A New Medium

I always have a bit of money in my pocket after Christmas to spend on myself, and this year I did the responsible thing.  I bought clothes with it....well, part of it.  With the rest I bought supplies for Lula's room and some gouache.  I got this set from Hobby Lobby.  It's Savoir-Faire French School Opaque Watercolor Gouache and had pretty good reviews considering it is a student grade paint.  I tested it out the first chance I got to get the feel of the paint and came up with this pretty garish creature.

Not my best work, but it got me familiar with the flow of this paint.  I really like it so far.  Like I'm pretty sure I want it to be my boyfriend and kind of want to tell it I love it sort of like it.  That kind of like it.  No, more like I want to marry it and I'm embarrassed because it's only our first date kind of like it.  You get the point.  I love it!!!  When thinned down it behaves like a watercolor paint, and out of the tube it is bold and opaque like acrylic.  And like watercolor the excess paint on your palate can be reconstituted with water.  So if I mix a perfect shade and have to feed baby a bottle I can always come back, add water, and start off where I was before.  

I love building up layers with gouache.  I hope to master the medium well enough to justify the purchase of some artist quality paints soon.  Here's some pics of me playing around with my new paints.

Have you ever tried gouache?  What do you think of it?  Any favorite brands?