I started bringing gouache into my urban sketching kit about two years ago, and it completely changed how I experience a city. Gouache urban sketching combines the looseness and speed of quick city sketches with the rich, opaque color of paint. It's bold, messy, forgiving, and surprisingly portable. If you've ever felt limited by pen or watercolor in your sketchbook, gouache might be the jumpstart you're looking for.
At first, I didn’t really get it. Gouache seemed fussy—drying fast, needing water but not too much. But once I figured out a rhythm, I realized how much freedom it gave me to punch up shadows, layer light over dark, and ignore some of the limitations that come with traditional transparent watercolor. Whether you're into loose architecture, quick crowd scenes, or cafe vignettes, gouache gives you room to be expressive without needing perfect linework. It opened up a new way of seeing the city for me—more abstract, more color-forward, and somehow more emotional. I’m not trying to capture a perfect likeness. I’m trying to capture a feeling.
If you're just getting into urban sketching, you might want to start with something more approachable like Simple Urban Sketching or even Easy Urban Sketching for Beginners, but if you're ready to add more color and punch to your scenes, gouache is worth exploring.
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Key Points
- Use a limited color palette with strong contrast to keep things fast and bold. Too many colors can slow you down and muddy the sketch.
- Don’t overwork the paint—gouache thrives in messy, expressive strokes. Embrace the chaos.
- Let go of perfection. Gouache looks best when it’s loose, layered, and full of energy. Clean lines are overrated in the street.
Why I Switched to Gouache Urban Sketching
I used to rely heavily on pen and ink with a bit of watercolor wash. That’s a classic combo and still great (especially if you’re diving into something like Pen and Ink Urban Sketching). But over time, I wanted more punch in my color. More attitude. I wanted sketches that didn’t feel like they needed outlines to work.
Gouache gave me that. It doesn’t matter if you’re in New York sketching in the shade of a high-rise or tucked in a rainy Seattle alley—the vibrancy of gouache cuts through.
The main difference? Opacity. You can paint light over dark. You can block in bold shapes and refine later. You can work fast and messy, which fits how I like to sketch on-location. Gouache lets you break away from the idea that you need to plan everything perfectly. You can make a mistake and just paint over it. That's liberating when you're sitting on a busy sidewalk trying to capture a fleeting moment before the light shifts.
Gouache also helped me shake some habits that were holding me back—like being overly precious with linework or hesitating to commit to dark tones. In gouache, if you want a shadow, you just lay it in. If it’s too dark, you can lift it a little or paint over it with a lighter tone. It feels more sculptural than drawing with ink.
Choosing the Right Supplies for Gouache in the Field
If you're adding gouache to your outdoor kit, the setup matters. You don’t want to be fumbling with a dozen tubes or hauling a giant palette around town. The more compact and efficient your tools, the more likely you’ll actually use them on the go.
My Core Kit
- Travel palette with pre-dried gouache – I use an empty watercolor tin and squeeze paint in ahead of time. Once it dries, I rewet it with a misting spray. This makes setup fast and low-mess.
- Water brush and collapsible cup – A water brush is great in a pinch, but I like having a real cup too. I usually carry a foldable silicone cup that clips to my bag.
- Synthetic brushes – A few rounds (size 6 and 8) and a flat. Synthetics bounce back better and hold just enough water for gouache.
- Mixed media or watercolor sketchbook – I prefer sketchbooks that can take a bit of abuse. Smooth paper is fine for pen, but gouache works best on heavier textures.
If you're just starting out, you might want to look at this urban sketching kit breakdown I put together. It covers the basics and how to stay light and mobile.
And if you're constantly fighting your bag setup or feel like your tools are holding you back, here's a peek at what I keep in my urban sketching bag. I’m a big believer that less gear equals more freedom.
Tips for Using Gouache On Location
Using gouache outdoors is a little different than studio painting. The paint dries fast, the weather changes, and distractions are everywhere. But that’s part of the fun. The goal isn’t to paint a masterpiece—it’s to respond to the moment and leave with something honest.
Keep it Loose and Layered
Let your first layer just be shapes. Don’t stress about lines or details right away. I block in large shadows, rooflines, and basic color zones. Then I add refinement later. This lets me focus on composition early, not technical details.
Work Dark to Light
I like starting with the middle and shadow tones, then saving highlights and small brights for last. You can put white over black in gouache, which flips the typical watercolor approach. It’s more intuitive to how we think about light.
Simplify Your Scene
Don’t try to capture everything. Focus on a few main elements: a building, a strong foreground object, and one area of texture or color contrast. Squint your eyes and ask what stands out. That’s your sketch. If you're overwhelmed, it helps to warm up with a few urban sketching exercises to train your eye to see the scene as big blocks of value.
Color Strategies for City Scenes
Color is where gouache shines. But too much detail or too many colors can flatten the scene. Cities are already visually loud, so I try to make deliberate color choices and stay restrained.
Use a Limited Palette
I typically carry five colors: warm red, cool blue, yellow, white, and burnt sienna. That gives me a surprising amount of range and keeps my sketches visually cohesive. Fewer choices mean quicker decisions.
If you want to dive deeper into color, The Urban Sketching Handbook: Working with Color is one of the few books that really covers color in a street sketching context. It gave me a lot of clarity when I was fumbling around with muddy mixes.
Think in Shapes, Not Lines
Try to see buildings, windows, awnings, and cars as shapes, not outlines. Color first, lines later (if at all). I talk more about this approach in my breakdown of urban sketching techniques. It's a game-changer if you're used to sketching in pen.
Sketching People, Trees, and Movement with Gouache
One of the best things about gouache is how fast you can lay in gesture and color. When I’m sketching people, I often skip the pen and go straight in with paint. It feels more fluid, less committed. You’re chasing the gesture, not the anatomy.
For figure-heavy scenes, I like doing a quick underdrawing and then letting the brush take over. If you’re new to figures, it’s worth practicing with urban sketching people tutorials or books like Sketching People. The key is to look for posture and silhouette, not exact detail.
I also use gouache for trees and foliage, especially in urban parks or scenes with overhanging leaves and branches. It’s fast, forgiving, and lets me work in blobs and layers. You can learn a lot from urban sketching trees, especially when you’re simplifying complex organic shapes into brush marks.
Inspiration and Further Practice
The more I sketch with gouache in public, the more I see how expressive and interpretive my work becomes. It’s not about realism—it’s about presence. I’m capturing a moment the way it felt, not the way it looked in a photo.
If you're looking to level up, take a look at this urban sketching course or browse through some of my urban sketching ideas for fresh prompts. I also recommend flipping through The Urban Sketching Handbook: Sketch Now, Think Later or Quick and Lively Urban Sketching for more loose and energetic approaches.
You don’t need to master gouache to start. You just need to get messy with it. Play with your surroundings. Leave space for happy accidents. Paint over mistakes. Be bold. And when you’re ready, check out The World of Urban Sketching for a look at how other artists use color and bold strokes across the globe. It’s all about finding your own rhythm in the chaos of the city.