Paul Mirocha wrote:
>
> Cindy--
> Thanks for the talk on acylic gouache. I have not used mine yet because
> I am addicted to the wonderful ability of regular gouache to come to
> life with a little water after it dries up. Like the desert. I get
> interrupted a lot and I save my palattes to use days later. Any ideas?
>
> Actually I haven't painted much at all since I got my Wacom graphics
> tablet.



Paul -

I'd forgotten all about that kind of stuff!

I live in the desert, too. If gouache can be compared to a desert, then
I would say that the acryl gouache would be more like my face, which
just wants to shrivel up and must be maintained.

I found at a crafts store (Craft Warehouse, like Michael's) a whole bin
filled with translucent little plastic canisters (about half the size of
film canisters, with airtight snap lids, for 10 cents apiece) and loaded
up on them. I mixed the paint right in them, then brushed a bit of paint
on the sides and tops to label the colors. Little glass jars work, too,
as would film canisters. For the larger volumes, I used whatever I could
find - jelly jars, plastic food storage containers, etc. These all
worked very well for when I was premixing colors, or saving the diluted
colors. When I was working with them, I'd keep a spray bottle of water,
and mist them as needed, then put on the covers when finished for the
day (or night).

When brush painting and using palettes, I kept the spray bottle handy,
and misted more often, because the colors were not as dilute. I also
kept the palettes in the largest, shallowest, flat Tupperware-type
container I could find. When taking a break, depending on how long the
break was to be, I'd either heavily mist everything, and/or drape a wet
(but not dripping) dishtowel over the top. For longer periods, I'd mist,
and then put on the airtight lid - and also kept a couple of open
canisters filled with water inside the big container to maintain the
moisture content.

WRT the Wacom, it's interesting that for various reasons I ended up
going digital with this project. I still had quite a bit of detail work
to do at the time of conversion, plus the text, and have to admit that
sitting down, working in PS with a Wacom and a cup of coffee was much
more enjoyable, much less mess, and much less of a strain on my arm than
climbing around a 4x10 foot painting! (The final printed size was 3x8')


Cindy




Cynthia Shaw
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