey and Jane's Black are also a great addition as I now don't need to use a black pigment in gouache either.
Daniel Smith Gouache - Cerulean Blue Chromium, Phthalo Green BS, Raw Umber, Jane's Grey, Jane's Black (Red 
Green)


And one more. The Chromium version of Cerulean is clearly cooler and richer, but the PB35 is a very pretty sky colour.

Daniel Smith Gouache - Cerulean Blue


52 new colours are now available - bringing the total to 74. I am delighted to see some cool-leaning colours in this extra range, including a number of my favourites - Phthalo Blue GS, Cerulean Chromium and Permanent Alizarin Crimson - that will aid in mixing, along with Raw Umber, Piemontite Genuine Sap Green and of course Jane's Grey and the two Jane's Blacks. You can click on any of these to see how they look on the Daniel Smith website, painted out in full strength, diluted and over black paper. I'll add more as I can. Or as always, please contact me if you'd like to send a sample to add here 🙂

Alizarin Crimson
Alvaro’s Caliente Grey
Alvaro’s Fresco Grey
Bloodstone Genuine
Bordeaux
Cadmium Orange Hue
Cadmium Red Medium Hue
Cadmium Yellow Light Hue
Cadmium Yellow Medium Hue
Carbazole Violet
Carmine
Cerulean Blue see above
Cerulean Blue, Chromium see above
Chrome Titanate Yellow
Cobalt Teal Blue
Duochrome Mauve
Enviro-Friendly Brown Iron Oxide
Enviro-Friendly Red Iron Oxide
Enviro-Friendly Yellow Iron Oxide
Hematite Genuine
Indanthrone Blue
Indian Yellow
Iridescent Aztec Gold
Iridescent Copper
Iridescent Electric Blue
Iridescent Gold
Iridescent Moonstone
Iridescent Sunstone
Ivory Black
Jane’s Black (Blue/Orange)
Jane’s Black (Red/Green) see above
Jane’s Grey see above
King’s Royal Blue
Lemon Yellow
Moonglow
Neutral Tint
Olive Green
Opera Pink
Payne’s Gray
Pearlescent White
Permanent Alizarin Crimson
Phthalo Blue (Green Shade)
Phthalo Blue Turquoise
Phthalo Green (Blue Shade) see above
Piemontite Genuine
Prussian Blue
Quinacridone Purple
Raw Umber see above
Sap Green
Sepia
Van Dyck Brown
Venetian Red

Wednesday 4 October 2023

Spain Workshop: Costa Brava

I've heard about the French Escapade workshops for a number of years and am really excited to have been invited to lead a group in Costa Brava, Spain, in May 2024. How glorious! 

Join me from 19th to 26th of May 2024. The itinerary is wonderful and can be found here and includes the chance to sketch beaches and cliffs, the botanical gardens, gorgeous architectural details, Dali's Surrealistic World, gorgeous white-washed houses and so much more. You'll learn how to create the perfect colour for all you see, how to work from life, sketching on location with pencil and pen, how to wash in skies and seas, how to create the details for gorgeous flowers... and in the process you'll fill your sketchbooks with indelible memories of this gorgeous region.


Here is a link for more information and please make a note that there is an early bird discount of $200 if you book before the 30th November 2023 :-)