Light Effects on Surfaces: French Toast Gouache Painting Demo

Hey Art Family,
This is a demo of some ingredients for french toast. Hope you find some helpful information. I tried to do a brief chat about what to look for in the video. Hope you find those helpful. If you are not interested in that you can skip to 3 minutes for the demonstration. Thanks to all the new subscribers and for everyone who has been so kind and supportive as I post these and learn and grow with you.
Happy sketching,
Jared
www.jaredlovestodraw.com
twitter: jared_cullum
insta: jaredcullum
The book mentioned at one point is James Gurney's Color and Light:
jamesgurney.com...

[@JaredCullum]

Hey everybody! Marco Bucci just posted (yet another) INCREDIBLE video on bounce light. Go go go over there and check it out and his videos. He’s one of the best on here teaching painting: kzbin.info/www/bejne/naivgmOZecdnmac

[@jmat45sr6]

Marco does an excellent job in the linked video. Due to being mildly colorblind I often don't pay attention to color. His presentation definitely got my attention.

[@JaredCullum]

jmat45sr oh yea- he’s one of the best on the internet for teaching. I’m always impressed and they get better and better

[@arcuda2001]

I’m so glad I discovered your channel!! Love your work , and I love learning from listening to the process you take yourself and your artwork through.. thanks so much!!! I’m insane about James Gurney and his work , and you remind me so much of him ( style wise ) :-)) Have a happy and healthy holiday season !! Thanks again

[@JaredCullum]

Thank you! I learned most of what I know about painting from James. :) I owe him a lot. I discovered painting through his blog and read the whole thing and did whatever it said to do haha I studied his books and even went to workshops to learn.

[@artetinta2470]

Hi Jared,!! Thank youuuuuu a million for your quick reply! Ok. I will try it with less water! I am used to watercolors.. so maybe that is why!! Greetings from Guadalajara in Mexico!!

[@JaredCullum]

Arte Tinta wow! Good luck! I’m always here to chat painting :) thanks for commenting!

[@nmonteiro7144]

I’ll have to watch this one 10x to absorb all the information. Thank you so much for sharing! 😊

[@JaredCullum]

N Monteiro aww thank you! There are still some videos I watch over and over that I’ve seen 100 times and still glean something new. :)

[@silpheedTandy]

lol your son already understands what bounce light is; that's amazing

[@brianashmorestudio]

So, so awesome!! Such valuable info and a beautiful painting! Your talk of eggs made me remember that eggs on a plate were the very first thing we painted in my first college watercolor class. As wonky as they are, those paintings are still hanging on my folks’ house. 😂 Another amazing video, my friend.

[@JaredCullum]

Brian Ashmore Studio cool!! I totally see why! Thank you! And thanks for sharing it.

[@Norwaygirl11]

Beautiful!! Love your style of painting!

[@JaredCullum]

Thank you! :)

[@Norwaygirl11]

I’d love to learn to paint like this! Any tips for a beginner? Did you study any specific artists?

[@JaredCullum]

Samantha Jade hi Samantha! I’m self-taught in that I didn’t go to school for painting or drawing but I have had heroes i regularly look up to and seek guidance from. I think the key for beginning is to focus on drawing and falling in love with the process. You have to learn to love learning to paint which is very difficult and get over attachment to individual paintings and sketches which is done by a lot of practice. Like scales on a piano. For painting- it’s more about learning to focus in the simple shapes you see and making sure that your value or the black and white read of the image is as clear as possible. Hope that helps!

[@Norwaygirl11]

@@JaredCullum Hey, thanks so much for taking the time to respond! I really appreciate the advice! I'll make sure I use these practices on my art journey! Keep up the great work! I look forward to watching more of your videos! 😊😊

[@alexandresoares2661]

Very cool! Very beautiful work!

[@MDCampbell]

Terrific discussion, especially about the effects of color/light on candles and ears! lol! As for the painting, it came out wonderful and love the almost "oil"-like quality you get with gouache. I admire your painterly skills, as I'm obviously much more technical with my work. Thank you for sharing and keeping the inspiration coming! Cheers! :)

[@JaredCullum]

M.D. Campbell thank you! It’s funny that you say that because I failed hard at gouache for a while coming from watercolor. Then I tried oil and once I got the handle on thicker juicy oils I switched back to gouache and that’s when it all clicked for me. :) I didn’t used to be thick and chunky but the longer I do it the more I find I prefer it and the way it feels pulling large areas of form that way.

[@MDCampbell]

It's a style I really love, but cannot do; you do it really well and the results speak for themselves! ;)

[@damndammit3721]

I get a lot of inspiration from your videos, thank you for such a great content!

[@JaredCullum]

Damn Dammit thank you for watching! That means the world to me that you get something out of them.

[@Termehaslanii]

I just love this way of working with gouch. You are an amazing artist, I have a question from you, how do you decide on the color of the watery and see through wash you do first? Like here with the three main colors. Sorry for my bad English

[@JaredCullum]

Hi! Thank you for watching. The wash color doesn't really matter since you cover it up. You can use it for either contrast by picking a color that contrasts your final , like a cool vs warm or warm vs cool. A lot of people use just burnt sienna or burnt umber or some mix of the 3 primaries. I like to use multi color because it helps me to block in the big shapes fo the drawing first.

[@mhrobe]

Great commentary as usual. Thanks for sharing.

[@JaredCullum]

mhrobe thank you! Hope you gleaned some useful bits here and there. :)

[@mhrobe]

Always!

[@MamaKits]

another amazing video and artwork 🤗🤙🏼

[@JaredCullum]

Kits Pua that’s very kind of you to say. Thank you!

[@leighsalv5410]

That's amazing! The french toasts look super yummy haha

[@JaredCullum]

Leigh Salv thank you :) haha

[@jericaannedavid]

This video is very informative and i love the painting, i’m currently doing a series of gouache paintings for my art assessment any advice?

[@JaredCullum]

jerica anne hi! Thank you! An art assessment for a school thing? Let’s see.. I’d say use a big brush. Covers lots of area and will help prevent you from focusing on the small details too early. Focus on the major shapes of the arrangement and subdivide from there. Experiment in small permutations in a sketchbook to get used to the materials in a less committed way. Observe value, value value. That is the key to the image working. Finally- look up Pixelpchan and buy his demos on gumroad. Also find mike hernanez and heather Martin on instagram and study them. Also James Gurney on KZbin and buy his gouache film. Hope that helps!!

[@jericaannedavid]

Jared Loves to Draw Thank you so so much ! Last thing, What kind of paper do you use, (gsm wise)? And yes it’s for my major work in art :)

[@JaredCullum]

jerica anne awesome! Well I’m always here if you have more questions or hit a wall. I use old 140lb cheap watercolor for light sketching. For best results and what I use in my videos and illustration work I use Crescent board. Crescent 100 and Arches makes a similar illustration board that takes it well.

[@jericaannedavid]

Jared Loves to Draw Hey! I don’t know why I still end up with a highly blended painting when I’m aiming for this style of painting, i’ve used flat brushes all throughout ☹️

[@JaredCullum]

jerica anne my guess is that it is either 1. Water ratio. It’s the hardest part of gouache. Are you familiar with the term fat over lean? The idea is that you gradually use less and less water as you go. If you have too much water in a later layer you risk scrubbing or blending with the layer beneath. 2. Also possibly the quality? Is it student grade or artist grade? If it’s student grade it has more filler so it takes more paint down to get the proper color. Trying to meet that gap could cause so over blending. My guess is that it is water ratio. Experiment in a sketchbook doin simple shapes and putting down a layer or two of very thin tone and then build on top with much less water to no water at all.

[@beverley-memawmawclarkwhit5102]

love seeing your little son at the beginning!!!! just wondering, your gouache palette, you said you made it based on someone else's???? who's was it and where could someone get one like it???

[@JaredCullum]

Beverley Clark White the palette I’m referring to is the paint tray. Lena Rivo and Pixelpchan both use a small empty well case with lid that fits over top. If you search “24 well palette” it should turn up on eBay. I built a box for it to fit in that I use to mix paint in.

[@isabelaneves7253]

As helpful as always

[@JaredCullum]

Isabela Neves thank you :)

[@snehaseema]

what do you use to lighten your colours should one decide to not use white as much as it's cooler? or do you use it just enough so that it doesn't change the temperature and mix another colour to make it lighter? i think i'm all over the place with this question. sorry. anyway, thanks 🐋

[@JaredCullum]

Sneha Kandoi it’s okay! Thanks for watching. It’s a little of both. You have to remember that white cools a color down. So if you don’t want it cooled down you have to temper that with something like a yellow ochre or a lighter color that will get you in a range. One of the best videos I’ve seen on the subject is mixing colors in oils on the draw mix paint channel. Look that up and watch it and it will give you a visual demonstration of what I’m talking about! :)

[@bigfootlil]

What kinda tape do you use? Really struggling to find some that doesn't tear up the surface, even after removing tackiness.

[@JaredCullum]

Bigfoot I use “artist tape” it still tears sometimes- I’m careful to pull away from the art. Also- before sticking it- stick it to your leg and shirt a couple times- it will get fuzzy and reduce the stickiness.

[@snehaseema]

also, does painting from photograph help to understand colours, for a veginner to experiment and still be a little comfortable? or do you think one should try still life no matter what stage one is at? how many still lifes with gouach have you done so far?

[@JaredCullum]

Painting from photos is not bad but it doesn’t give you the full range of color you experience in real life. I have done more still life’s than I can count but I focus more on location sketching over set up still life’s. You get the same effect though. Photos condense light so your darks and lights get boosted and you lose color. Certainly work from photos though. It helps to study real life so you have some rules and understanding of how light works when working from photo. I would suggest focusing on drawing and not worrying about painting for a while. If you’re a beginner. The hardest part is drawing correctly and that’s 90% of painting.

[@PalookaWhale]

With the editing software you are using, would it be possible to insert a photo in the corner of your subject occasionally for us to see what you’re seeing? (Assuming you would think that was useful)

[@JaredCullum]

Tim Hodge smart idea! I just learned how to do that and will probably implement that in the future. Good thinking! Thanks

[@deborahkent8176]

Would be so helpful to see what you are painting from

[@floorian.g]

Did you have to reactivate your gouache or was it paint straight from the tube in your palette?

[@JaredCullum]

That box is half reactivated and I probably poured in fresh white and yellow ochre/blue- the colors I use the most of.

[@artetinta2470]

Do you paint it all in one go? Or do you make pauses to let it dry? My gouache ends up muddy!!!! 😑🙈😄🤔 great painting!!!

[@JaredCullum]

Typically all in one go and work big shapes to small shapes and then move around the image so areas are drying while I’m working on others. You may be using too much water as it’s pulling up the bottom layers. :)

[@PalookaWhale]

Beautiful painting! (By the way, try adding cinnamon in your French Toast mixture. Yummy!)

[@JaredCullum]

Tim Hodge ooooooooh man im gonna try it haha that sounds good! Thank you

[@sebastianv007]

What brand of gouache paints are you using? Btw i love your style and work, keep the videos coming 👍🏻

[@JaredCullum]

Sebastian Vilcu I have been playing with m Graham lately but mostly Winsor Newton because I can get them cheap and easy at the local craft store. These are Winsor Newton in my yellow box.

[@JaredCullum]

Sebastian Vilcu ps thank you so much for the kind words!! :)

[@sebastianv007]

Thanks for answering! I am searching for some good gouache paints because until now i've been using some really cheap ones that i can't really get as opaque as i want them to be. I will definitely try out the Winsor and Newton ones now :)

[@JaredCullum]

Sebastian Vilcu good luck! Upgrading will make a huge difference. Just don’t be nervous to use them!

[@sebastianv007]

Haha, thanks! I won't be, i'll keep it relaxed tho i am pretty excited to try them out :)

[@victoriaaomoola6472]

💕💛💜💜

[@JaredCullum]

QueenVictoria Arts thank you :)

[@shayashan2137]

9:36 your child already knows more than me :”)

[@JaredCullum]

shaya shan hah :) well he was with me when I was talking about it.

[@MaTTheWish]

PRO...

[@JaredCullum]

Matt V thanks for watching :)

[@houseplant284]

Thank you for helping and sharing your wisdom and knowledge with the rest of us!! ITS TIME TO CRACK EGGS (and annoy everyone by frying excessive eggs) xD I'm kind of excited for your son hahaha If he understands the idea of light and colour at such a young age or starts learning about it, he's going to be a legend!! Has he ever secretly used your art materials to paint and draw yet? (or maybe he did but, u just didn't know :>

[@JaredCullum]

ugotjams? Haha oh yea. :) he works next to me and asks questions. When we are in the comic book store and he sees my books he goes “daddy! Remember when we made that” haha he loves to sit at my desk and draw or just draw in general. I’m trying to just be there when he’s interested but I don’t want to push him. He loves to paint and that’s all I care about. If he ends up loving the piano or any other random thing I’ll be just as happy. :)

[@jmat45sr6]

I have more of a watercolor background. Far less forgiving than working with gouache. I've noticed with your gouache paintings and other YT demos there is a lot of layers and over-painting. Sometimes it seems its just because you can with gouache. In this demo early on you seemed to have the counter top and the background behind the bread done well and then you painted over it. Hard to tell if it was an improvement..... Another observation. I don't think I've ever seen a large gouache painting, say larger than 9x12". Does it not do well. Its mostly seen in sketchbooks.

[@JaredCullum]

jmat45sr good observations! I don’t know if it helped either haha what happened was I noticed the value relationship was not right so I lightened the counter top in some area and add darkness to others to try to make the other darks and lights pop. Yea- you can layer better with gouache and if you’re not happy you can wipe it back to white. I’m primarily and my history is with watercolor. I have been doing a lot of gouache videos because people keep asking for them. Haha I’ve painted. Large gouache. It works fine- in fact, historically in the golden age of illustration most people used it on large pictures because it dries fast and is forgivable. I think most people stick to acrylic now or oil. Gouache has been kinda relegated to a sketching medium. I use it for my large illustrations because it’s less hassle than oil and I have young kids I don’t want to tamper with the chemicals in oil.

[@PalookaWhale]

You may also enjoy this blog post from James Gurney about some favorite gouache masters. He doesn’t specify the sizes of the paintings, but it appears that many are larger than 9x12”. gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2015/06/some-of-my-favorite-gouache-masters.html

[@jmat45sr6]

Thanks Tim. That was a beneficial link. I also got a lot of good info from the comments there.