When I did my last post on using fluid acrylics I said that I wanted to try the scene with the fog rising off the mountain using transparent watercolor for most of the painting but opaque watercolor, also known as gouache for the highlights.

Watercolor purists would frown on using anything but transparent watercolor, but it’s my art, my choice. I’ve always found that saving the white and lighter colors when it involves small details is difficult. I am almost always disappointed in the results. When I was at Nimrod I did one painting where I used gouache in the foreground and I really liked the result. I said I was going to use that technique more, so here is my second attempt.

The sky, mountain, fog, foliage and field are all transparent watercolor. The dead trees, fence and hay bales are gouache. I like the result. The tree trunks stand out nicely. I would not have been able to do that in watercolor since they are lighter than the foliage. I also couldn’t have done a fence that was that delicate and precise. I may have been able to save the whites for the hay bales, but I like the way the turned out and this was less frustrating.

More of this technique to come, I’m sure…