I have been given a starter set of gouache paints - can anyone give me pointers as to the best way of using them? I already paint in oils acrylics and (but not very well) with watercolours. Are there any special ways of using gouache other than as non-transparent watercolours? And do they have any advantages over the other three mediums? Any information would be welcome.

Perhaps their best asset is the brightness of colour and pigment strength (higher than acrylics). You can lighten with white or water, and use in washes and layers although they remain soluble when dry so avoid excessive overpainting with water (unless you want to utilise this effect). Most surfaces will do, wood, card, canvas, but they are not very flexible so avoid flimsy papers if applying thickly. You can use a watercolour impasto medium to paint them impasto and get some interesting scratch effects out of them too. Because of the opacity you can use a coloured ground, like black, and avoid the all-too annoying transparency that acrylics can have.

Celia Hello FD A bit late in the day and you are probably an expert by now! One very useful thing to know about gouache- a medium I love by the way, for its versatility - is to always add a little white to a colour before applying. This gives really interesting effects and produces infinitely variable gradations of colour. Celia @ cbircumshaw@hotmail.com