A Sean Connery gouache painting of the legendary, and if I say so myself, the best – James Bond.
As with most of my canvas artworks, I started out with a loose pencil sketch to lock in the structure.
Then slowly built up layer after layer of gouache until the colours had that punchy but subtle balance I was after. Gouache can definitely be tricky! It dries differently than when it’s wet, so getting the tones right takes a bit of patience, and there were plenty of moments I thought I’d gone too far.
I enjoy gouache more than acrylic. I’m not the biggest fan of the plastic look acrylic can have once it’s wet. Gouache, on the other hand, has a really nice feel – almost like a mix between oils and acrylic. You can work back into it the way you would with oils, but it also shares that fast-drying quality of acrylic. This makes it really versatile.
But that’s what I love about painting in this medium: it forces you to problem-solve on the canvas. Every new layer shifts the whole piece, and by the time I got to the final highlights, it felt like the portrait had taken on its own life.
Connery’s Bond has this sharpness and confidence, and I wanted to capture that in the eyes and expression. I’m definitely a James Bond nerd, and my favourite Bond film has to be With Russia With Love!
The piece focuses on a limited colour palette, which is something I recommend to other artists. It helps improve your paintings and colour as it makes you focus. I’ve painted the sides of the canvas too, so it doesn’t need a frame.
For this one I leaned into a cool palette with hints of warmth — mainly blues and yellows, with touches of green, orange and red to balance it out.
The canvas itself measures around 30cm x 23cm, with a depth of 1.5cm. An iconic James Bond brought to life in a Sean Connery gouache painting.
