4th Journal: Wet media 2 – Gouache and Acrylic

Exploring 2-D Materials and Tools for Teaching The K-12 Setting

Material Exploration

Materials:

• Acrylic Paints

• Gouache Paints

• Canvas Panel

• Palette Paper Pad

• Brushes

• Pallet Knife(plastic for student)

• Sponge

• Masking Tape

• Painting Medium (Soft Gel, Gloss Medium, Gloss Varnish, Matte Varnish)

• Gouache

Gouache is often described as an opaque watercolor. While traditional watercolors are characterized by translucent layering, gouache possesses high opacity and dries with a matte finish. I experimented with Liquitex Acrylic Gouache and Crayola Gouache in a mixed-media sketchbook, observing how the paints dried and testing how they were expressed when diluted with water to vary their consistency.

According to the book, “Exploring Studio Materials Teaching Creative Art Making to Children,” Mary Hafeli (2015) said that gouache is best medium for advanced students who able to represent proficient painting techniques. (Hafeli, 2015, p.88) Liquitex Acrylic Gouache is dries fast to a permanent unlike traditional gum Arabic gouache, so it is suited for advanced students who purpose to experiment highly pigments and hone their skills. In contrast, Crayola Gouache washes off easily and has a thick consistency that allows for finger painting, making it an excellent art supply for young students ranging from Pre-K to 1st grade.

• Acrylic

Acrylic paints are produced by acrylic polymer emulsion and not water-soluble when it dries. It would be not easy to be scraped off when the acrylic paints dry, so disposable palette or freezer paper is recommended to use with acrylic as a palette in the PreK-12 art classroom. A wide range of acrylic paints from student grade and professional grade are available on the market, and they are excellent materials for use in older student’ class due to diverse artistic effects. I experimented with mixing water to achieve varying levels of opacity and transparency, and employed techniques using round brushes, flat brushes, and palette knives. Mary Hafeli (2015) suggested exploring different ways of brush strokes such as repeating, alternating, overlapping and layering as like other painting exploration. (Hafeli, 2015, p.95) According to the Mary Hafeli’s suggestion, I experimented drawing marks by brushes and tools such as sgraffito, impasto, scumbling and dry brush. After applying opaque paint, I completed a sgraffito design by sketching with a wooden stick, revealing the underlying transparent color where the paint was scraped away and creating a striking color contrast.

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• Painting Medium

Soft Gel is white clear thick(not fluid) texture. It uses mixing with acrylic paint to display depth and transparent glazes. Gloss Medium is white clear fluid texture. It uses mixing with acrylic paint to reveal gloss sheen, transparency, and clear volume. Both mediums produced a glossy finish and a sense of volume, surpassing the results of using acrylic paint alone.

Gloss Varnish and Matte Varnish use to protect the acrylic paint surface from UV light, dusk and color shift. Using painting mediums suited to your specific needs can extend the lifespan of your artwork and create rich effects, so be sure to check out the available materials!

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Exploring Personal Theme Work : Relationship

I created an acrylic painting on a canvas panel depicting the symbiotic relationship between crown fishes and coral reefs. The fishes find protection from predators by hiding within the reefs, living comfortably amidst them. I used acrylic paint to capture the crown fish's vibrant colors. However, a single layer resulted in a transparency that failed to convey the cartoon-like style I desired, so I applied two or more layers of paint to achieve the intended look.

Safety Information

• Crayola gouache and washable paint is produced by non-toxic materials and safe for children and adults. I Manufacture suggested to use their gouache from age 3 and up. The product seal the AP(Approved Product)  label.

  According to Art and Craft Safety Guide, U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission states that some gouaches can contain pigments, gums, preservatives, glycerin, and opacifiers, the gum arabic can arise skin issue including allergic reaction and irritation. (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, n.d, p.18)

• Craft Smart’s Acrylic Paints and Liquitex’s Acrylic Paints are non-toxic and safe for children and adults. Both acrylic paints seal the AP(Approved Product) label by the Art and Creative Materials Institute (ACMI).

  Generally, traditional heavy-metal pigments were replaced in acrylic paints, but some paints may contain toxic pigments such as natural cadmium or cobalt. Please check that the materials students will use in art class bear the AP(Approved Product) label.

  
  

Art Class Setting for K-12

• To begin, students will be instructed the characteristics of the materials.

-Since acrylic paint does not redissolve once dry, students will be instructed thoroughly clean their brushes after use to prevent the paint from hardening on them. Acrylic paint stains on clothing will not come out even with washing, so students are recommended to wear aprons while working.

• Mary Hafeli (2015) suggested that generally canvas on wood stretchers, canvas panels, wood panels and heavyweight paper are used as an acrylic paint support, and cardboard, foamcore, gator board, and mat board are good materials for beginner students. (Hafeli, 2015, p.93) Therefore, in the classroom, students can use thick papers for the acrylic painting projects, and teacher can introduce students to apply gesso on the paper and it can prevent the paper warping.

Curricular Inspiration

• Elementary (K to 6)

For lower-grade students, art lessons will be designed to introduce them to gouache. Gouache is an excellent medium for creating textured effects due to its thick consistency, allowing young students to apply the paint using various tools such as brushes and sponges. For upper-grade students, the lessons will focus on mixing gouache with water to explore different techniques, such as achieving both transparent and opaque effects. I conduct lessons to help students understand the structure of basic geometric shapes and have them render these shapes using paints in varying light and dark tones.

-For differentiated instruction, if a student finds the task difficult, you can encourage them to use a sponge or simple shape stamps for coloring. And teacher would prepare a sketch of a shape and have the student cut it out to create a paper stencil for coloring.

• Middle School (7 to 9)

For the middle school art class, acrylic paint or acrylic gouache is explored as the primary medium. Since acrylic paint allows for layering and easy correction, students can experiment with adding colors over existing layers to create a sense of depth and dimension. For the project, I can propose creating landscape paintings and demonstrate using visual examples how to convey a sense of perspective using varying tones for elements such as trees and mountains.

-David Hockney’s acrylic paint, Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), the figure and the trees on the foreground mountain are rendered in fine detail. In contrast, the mountain in the background is painted with increasingly blurred tones; this shift in color creates a sense of distance, effectively conveying a feeling of perspective. Also, students can understand the techniques associated with the round and flat brushes and create various textures through brush use.

Figure 4. Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) [Acrylic on canvas]. By Hockney, D, 1972, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Copyright 2026 by The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

-For differentiated instruction, students would be encouraged to treat the background as a flat plane while employing different brush techniques. Rendering the entire composition with a three-dimensional effect could be challenged.

• High School(10 to 12)

In the high school art class, I will suggest professional-grade acrylic paints for advanced students. In the project, high-contrast still life objects would be setup in classroom and students can observe the contrast of light firsthand. They will be challenged to mix colors and create diverse value scales to add a sense of depth and dimensionality to their paintings.

-For differentiated instruction, students, who have difficult to complete still life drawing, can reference the value drawing samples by different shapes.

Reference

-Hafeli, Mary. Clarie. (2015). Exploring Studio Materials. Oxford University Press, USA.

-Hockney, D, 1972. Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) [Acrylic on canvas]. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, United States.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_an_Artist_(Pool_with_Two_Figures)

 -U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. (n.d.). Art and craft safety guide (CPSC Publication No. 5015). https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/5015.pdf