When to Use Casein vs. Gouache

The Sleepy Knitter asks: Why [would] an artist would choose casein over gouache OR gouache over casein in an individual painting scenario? If I were you and preparing my plein-air kit for the day, what would make me choose the casein kit over the gouache kit, or vice versa? I'm debating whether to upgrade my student gouache kit to a professional one or instead to buy a professional casein kit. 

Hutton Street, casein

SK, good question. Of course casein and gouache are both water-based media. Both are opaque and both dry with a matte surface. You can even use them together. But the differences are notable. 

I often prefer casein when I want a fuller-bodied paint and a more closed surface when it dries. Casein can feel more like oil paint as it comes off the brush, giving you a more buttery tactile experience. When I am in an "oil mood" I often reach for casein. 

I painted for many years in oil, but I've mostly put that medium aside because of the toxic mineral spirits and the difficulty with cleanup. Also, casein is typically less expensive per cc than either gouache or oil, allowing you to use it more freely. 

On the other hand, gouache is a great choice for its fine detail capabilities and a wider range of color choices. It generally offers a higher pigment concentration and can provide a smoother, more precise finish. Gouache is also retains its solubility even after it dries, whereas casein resists reactivation once dry. 

Finally, the aroma of gouache is negligible, while casein has a striking "cleaning-solvent-like" smell that you should test first to make sure you're OK with it. Some folks love it and some don't like it, but I wouldn't use casein in an enclosed space among strangers in the wild for that reason.

Painting the 1929 New Standard Biplane

In this new YouTube video, I paint a 1929 biplane at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome using casein paint. 

Art Supplies

Richeson casein paint set

Pentalic watercolor sketchbook 

Richeson travel brush set 

Winsor Newton series 995 flat

Winsor Newton long flat bristle brush #8 

Water cup

Homemade easel

Tripod

I'm painting area by area, filling in the lines almost like a coloring book. With that limited palette, I can get most of the colors I want, but there are other colors in my bag if I need them. More about limited palettes in Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter.

The light changes throughout the day as the sun moves from left to right and goes in and out of clouds.

In the video I consider how people imagined the future in 1929 when that aircraft was new and how close their predictions actually turned out to be.

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YouTube video

Why Do You Paint Telephone Poles?

Scraytonify asks: "Why do you choose to paint the scenes you do with telephone poles and wires and fire hydrants?" 

Answer: I like the stuff we normally overlook. We tune them out of our ordinary habitual awareness, but we'll be nostalgic for them when they're gone.

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Watch the painting being made on my Gumroad tutorial "Casein Painting in the Wild."

Using a Yellow Underpainting

Starting with a yellow underpainting puts "fire in the belly" of a gray painting.

The yellow layer is made up of a thin layer of casein brushed on in advance of the plein-air session. 

The underpainting gets mostly covered up by opaque or semi-opaque paint, but it manages to peek through in a few places.

 This YouTube excerpt is from my new Gumroad tutorial "TRIADS" 

Art Materials 

Richeson casein 

Yellow ochre gouache 

Prussian blue gouache 

Light red gouache 

Titanium white gouache

Watercolor sketchbook 

Travel brush set

Water cup

Homemade easel 

Tripod 

Water-soluble colored pencils set

Can you take casein on an airplane?

Paul asks: "Have you ever taken the plane with casein? Is it possible to travel with it (either checked in or in carry-on)?"

Paul, there's no problem packing the tubes of casein in your checked luggage. If you want to take them as carry-on, it's also OK because the tubes are smaller than the 3.4 ounce maximum limit. The average Richeson tube is 1.25oz. But be careful because the big tubes of white are 5 oz. or 150ml. 

The good thing about casein for a remote painting adventure is that you don't need to worry about bringing mineral spirits or oil solvent, which you can't take on an airplane, checked or otherwise.

However I would not recommend casein for actually painting in airports, or other enclosed spaces. That's because it has a rather strong smell that not everyone loves. Another thing to keep in mind is that if you paint with it, you'll need to clean up fairly quickly after finishing the painting. If it dries on your brush, the dried paint can wreck the fibers. That's not such a problem with gouache because you can reactivate paint that has dried on your brush.

Hunters and Gatherers

The glare of the afternoon sun burns a vertical path through the parking lot, connecting the infinite with the ordinary. Shopping carts roll by with their metallic rattle. Loading their catch of food into their wagons, these descendants of hunters and gatherers don't look up at the sky or speak to each other.

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Watch the new video on YouTube.

Painting a Backlit Parked Car in Casein

I painted this casein study while Jeanette was in the market, so I had about 45 minutes.

I took a gamble on the car staying parked, and lost the gamble twice, but kept going anyway.

(Link to video)

Over an underpainting color of Cadmium Orange casein, I used Cobalt Blue, Venetian Red, Ivory Black, and Titanium White and focused on a simple warm/cool 

Using Casein Over a Pretextured Canvas Board

Here are some details of the little portrait of my wife shopping for veggies (link to YouTube video).

 

The painting is in casein, and the way I use it is similar to the way I would paint in oil.

You can see the underpainting texture made with acrylic modeling paste on the canvas covered board. 

You can see more casein paintings on the Casein playlist on my YouTube channel or the "casein" search term on this blog.

Jack Richeson 37-Ml Artist Casein Colors, Set of 12

Shopping for Veggies

Well, this time I didn't actually set up my easel in the supermarket, like I did last time. The aisles are too narrow and it's just too busy. 

 

So I worked from photos while I painted my wife Jeanette. This one is in casein, and I captured the process in this YouTube video.

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More resources
Gurney tutorials on Gumroad

Casein Painting in the Wild

Gouache Materials List

Painting a Postal Service Delivery Truck

What is the history and future of the USPS delivery trucks? I do the job of sketch-reporter to find out. (Link to YouTube view)

This truck is one of the commonplace things we've seen every day for 30 years. But once they take them all away, we'll miss seeing them, just like we miss the yellow Checker cab and the phone booth.

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Watch the 11 minute video on YouTube

Can You Varnish Casein?

Scottie Jensen in my YouTube channel asks:
"I love watching your videos and have purchased a few of your “In the Wild” series. I am greatly inspired by you and have built a sketchbook easel, started painting in casein and have went out into the wild to paint all thanks to you. I have one question about varnishing casein, I read on your blog you use spray on varnish - is this to avoid smudging once dry?

Also, how long should I wait before varnishing a casein painting? Will a couple days after it is dry to the touch be sufficient or is there a longer curing process to avoid cracking? Thanks so much for your knowledge and infectious passion!"

Incident on Kelly Street, casein on board, winner of the NSPCA Award 

James Gurney: Thanks for the support and feedback. The main reason I varnish some of my caseins is to deepen the darks in an overall dark painting or to protect a painting that I want to frame without glass. It shouldn't smudge without the varnish, and I almost never varnish sketchbook paintings, because I can always deepen the darks in photoshop.

Keep in mind that casein paintings are not usually varnished. The matte surface is an attractive quality, especially in high key paintings. The manufacturers suggest buffing the surface of a dry painting using an old T-shirt to add some semi-gloss luster to the surface.

You should wait a couple of days before varnishing and during that time, put the painting in a warm place to make sure the paint is fully dry. The glue-like protein binder gets stronger over time. The best defense against cracking is to make sure you paint on panel or illustration board. If you paint on watercolor paper, don't use thick impastos, because casein does not have a strong emulsion.

As with any unconventional technique, experiment first on a scrap and make sure it does what you want.
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Here are some links assorted casein paints: 

Titanium white  

Cadmium yellow light

Golden ochre

Cerulean blue 

Ultramarine blue 

Cadmium red scarlet 

Venetian red 

Casein emulsion 

Casein basic set of 6 colors  

Winsor and Newton gloss varnish 

Travel brush set 

Plein-air tripod

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The painting is documented on my feature tutorial Fantasy in the Wild
Free Facebook group: Sketch Easel Builders
Previously on GJ: Painting a Magical Light Effect

Casein Contest

I don't usually promote art contests if they cost money to enter, but this one is different.

Casein Painting by Stephen Quiller

The Jack Richeson and Co., the only maker of artist-grade casein, has announced a casein contest with a $5000 cash first prize. The entry fee is $50, but every entrant automatically receives over $100 in retail value of complimentary products.

Casein will be given to every entrant

Everyone who enters gets a nine-color set of paint, two brushes, and paper, and the first 75 registered entrants receive a book from Stephen Quiller.
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Info: Richeson Casein Contest
Registration Deadline May 19: Prospectus Here

How to Paint a Light Effect

In this video (Link to YouTube), I paint a snow-covered farm road using a limited palette of casein tube colors.

I use four methods to achieve the unusual light effect:

1. Mixing the paint on a gray palette surface. 

2. Priming the surface with a glowing “effect area.” 

3. Building up to a bright accent. 

4. Creating a flare or glow effect with pastel. 

SUPPLIES 

Casein 6-pack  

Pentalic watercolor sketchbook  

Richeson travel brush set 

Richeson “Grey Matters” brush set 

Connoisseur "cat's tongue" brush

Water cup

Nupastel color sticks

Meet Duncan, the Mini Stallion

Duncan is the new mini horse on the farm. He's nervous because he hasn't met the other horses yet and all the sounds in the barn startle him. 

I set up inside his stall to paint his portrait. (Link to video on Facebook) He's curious and friendly when I talk to him and offer him some grass.

But he accidentally bumps into the tripod leg, startles. and the whole painting rig goes down into the wood chips. I clean up and set up again outside his stall.

Duncan is a stallion, so even though he's tiny, he may be a little unpredictable around the other horses until he's gelded. Eventually he'll be introduced to the rest of the crew, starting with the mini horses, and then the donkeys.

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Casein 6 Pack with Brush Set
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Video tutorial: "Painting Animals from Life."
69 minutes Widescreen, MP4 video. 

Digital download

Gumroad

Sellfy 

Cubebrush 

DVD

Direct from manufacturer Kunaki

DVD at Amazon

Painting Smog — Six Secrets for Creating Atmosphere

(Link to YouTube)

It's time to paint that parking lot in Kingston, New York. It was a nice clear day, but I added warm, smoky air to add more atmosphere and depth.

Six tips for creating depth

1. Face the view into the sun.

2. Limit values to: a) light areas (sky and highlights), and b) dark areas (everything else).

3. Save darkest dark to a few small areas in the foreground. 

4. Raise the value of the darks. 

5. Gradate the color of the darks from warm colors near sun to relatively cool colors at edges.

6. Eliminate detail in the dark silhouettes. 

Materials

The paint is casein in a Pentalic watercolor sketchbook. 

Richeson Travel brush set:  

Water cup 

Homemade easel 

Tripod

Canon M6 (time lapse, video, and stills)

Video tutorials and books:

Casein Painting in the Wild  

How to Make a Sketch Easel (DVD):  

Color and Light: A Guide for Realist Painters 

Painting with the Split Brush Technique

There's snow on the ground, but it's about 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10C), so I can bring the casein paint outdoors.



I paint this field study with a limited palette of casein. I use a split brush technique to suggest the texture of dry weeds. (Link to YouTube)

Split brush painting is a way to hint at a lot of detail without meticulously painting every twig. 

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Basic set of caseins: Jack Richeson Casein (6 Pack)

Give a Dog a Bone

I want to paint a portrait of Smooth, the husky mix. I give him a bone, and maybe he'll stay in one place.

Well, he doesn't hold still, but the bone occupies his attention.


Here's a video showing the process. Video link to YT
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Tutorial video downloads: Painting Animals from Life  and Casein in the Wild 
How to Make a Sketch Easel (DVD) Pentalic 5 x 8 inch Aqua Journal
Casein Explorer's Set (12 colors)
Casein 6-pack with brushes

Cowboys, Tractors, and Robots

I transform a tractor into a robot with the help of Wyoming cowboys Tom Lucas and John Finley. (Link to YouTube video).

I start the painting in gouache and finish in casein. 

Farmwife on myYouTube channel, says:
"Nice work. I like that you see the value and beauty in the workings of the farm. We have a gifted 1945 Massey and my husband did some work so it works for cutting and such. Ours isn't painted yet, next summer. We also have a 1950 Farmall M that he overhauled, not repainted but that old work horse is road and farm ready. He'd love to get hold of that diesel Farmall. My husband is a retired farmer if there I such a thing, farmers do not retire but our horse stable did. He is also a farm machinery mechanic so our property sports all manner of old tractors and parts. As soon as one tractor moves on out, another appears, seems to be no end to old farm machinery since farmers do not scrap their tractors no matter the condition. I have to admit though that I wish some of them would transform into robots and make their way down the road!"

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See it in print
This painting will be featured in the upcoming book, Nuthin' But Mech 4, which releases on September 15. So if you want to see it in print, that's the place to get it.

More Resources
Web article about the actual autonomous robot cowboy "Swagbot" 
YouTube Video: Making robot maquettes from foam
Video tutorial: "Fantasy in the Wild: Painting Concept Art on Location":
• Digital download (HD MP4):
• DVD (NTSC Region 1)
• DVD on Amazon

MATERIALS 

Pentalic watercolor sketchbook

Travel brush set 

Water-soluble colored pencil

Water cup

CAMERAS 

Canon PowerShot Elph (point-and-shoot)

Canon M6 

BOOKS 

Color and Light: A Guide for Realist Painters

Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn’t Exist  

Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time

Thanks to the SKB Workshop, where I did this painting.

Painting on Daffodil Hill

A few weeks ago I painted at the New York Botanical Garden with a group of friends. Here's a video of the adventure.

We were fortunate to have a wonderful model, Mary Alice Ladd, join us on the second day, so I spent the first day getting the painting started and painting in the background.
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(Link to YouTube)
I used casein paint, on a canvas-covered panel, and then I varnished the painting to give the dark colors more depth.

I invite you to check out my channels and follow or subscribe if you like what you see:
JamesGurneyArt on Instagram
GurneyJourney YouTube Channel
My public Facebook page
James Gurney on Twitter
GurneyJourney on Pinterest

Will that van stay parked?

It's grocery day, so while Jeanette does the hunting and gathering, I am out in the parking lot scouting for a new slice of ordinariness.

Here's a short video (link to video on Facebook).

I use two tripods, one for the sketch easel, and the other for the camera, which is held out on an extension bar. The camera I'm using is a Canon EOS M6 mirrorless, which has a built in time lapse function.

Here's my setup (product links below). The casein underpainting color is just a random page; I didn't paint it for this particular composition. I just like to have a few pre-primed page in the book. The priming gives unexpected energy to the colors.

The sky is overcast, making the sky flat and nearly white. With overcast lighting, there's no clear light side or shadow side. On the van, the planes that face more upward receive more light from the sky and are therefore lighter. I liked the fact that the white on the hood of the van was the brightest white in the composition.
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Resources
The brushes are from a pocket travel brush set and I'm painting in a Pentalic Aqua Journal with gouache over the casein underpainting. Everything is attached to the homebuilt sketch easel. I made a video explaining how to make one.
Full-length painting tutorials on Gouache, Casein, and Watercolor.

Also available on DVD from the manufacturer or from Amazon
Casein starter set
Related posts
Overcast Light

How to Video Your Art
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