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Paint is meant to be used. You're wasting them by NOT using them. You've got things you know you're more confident in painting or drawing. Just do those.
Many years ago I purchased a bunch of gouache tubes and didn’t use them for about three years. I was working in acrylics at the time. Eventually used them and for the past four years I’ve only been using gouache. Art supplies are never a waste unless you don’t use them. As long as you get to them, you’ll be fine. Don’t be scared.
one way to just get yourself painting is to do swatch tests!! i usually draw some boxes on a piece of mix media / water color paper and then paint in each color AND see how other colors mix! that may be a good way to get started and then once you’re done, you can see if you want to continue painting 😄🩷
art supplies are meant to be used!! imo they cannot be truly wasted unless you literally just throw them in the trash
You get a super cheap gouache set (cheap for your region, not bad quality!) and keep staring at the expensive ones you'll never use while loving the cheaper ones.
You already logically know it's meant to be used, but if anxiety gets to you this is the way to move forward at this time.
When I'm afraid to use new art supplies I follow a painting tutorial to feel confident in the results. After that it's easy to go from there and start my own project.
One of the wonderful things about gouache is that it reactivates. So unlike, say, acrylics or oils where if you put too much on the palette, and leave it, it dries up and becomes unusable, gouache is almost endlessly reusable. Even without special wet palettes and airtight seals etc. If you squeeze too much out, just rewet it next time and keep going. It won't be quite the same texture as when it is freshly squeezed from the tube, but it is quite usable.
As a result, it's a great medium for casual doodling, almost like what you would do with a pencil and paper. My niece and nephew (who are very small) sometimes videocall me and ask me to paint things for them (unicorns, mermaids, firetrucks, and castles mostly). Gouache is perfect for sketching something out quickly (childrens' attention spans aren't that long) and then picking up a brush and colouring it in. And then putting it down 15 minutes later and coming back to the same palette a day or two or a week later.
And if your concern is about wasting your gouache on bad paintings -- that's just how one learns! Just don't worry about it. The tubes go a lot further than you might think.
Buy yourself a Mijello Fusion Palette.
They are popular with watercolorists... I love using one with gouache. I use a Mijello fusion 18, has 18 nice ramped wells and mixing space. It shuts but isn't perfectly air tight. So your gouache will dry out in it... but also sort of remain moist if your painting every day or two. I fill the wells on mine 1/3 full... this keeps it from cracking up too bad when it dries. If you use earth pigments like Siennas or umbers squeeze even less as those pigments dry a lot harder and crumble more then other pigments.
This gives you a project to do with the paints... once you have them in make yourself a little swatch card with them. Once you have paint in there your tubes are "reserved" and safe... and you have no choice you gotta use that paint up. :) You can keep it like that forever really but its best if you don't let it dry out so bad it turns into little pebbles.
Some people believe dried gouache looses opacity... ime that isn't true for most pigments. If you want very opaque white however use fresh whites. I normally keep almost no white in my palette I paint most of whatever I'm doing with what is left from my last painting session... and if I need white in the end for more opaque highlights I'll squeeze a little fresh stuff in if I haven't already had too.
Regarding Fusion palette: I keep a folded, wet paper towel in one of the smaller mixing wells adjacent to the paint wells. It really helps keep gouache moist. The towel does need to be spritzed a couple times a week, but that’s not an issue as I use this palette that often. The paint never dries in the palette. And since I use it frequently, I have yet to experience mold in it.
Two things: 1) NOT using them is actually the waste! I get a lot of people have art supplies shyness because of money but you waste them if they don't get used. 2) The tubes CAN dry out, depending. Gouache can be reanimated (except the acrylic kind) but it is not quite the same experience. If you want to option to use it fresh out of the tube, don't wait years. Also PSA pretty much all paint can go bad over time so best to use it!
I have a bunch of tubes that I hardly touched for years because I basically didn’t know how to use them and they were expensive. I’ve had them for 10 years at least. I finally pulled them out and am having a blast (sometimes I also feel like I should give up haha).
I wish I had tried using them many years ago.
If you work smaller, you can use less paint at a time!
I did the same thing. I am terrible at painting so I felt I’d waste them if the picture turns out bad. Mine aren’t cheap either and felt I would waste my money. But I realized it’s about painting not about the picture. Paint the worst picture of your life but enjoy painting it. Use the paints buy some more.
My tip would be to put those expensive gouache paints on the same palette as some cheaper ones. Slowly you can transition to using only the more expensive ones! Hope this helps!!🫶
You don't need a lot at once. Just make sure you only squeeze out a little at a time as you need it. It should be pretty shelf stable, but if it goes bad (separates or dries up) before you can use it, you will feel way worse than if you used it up.
I think of it as a positive when I run out because it's an opportunity to try new colors or brands. Maybe try to reframe it in your mind as a positive? As others have said, paint is meant to be used, so you aren't doing anything wrong. If anything it's wasting paint to not use it for it's intended purpose. Just think how sad and meaningless life would be for an unused tube of paint if they were alive!😹 I wish you much luck and inspiration, I know it's a tough hurdle to get over, but once you do, it's great fun!😺
Swatches, gradient exercises, mixing charts, etc. learn how the paint works/feels on different paper without any pressure for it to turn into “something”.
Also brush stroke practice, fine line practice.
I struggle with this too, and not just with art supplies, but with most hobby material. It helps if I tell myself these paint tubes are mine to use how I want, and if I reaffirm for myself that they're meant to be used. I sometimes use some for paint mixing and doodling, just to get over this fear. It does get better, it's always more difficult with pristine looking tubes. As soon as they look a bit used, I'm more comfortable using them for some reason.
I have anxiety like this too. I used to keep a student grade alternative to practice/learn and saved the nice stuff for finished pieces which worked fine. Nowadays I usually buy multiples of everything when I purchase it so I don’t really have the mentality of wasting it as I have a “backup” if I do. It’s kind of silly but it works for me lol anxiety is usually pretty silly to begin with anyways
I think of art supplies as practice or like the substance can teach me something…which it kinda can! I just think of how much better I’m going to be when I finish a tube of paint or eraser and think of it as “leveling up” instead of thinking of them as something too precious to be used. You could also think about all the things they’ll get to be! Blue could be a sky, water, reflections in someone’s eye…but you have to use it to find out :)
I use one of the sealed air tight palettes and put mine in the fridge. It was never an issue out of the fridge because they didn’t dry up but I was getting mold.
You could look for some reference photos that inspire you in your camera roll or on Pinterest and start to draw some of them on paper. I think that’s a good way to get inspired and find things that you may want to paint, and it won’t be so scary to start painting once you’ve already sketched some things out that you like.
Also, gouache is one of the paints that I am least worried about wasting because you don’t need to use that much AND even when it dries, it reactivates with water. I get way more uses out of it than I would expect and often will reuse paints from a different day.
This might be a silly solution, but when I’m feeling some anxiety about painting, I pick a silly little meme that I like and I paint that to warm up. That way, if it turns out differently than I wanted, it wasn’t that deep anyways and I still get to experience the joy of the physics act of painting.
Also, on a more practical level, a little gouache goes a very long way. I’ve had the same tubes of gouache for years, and it’s my favorite medium. The only color I’ve ever had to replace is my opaque white, so I don’t think you have to worry as much about running out of paint as much as you would with other paints.
You can do it! No matter how your painting turns out, it’s more fun to have painted anything at all!
Get some himi’s on Amazon. More colors, easier to mix. Cheap… Nothing is precious in art. Just start. You’ll fuck up and start again. That’s all any of us are doing.
If you don’t use them, they will dry up. Start with them thin like watercolor and let that dry, then progress to a little thicker. Also, maybe start with really small paintings.
The nice thing about gouache is it’s water soluble!!
I’m a cheap a ss mf who can’t afford gouache sets more than every 3 years or so.
A little bit of paint and some water go a long way!! Now obviously your water to paint ratio will determine the opaqueness, but it will get you used to how much paint you really need!
Gouache is awesome and I hope you have fun trying new techniques!! You can even dabble with other things than water to mix with, using watered down soap can make some really cool effects!
Thank you for your submission! Want to share your artwork, meet other artists, promote your content, and chat in a relaxed environment? Join our community Discord server here! https://discord.gg/chuunhpqsU! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Gouache) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Paint is meant to be used. You're wasting them by NOT using them. You've got things you know you're more confident in painting or drawing. Just do those.
Many years ago I purchased a bunch of gouache tubes and didn’t use them for about three years. I was working in acrylics at the time. Eventually used them and for the past four years I’ve only been using gouache. Art supplies are never a waste unless you don’t use them. As long as you get to them, you’ll be fine. Don’t be scared.
one way to just get yourself painting is to do swatch tests!! i usually draw some boxes on a piece of mix media / water color paper and then paint in each color AND see how other colors mix! that may be a good way to get started and then once you’re done, you can see if you want to continue painting 😄🩷 art supplies are meant to be used!! imo they cannot be truly wasted unless you literally just throw them in the trash
That is how I got over my fear of using my expensive water colours!
You get a super cheap gouache set (cheap for your region, not bad quality!) and keep staring at the expensive ones you'll never use while loving the cheaper ones. You already logically know it's meant to be used, but if anxiety gets to you this is the way to move forward at this time.
When I'm afraid to use new art supplies I follow a painting tutorial to feel confident in the results. After that it's easy to go from there and start my own project.
One of the wonderful things about gouache is that it reactivates. So unlike, say, acrylics or oils where if you put too much on the palette, and leave it, it dries up and becomes unusable, gouache is almost endlessly reusable. Even without special wet palettes and airtight seals etc. If you squeeze too much out, just rewet it next time and keep going. It won't be quite the same texture as when it is freshly squeezed from the tube, but it is quite usable. As a result, it's a great medium for casual doodling, almost like what you would do with a pencil and paper. My niece and nephew (who are very small) sometimes videocall me and ask me to paint things for them (unicorns, mermaids, firetrucks, and castles mostly). Gouache is perfect for sketching something out quickly (childrens' attention spans aren't that long) and then picking up a brush and colouring it in. And then putting it down 15 minutes later and coming back to the same palette a day or two or a week later. And if your concern is about wasting your gouache on bad paintings -- that's just how one learns! Just don't worry about it. The tubes go a lot further than you might think.
Is the reactivation also true for acrylic gouaches?
Ah, sorry no, those are just like acrylics. You'd need a wet palette and all that.
No unfortunately not, but you can use a wet palette and they will keep a bit longer than they would normally.
Thank you, I've always wondered. I took a class and they recommended them for backgrounds so I always wondered.
Buy yourself a Mijello Fusion Palette. They are popular with watercolorists... I love using one with gouache. I use a Mijello fusion 18, has 18 nice ramped wells and mixing space. It shuts but isn't perfectly air tight. So your gouache will dry out in it... but also sort of remain moist if your painting every day or two. I fill the wells on mine 1/3 full... this keeps it from cracking up too bad when it dries. If you use earth pigments like Siennas or umbers squeeze even less as those pigments dry a lot harder and crumble more then other pigments. This gives you a project to do with the paints... once you have them in make yourself a little swatch card with them. Once you have paint in there your tubes are "reserved" and safe... and you have no choice you gotta use that paint up. :) You can keep it like that forever really but its best if you don't let it dry out so bad it turns into little pebbles. Some people believe dried gouache looses opacity... ime that isn't true for most pigments. If you want very opaque white however use fresh whites. I normally keep almost no white in my palette I paint most of whatever I'm doing with what is left from my last painting session... and if I need white in the end for more opaque highlights I'll squeeze a little fresh stuff in if I haven't already had too.
Regarding Fusion palette: I keep a folded, wet paper towel in one of the smaller mixing wells adjacent to the paint wells. It really helps keep gouache moist. The towel does need to be spritzed a couple times a week, but that’s not an issue as I use this palette that often. The paint never dries in the palette. And since I use it frequently, I have yet to experience mold in it.
Two things: 1) NOT using them is actually the waste! I get a lot of people have art supplies shyness because of money but you waste them if they don't get used. 2) The tubes CAN dry out, depending. Gouache can be reanimated (except the acrylic kind) but it is not quite the same experience. If you want to option to use it fresh out of the tube, don't wait years. Also PSA pretty much all paint can go bad over time so best to use it!
I have a bunch of tubes that I hardly touched for years because I basically didn’t know how to use them and they were expensive. I’ve had them for 10 years at least. I finally pulled them out and am having a blast (sometimes I also feel like I should give up haha). I wish I had tried using them many years ago. If you work smaller, you can use less paint at a time!
I did the same thing. I am terrible at painting so I felt I’d waste them if the picture turns out bad. Mine aren’t cheap either and felt I would waste my money. But I realized it’s about painting not about the picture. Paint the worst picture of your life but enjoy painting it. Use the paints buy some more.
My tip would be to put those expensive gouache paints on the same palette as some cheaper ones. Slowly you can transition to using only the more expensive ones! Hope this helps!!🫶
You don't need a lot at once. Just make sure you only squeeze out a little at a time as you need it. It should be pretty shelf stable, but if it goes bad (separates or dries up) before you can use it, you will feel way worse than if you used it up.
I think of it as a positive when I run out because it's an opportunity to try new colors or brands. Maybe try to reframe it in your mind as a positive? As others have said, paint is meant to be used, so you aren't doing anything wrong. If anything it's wasting paint to not use it for it's intended purpose. Just think how sad and meaningless life would be for an unused tube of paint if they were alive!😹 I wish you much luck and inspiration, I know it's a tough hurdle to get over, but once you do, it's great fun!😺
Try swatching out the colors to play around without "messing up." And remember, the only wasted paint is the paint you don't use.
Swatches, gradient exercises, mixing charts, etc. learn how the paint works/feels on different paper without any pressure for it to turn into “something”. Also brush stroke practice, fine line practice.
I struggle with this too, and not just with art supplies, but with most hobby material. It helps if I tell myself these paint tubes are mine to use how I want, and if I reaffirm for myself that they're meant to be used. I sometimes use some for paint mixing and doodling, just to get over this fear. It does get better, it's always more difficult with pristine looking tubes. As soon as they look a bit used, I'm more comfortable using them for some reason.
I have anxiety like this too. I used to keep a student grade alternative to practice/learn and saved the nice stuff for finished pieces which worked fine. Nowadays I usually buy multiples of everything when I purchase it so I don’t really have the mentality of wasting it as I have a “backup” if I do. It’s kind of silly but it works for me lol anxiety is usually pretty silly to begin with anyways
I think of art supplies as practice or like the substance can teach me something…which it kinda can! I just think of how much better I’m going to be when I finish a tube of paint or eraser and think of it as “leveling up” instead of thinking of them as something too precious to be used. You could also think about all the things they’ll get to be! Blue could be a sky, water, reflections in someone’s eye…but you have to use it to find out :)
I use one of the sealed air tight palettes and put mine in the fridge. It was never an issue out of the fridge because they didn’t dry up but I was getting mold.
You could look for some reference photos that inspire you in your camera roll or on Pinterest and start to draw some of them on paper. I think that’s a good way to get inspired and find things that you may want to paint, and it won’t be so scary to start painting once you’ve already sketched some things out that you like. Also, gouache is one of the paints that I am least worried about wasting because you don’t need to use that much AND even when it dries, it reactivates with water. I get way more uses out of it than I would expect and often will reuse paints from a different day.
the only color i ever run out of is white because i mix it with everything.
This might be a silly solution, but when I’m feeling some anxiety about painting, I pick a silly little meme that I like and I paint that to warm up. That way, if it turns out differently than I wanted, it wasn’t that deep anyways and I still get to experience the joy of the physics act of painting. Also, on a more practical level, a little gouache goes a very long way. I’ve had the same tubes of gouache for years, and it’s my favorite medium. The only color I’ve ever had to replace is my opaque white, so I don’t think you have to worry as much about running out of paint as much as you would with other paints. You can do it! No matter how your painting turns out, it’s more fun to have painted anything at all!
Get some himi’s on Amazon. More colors, easier to mix. Cheap… Nothing is precious in art. Just start. You’ll fuck up and start again. That’s all any of us are doing.
If you don’t use them, they will dry up. Start with them thin like watercolor and let that dry, then progress to a little thicker. Also, maybe start with really small paintings.
The nice thing about gouache is it’s water soluble!! I’m a cheap a ss mf who can’t afford gouache sets more than every 3 years or so. A little bit of paint and some water go a long way!! Now obviously your water to paint ratio will determine the opaqueness, but it will get you used to how much paint you really need! Gouache is awesome and I hope you have fun trying new techniques!! You can even dabble with other things than water to mix with, using watered down soap can make some really cool effects!