Those Gouche & Ink Drawings

The most frequent question I get from other artists is:

"How do you create those gouche & ink drawings?!"

A friend of mine taught me how to do this technique somewhere in the early 90's, and I haven't necessarily gnawed at it or perfected it, but a couple times of year I pull it out to satisfy my soul...because the best part of it is the reveal!  You can never be sure of your results until you wash it out, and I've had some bad results as well as REALLY stunning outcomes...but overall I dig the "Christmas morning" vibe of the whole surprise.  The more I use this technique, the more I feel I can control the outcome for the better.

You will need just a few things

to make your own gouche & ink wash-out drawings

and maybe you have some of these things on hand already!

• Heavy-weight paper
the paper you use has to be able to both take the paint and ink and take a beating under a water spray - heavy weight watercolor papers work well, I prefer Strathmore Bristol vellum because of it's ability to take some abuse, plus this versatile paper is available in a lot of unusual places and very affordable, I purchased an 11"x14" pad of 20 pages for under $10 at Ocean State Job Lot in Sanford, Maine.

• Gouche
you can use a really nice brand for the best results, but keep in mind that you will need a thicker coat and most of your paint will be washed away, I can't bring myself to wash expensive brands down the drain, so I bought myartscape brand set on Amazon for under $13.00.  I tried an even cheaper student brand once and I'm pretty sure it wasn't even gouche I was using... and the colors didn't take to the paper at all...keep in mind, the better the paint quality, the better the results you will have with color.

• Waterproof India Ink
you will need waterproof India ink, this is the crucial component that can't be substituted, and you will need a good amount of it to cover your page. Dick Blick offers a great and affordable pint: Black Cat Waterproof India ink

• Paint brushes & water
of course, you will also need paint brushes and a water source to complete this technique.
I use a small acrylic brush to apply the gouche and a big super thirsty soft brush to apply the ink.
A faucet or a sink with a sprayer will work just fine for your wash out

STEP 1 - PLAN YOUR DRAWING

NOTE: remember: the gouche will stain the paper and repel the ink

When you are getting ready to create an image, understand that anything you don't paint with the gouche will end up black.  The gouche will stain the paper with color and repel the ink, so it's best to plan your drawing a bit ahead of time to figure out where you will want the deep black to show, and where your colors will land.  I'm not much of a "planner" when it comes to art, I like the experimental factor and surprise results, so I recommend to keep it simple to start in case it doesn't work out.  You can even do small sketches to test the process!

STEP 2 - ADD THE GOUCHE

NOTE: The thicker the paint, the less ink will get through to the paper

When you apply the gouche, and you leave paper untouched where you want the black to show, be sure and be generous where you want the color to be strong.  Lay the paint on as thick as you want! brush strokes that go thick to thin come out fantastic as the black will pick up the details in the brush strokes where it thins out.
The image you are creating with just the gouche phase won't look awesome as it is, the magic comes after the ink is washed off

STEP 3 - LET IT DRY!  LET IT DRY!

NOTE: LET IT FULLY DRY!

One of the most important steps in this process is your patience.
Let the gouche fully dry before anymore steps...if you don't, the ink will smear the gouche and make weird inky mud spots

STEP 4 - ADD THE WATERPROOF INDIA INK

NOTE: DO NOT BRUSH THE INK ON TWICE... DO NOT GO OVER YOUR STROKES!
ONE THICK HEAVY COAT OF INK - DO NOT RE-BRUSH!

The best results come if you "pour" the ink over the in one quick step using a dump bin...but I've never been willing to A: Waste that much ink or B: Make a huge mess that requires additional clean up time.  So for me, I pour the ink into a cup and a use a soft, thick and thirsty brush that holds a lot of ink and I just brush it on quickly in large single strokes. Some of your ink strokes may show if you are slow.  You do have to do this quickly and confidently because once the ink starts to sit on the gouche it can re-wet the gouche and you can smear the colors. 
I personally like the effects of the flaws, but if you are more of a perfectionist, a quick pour has cleaner results.

STEP 5 - LET IT DRY!  LET IT DRY!!!

NOTE: VERY IMPORTANT to let the ink FULLY dry before the next step!

The waterproof India ink will take longer to dry than your gouche.  The ONLY way this process will work is when you let the ink FULLY dry before the next step!  I've tested a few pieces that had wet ink and it REALLY didn't work out too well...so now, just sing this version from Frozen.... "Let it Dry! Let it dryyyyy" for a several hours or even more depending on how thick your ink is. I like to leave mine overnight so I can wake up and unwrap the magic in the morning.

and now . . . THE BEST PART
THE REVEAL!

STEP 6 - RINSE OFF THE INK

NOTE: The longer you rinse, the more gouche colors will fade, so watch your rinse carefully and stop immediately when you get the result you want!

Now you got to the best step!  The rinse!  
Rinse your dried paint and ink under clean water, a sink or tub works just fine, a bit of water pressure helps, but a faucet will do. I prefer the hand sprayer in my kitchen sink because a blast with of pressure chips off the excess ink quickly and keeps the gouche colors vibrant.  
Be sure and STOP IMMEDIATELY when you see the result you want...the longer you rinse, the more of the gouche will start coming off and will begin to fade the colors out, which is also a nice effect, so it's up to you to decide how far you want to take it, if you keep spraying eventually you'll be left with just the ink and some slight staining.

STEP 7 - LET IT DRY FLAT...AND ENJOY!

I take the finished wet piece and lay it flat on foam core to let it dry somewhere safe for about 24 hours before sign, photograph or frame it.

SEED HARVEST 11" X 14" gouche & ink on paper 11-22

be sure and visit my November Gallery "Coincident"
 more gouche and ink drawings as well as acrylic painting and ink sketches

COINCIDENT GALLERY

I would love to see what you can do!
checkout the quick video tutorial below to review the process

I would love to see what you can create with this unique process, because I just know there are so many other artists out there that can take this process to the next level,
​so be sure and stop by my social pages and share your finished images!
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