How To Get Perfect Paint Consistency For Chinoiserie Art

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering how much water to use with gouache for chinoiserie painting, why your paint feels gloopy or streaky, or why everything looks too faded, or too heavy, you’re not alone.

Paint consistency is one of the trickiest (and most important!) parts of learning how to paint chinoiserie art. It’s something I get asked about all the time, especially by beginners.

But, almost every struggle with paint consistency can be resolved by checking whether you are using: too much pigment, too much water, or too much liquid on your brush.

For painting chinoiserie on watercolour paper or silk paper, I always recommend using gouache rather than traditional watercolour. Although you can paint with watercolour, gouache gives you sooo much more flexibility.

When heavily diluted, it behaves just like watercolour, flowing beautifully and allowing you to build up soft, delicate layers, BUT it also has the richness and strength of colour that chinoiserie really benefits from.

One of my favourite things about gouache is that it comes in opaque white, which means you can add those crisp, bright details on top, something that’s much trickier with transparent watercolours.

So let’s break it down together and make it simple.

Chinoiserie painting is built up in layers: first a gentle wash of colour, then shading to add depth, sometimes a layer of highlights, and finally the fine lines and details.

Each stage depends on the one before. If your base is too thick, the next layer will disturb it. If it’s too watery, you’ll lose definition.

Consistency is what gives you control. It’s the difference between paint sitting stubbornly on the surface or sinking in softly so you can build those graceful blends. 

Once you start recognising how your paint should feel, everything else becomes easier.

Your base coat should feel more like a soft wash than a solid layer of paint. It needs to be watery enough to sink evenly into the paper and dry quickly, leaving you with a smooth foundation for shading.

When I’m mixing a base coat, I begin with a very small amount of gouache, just a touch, and gradually add clean water until it feels almost weightless on the brush.

If you test it on a scrap piece of paper, it should glide across without streaking or leaving puddles. If it feels thick or sluggish, there’s too much pigment in the mix, or too much sitting in your brush.

Something I often remind my students is that deeper colour doesn’t come from thicker paint. Instead, it’s about the tone you choose. Adding a touch of indigo or burnt umber will shift the colour towards richness without sacrificing that lovely lightness you need at this stage.

Once your base has dried, shading is where the magic starts. Here, your paint can be a little stronger, but still needs to move freely. I often describe it as having the texture of single cream, enough to create depth and contrast, but not so much that it feels sticky or clogs your brush.

I usually mix the same colour I used for the base, just with less water. It should flow smoothly but feel stronger and more defined, giving you more precision as you paint.

Before you apply the shading layer, wipe your brush gently on the side of the palette, just enough to take off any excess paint or water. That small step gives you more precision and stops the shading from flooding the area or the base layer from lifting.

Related blog post: Why your painting is lifting in chinoiserie painting

If you’d like more step-by-step guidance on this topic then take a look at my How to Paint Chinoiserie Art eBook. 

You'll find over 100+ pages of detailed knowledge on how to paint chinoiserie art, including how to paint traditional chinoiserie elements like birds, flowers, and leaves, how to scale designs for murals and wallpaper, tutorials you can follow along with at your own pace, and plenty more!

After your shading layer has fully dried, an optional final stage is adding those delicate white highlights and fine details that really bring your painting to life.

For this, I highly recommend using Windsor & Newton Gouache Permanent White. This colour behaves a little differently to other colours, when you add water, it becomes translucent much more quickly. That’s why your mix needs to be creamier than before, closer to a double-cream texture. 

Keeping it a little thicker gives the pigment enough strength to sit cleanly on top of all the layers beneath, so your highlights stay bright and crisp instead of fading away.

I use white highlights sparingly, just to 'catch the light'. A small stroke along the edge of a petal or a gentle dot in the centre of a blossom can instantly add depth and make your design feel more dimensional. 

For the very fine lines and details, I use the same creamier consistency, but with a finely pointed brush.

After loading the brush, I always blot it lightly on a tissue or rag. This removes any excess paint or water and keeps the tip nice and sharp.

It should feel smooth and steady on the paper, allowing you to place lines and accents with control. If the paint spreads too much, add a little more pigment; if it feels chalky or drags, soften it with just a touch more water.

These final touches are like jewellery for your painting, small, delicate, and perfectly placed to finish the whole look.

Even when your palette mix is perfect, an overloaded brush can cause problems. A brush that’s carrying too much liquid will leave puddles, streaks, or bubbles instead of smooth colour.

I always check my brush before painting by giving it a gentle shake or touching it against the side of my dish. If it drips, it’s too wet. You want it to feel damp rather than soggy, moist enough to carry colour, but controlled enough to place it exactly where you want it. 

Over time, you’ll start to recognise the feel of a well-loaded brush just by touch. I often run my fingers over the bristles when I’m painting, this habit becomes second nature and really helps when adjusting your brush on the fly.

Most of the challenges I see with paint consistency come down to the same three things: paint that’s too thick, paint that’s too watery, or a brush carrying more liquid than it should. 

Once you start recognising these patterns, they’re much easier to correct and soon you’ll find yourself adjusting your mix almost without thinking.

And finally, brushes themselves matter. Softer, finely pointed brushes hold paint differently than standard watercolour ones. That’s why I use and recommend this brush set - they release colour gently, which makes layering and blending sooo much easier.

If you're interested in learning more about Chinese paintbrushes and how best to use and care for them, I've created a free guide for you! You can download it here.

At first, paint consistency feels like guesswork. But as you practise, your eyes and hands will start to recognise the difference between “just right” and “not quite there.” You’ll stop overthinking and start mixing by intuition, just like cooking without a recipe.

And once you’ve got this balance of paint and water under control, the rest of chinoiserie painting opens up! Your blends become silkier, your shading more natural, and your artwork takes on that timeless softness that makes this style sooo enchanting.

If you’d like to put these tips straight into action, sign up for my free chinoiserie style guide that will help you master the unique essence of chinoiserie art, so you can confidently create paintings, murals and wallpapers for passion or profit!