Julie Powell tests out the Caran d’Ache 8 Gouache Studio Paint Set
What's included
The tin contains eight colours, seven in pans plus a tube of white.
The colours in this particular set are 240 Lemon Yellow, 060 Vermilion, 090 Magenta, 170 Cyan, 210 Emerald Green, 005 Grey, 009 Black, and 001 White (in a 10ml tube).
In addition, there is a round tipped medium sized brush included in the set.
Price: £26.34
Where to buy: Art Supplies with Painters Online
You can also order a set of 15 colours for £40.79 by
First impressions
On first impressions, the tin is a smart hinged, easy to open container with plenty of mixing space in the lid.
The tablets are generously sized at 3 x 2.5cm. The tin also has a cardboard sleeve with a colour chart inside so that swatches of the colours can be tested out (see below).
The product is described as ‘a tablet form suited to teaching and practising artistic or leisure painting.’
The packaging also says that it is ‘2 in 1 water- based paint with unparalleled pigment concentration with natural plant-based binder and no plasticiser. Semi opaque colours with watercolour effects possible, and good lightfastness.’
On the Caran d’Ache website it also mentions that the paints offer even application and unlimited blending options.
My analysis
I wanted to try out the colours of the paints and also test out the opacity and transparency.
I used a Bockingford 140lb/300gsm NOT watercolour paper.
- The paint flowed easily from the dry tablet and I was delighted to find that the colours are really vibrant.
- There is little granulation in terms of pigment separation. As gouache is usually associated with creating flat areas of colour, this is not surprising. However, I did find that the paint can be thinned with water to create a much more transparent watercolour effect.
- The grey and black are particularly opaque and matt and the other colours become more and more matt with additional coats of paint added over the top of dry layers (not wet layers as this lifts off the lower layer).
- I tested each colour over the top of broader swatches and was very impressed with the opacity.
- I particularly like the very bright magenta colour which I could see might be very useful in a landscape including flowers.
Top features
Pros:
- Beautiful vibrant colours
- Lightweight set with no need to take additional palette or paints if you are happy to mix those provided
- Transparent and opaque effects
- Mix well with ink and probably other water-based media
If there are any cons to the set, they are:
- The brush fell apart (but I may have just been unlucky with the one in my set)
- It is not quite so easy to mix enough paint for large flat areas
- There are no earth colours in this set
Painting with gouache
As it happened, we were about to go off on a motorhome trip up to Northumberland, to visit Holy Island/Lindisfarne. I had in mind a few locations where I might try out the paints on location.
I love the harbour area of the island and especially the old upturned boats there which have been turned into sheds, but I began with a sketch of the castle, framed through a boat.
Adding washes
I chose to make a simple drawing and I used the cyan blue to wash the sky, with plenty of water.
It took a while to get a puddle of paint enough for a large area from the tablet, but the paint flowed really well and I was impressed with the delicacy of the first wash.
The brush, however, immediately began to lose hairs pretty badly and so I swapped to one of my own.
All the mixing was done in the lid of the tin.
Layering
I found that the paint easily mimicked watercolour and once a layer was dry, I could add subsequent layers and the transparency was still there. The product dried extremely quickly, especially as it was a bright, warm day.
Opaque layers
Happy with the composition, I added some opaque layers and the product really came into its own. The matt layers dried to a velvety finish and there was minimal pick up of underlying colour.
The finished painting
Lindisfarne Castle from the Harbour
Finally, I added some details in ink, which is something I often do when using gouache.
The resulting finished painting reminds me of the old travel poster prints and I really like the bright colours.
Exploring gouache further
This first painting gave me great encouragement to explore further, but it also taught me that some colours need a bit of thought when it comes to mixing a brown for example or a purple suitable for use in shadows.
There are no earth colours in this set and if I was using my usual gouache paints, I would have reached for ultramarine blue, a warm yellow such as cadmium, ochre or a burnt umber. Instead, I had to experiment with the lemon yellow, magenta, vermilion and cyan (see above).
There is, however a Caran D’Ache Gouache Studio box set of 15, which does contain some earth tones and a warmer yellow.
In the afternoon, I was back at the Holy Island harbour, this time to capture one of the lovely upturned boat sheds. I chose a particularly interesting one with lots of clutter outside it, so that I could test out lots of different colours in small amounts.
The sketch
I made a more detailed drawing this time as there was so much stuff outside. There was still strong sunlight and I wanted to capture the lovely shadows on the front of the shed quickly before they moved.
Transparent and opaque layers
Again, it was easy to achieve both transparent and opaque layers with the paint and as long as I made sure that each layer was dry, I could work over the top without lifting the paint underneath, so I had fun creating all the fishing clutter!
The finished painting
Upturned Boat Shed, Lindisfarne
I was very happy with the end result of this painting, especially with the transparent door shadow.
Gertrude Jekyll Garden
Finally, I was excited to move over to the Gertrude Jekyll garden, which was designed for Edwin Lutyens whilst he was transforming Lindisfarne Castle into a holiday home. The plot was originally the castle’s garrison vegetable garden and I knew that it contained a delightful little shed.
The garden is always popular with visitors and this day was no exception, but I was luckily able to squeeze myself onto a bare patch of earth which had been cleared in order to draw the shed.
The garden is small and so my view was a close -up perspective, but I was happy with that as I wanted to capture the gardening ephemera outside.
The sketch
This time I was using my Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook which has quite smooth cold press 270gsm pages.
Creating shadows
Using the same tactics as before I layered the paints to create shadows, more transparent areas and more opaque areas.
Gouache and ink
As a cold and damp sea fret had come in, a hasty retreat to the motorhome was necessary and I continued the painting there, by beginning to add in some ink.
Being inside now, I was happy to complete this final picture in more detail and with more layers than before.
Having completed the picture, I felt that it was too dark and so I set about lightening it with more layers of gouache.
The paper happily obliged and the paint went over the top in new, paler layers very well, so I was very happy with the final result.
The finished painting
The Gardener’s Shed
Conclusion
Overall, the Caran d’Ache 8 Gouache Studio is a lovely starter set for anyone new to gouache, anyone looking for a lightweight outdoor painting kit or someone wanting to try something different.
The colours are vibrant and they lend themselves to landscape, still life, illustration and many other applications.
It is possible to achieve transparency and opacity in equal measure and they mix happily with ink as I found in my examples.
The set is good value for money and I’m sure I will continue to use it this year.
About Julie Powell
I am an enthusiastic painter and retired teacher, who is also an art materials addict!
I have drawn and painted since I was young, but it’s only since I retired seven years ago that I have had the time to really enjoy experimenting and painting with various media.
Favourite themes are landscapes, especially interesting little corners and many of my sketches and paintings are completed during trips in our motorhome. The pieces start as visual journal entries and may then be worked up into larger paintings, in oils.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW JULIE'S GALLERY
Julie has produced a demonstration explaining her approach for drawing the natural world in pen and ink which can be enoyed by