Q&A #2 // Holbein Acryla Gouache (Patreon)

Hi Patrons ! 🌻

A few weeks ago, I asked you to ask me questions regarding art in general. I got a bunch of questions about Holbein acryla gouache, but, just so you know - this is how I personally use this particular type of paint from this particular brand. I learned by myself and I don't consider myself a master of acryla gouache 🤗 in fact I am still learning and experimenting with it !
If you can add tips about acryla gouache to this post, feel free to leave a comment below !

HOLBEIN ACRYLA GOUACHE 🎨✨

For those of you who are interested in acryla gouache, here's the description of this type of paint on Holbein's (the brand I use) website :

Holbein Acryla Gouache is an opaque and highly-pigmented paint which dries to a velvety-matte finish. In terms of handling and mixing, it behaves like traditional Gum Arabic gouache, but because it is made with an acrylic resin binder, it is water resistant once dry. It dries quickly and with minimal color-shift; what you see wet is what you get once the paint has dried.
Acryla Gouache does not have the same fragile surface as traditional gouache made with Gum Arabic because the acrylic paint film is more flexible. It can be mixed with other acrylic or traditional gouaches, as well as with watercolors.

🌻 How do you get your paint to not be uneven layers ? Do you just go over it twice ?
Yes ! I just go over it twice. I add a little water to my acryla gouache each time, and usually the second layer looks opaque and even.

🌻 What I dread the most about acryla gouache is that I have to peel it, are there any palettes or could you just tell us what do you do ?
I let my palette soak in the sink in hot water for a minute and the paint just comes off ! I use a sponge or my fingers to take off the remaining little spots of paints.
I use a plastic palette and a ceramic one, they both work very well with acryla gouache. 

🌻 Does your acrylic paint dry too fast on your palette, especially when working so small and using such tiny amounts of paint? Would really like to watch you mix and use a palette when you do a painting video (usually the palette is out of frame).
It depends on how fast I paint. But yes you have to be quick with acryla gouache as it dries out very fast because it contains plastic. The downside of the type of paint is that you can't use it again once it's dry, unlike regular gouache which can be re-wetted .
I will definitely try to film my palette next time !

🌻 Can you show us all the colors you own ? Do you use sets ?
I don't use sets because I like to pick my colors. I don't like to buy stuff I know I won't use !
The colors I own :

The colors I use the most :

The colors I think you should purchase if you want to start using acryla gouache (it's just what I would suggest because you can pretty much do anything with these colors, but of course Holbein has a long list of interesting colors that might suit you better) :

🌻 How much water do you add to your Acryla Gouache ?
I personally don't like it when gouache is too thick, I'd rather paint over twice and add some water than try to make one layer with gouache with no water. I'll try to show that to you in my next video !

🌻 Do you use regular gouache, or just acrylic gouache? Can you give us tips working with acrylic gouache. I tried it the first time, and I feel like I waste too many paint on it, cause it dries fast.
I used to use Winsor & Newton regular gouache, I thought it was fun and suited what I wanted to create. But I also found it hard to work with and usually the colors and textures didn't turn out how excepted. I tried acryla gouache because I saw some artists using it and thought the result was smoother and closer to what I wanted. I switched to Holbein acryla gouache and it worked for me - no struggle to get this flat opaque aspect of gouache, the colors didn't change on paper, and I didn't struggle as much with the rendering and texture of gouache.

🌻 Where you can purchase Holbein acryla gouache :
Europe : Jackson's (UK)
US : Blick
Australia : The Art Shop
I believe you can find sets on Amazon too !

IN CONCLUSION 🎨
I will make a video to show you how I use Holbein acryla gouache very soon. Let me know in the comments what you'd like to see in this video 🌞

Next Q&A post will be about art supplies !

Thanks again for your support on Patreon 💖✨

💕 Stay safe ! 💕

Sibylline