Miya HIMI Jelly Gouache Color Review #6: Deep Red and Ponceau

This is the sixth in a series of reviews of the individual colors from the Miya HIMI brand 24-color “jelly” gouache paint set. This review will concentrate on the Miya HIMI Deep Red and Ponceau jelly gouache paint colors and will also include updates on my Star Trek painting and how my swatch chart is coming along.

Miya HIMI Jelly Gouache color Deep Red

Last time, I painted Captain Kirk's yellow uniform jacket, and now it was time to do Captain Picard's tunic. Judging the colors by how they showed through the unopened containers, I thought the color called Ponceau was too light and orangey for Picard's uniform, so I opened Deep Red to see what I could see. As you'd imagine from the name, it's somewhat dark, but it's also a very cool red that I would liken to Alizarin Crimson.

To me, Picard's jacket is a very neutral red, neither extremely warm nor cool. Since lightening a cool red gives a rosy pink, I was definitely going to need Ponceau, as well. Cool colors are nice for shadows, though, so I used the Deep Red for the darker areas on Picard's uniform jacket.

As you can see from the white swatch chart, the granularity of this color is quite high, and the opacity ain't no great shakes.

Miya HIMI Jelly Gouache color Ponceau

Ponceau is a color name that I have never heard before, but this one would go in the Cadmium Red (warm red) slot in your color palette. It's very warm, but not quite as orange-y as I'd feared. It made a good foil to the Deep Red and kept Picard's tunic very balanced, overall.

As with the Deep Red, the granularity was high and opacity was pretty wimpy. That said, I didn't feel like I had to glob it on to get sufficient coverage for the painting. I might be singing a different tune if I weren't working on a medium-value brown background, though.

One more review to go to have this Renaissance/Classical Mythology/Star Trek extravaganza finished. Stay tuned!

For the original post describing the unboxing of the Miya HIMI jelly gouache paint set, go here: https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2023/03/unboxing-himi-jelly-gouache-24-color-set.html

For the first review in the series, go here: https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2023/06/himi-jelly-gouache-color-review-1-sky.html

For regular shenanigans, please follow my Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/allsortsofart

Basic Information about Gouache Paint

If you are unfamiliar with gouache (pronounced GWAHSH), it is typically described as an opaque watercolor, although when diluted with water, it can be used transparently, as well. As with traditional watercolor, it doesn't dry waterproof, so be aware that if you paint over it, you could activate the dried layer if you use enough water. This can be great, as it makes the colors blend easily and gives you the ability to soften edges and spread color. It can also be annoying, of course. Be careful not to get drips or spatters of water on the dried paint surface, as this can create spots.

The opacity enables you to use the paint on dark surfaces, though, which can create interesting results. I painted this nighttime scene of my bedroom with white gouache on black bristol board. I especially like the reflection of the edge of the pillow against the night-darkened window glass. That kind of effect would be harder to achieve with a different medium. 

Gouache paint dries matte, like that tempera paint you probably used in grade school. The two paints actually look very similar in their finished state, but tempera dries permanent and gouache is rewettable/reworkable, as we've discussed. The paints have different binders – traditionally, egg yolk for tempera and gum arabic for gouache. There is also a type of gouache called acrylic gouache that dries permanent, like acrylic paint. I prefer workable gouache, since I already work in acrylic and can use that if I want a more permanent finish. 

Gouache has been around for quite a long time, but it was considered more of a designers' medium (that is, more for advertising and design layout sketches than for finished pieces - even my painting above was just a tonal study for a larger piece). However, it's been getting a bit of a renaissance lately, via art YouTube channels, since it is colorful, fun, and easy to use. I have been getting back into it myself and really enjoying it! I bought myself a set of Miya's HIMI jelly gouache and am in the process of posting some reviews of it showing the different colors and a gouache painting in progress. 

For the initial unboxing: https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2023/03/unboxing-himi-jelly-gouache-24-color-set.html 

The reviews start here: https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2023/06/himi-jelly-gouache-color-review-1-sky.html

For regular shenanigans, please follow my Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/allsortsofart

All images are copyrighted property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.