Beginners Guide to Gouache: Learning Control of Water, Blending, Layering & More

This class was designed with my beginner-self in mind. When I first started learning gouache, I remember how confusing the medium was and how frustrated it left me feeling whenever I tried to paint with it.

Looking back now, I realise those frustrations arose from not understanding the properties of gouache and the techniques required to use the medium.

With that in mind, I structured this class to focus on understanding three major properties of gouache:

1. Gouache can be thinned down with water and used transparently or opaquely
2. Gouache reactivates with water
3. Gouache changes value from wet to dry

Having a fundamental understanding of these properties allows us to then learn the techniques required to take advantage of the properties and how to overcome the challenges they bring. The techniques I focus on teaching are:

1. Control of water to get the right consistency
2. Understanding layering and drying times
3. Understanding changing values

Throughout the class there are exercises for you to follow along with, so you get a chance to practice the skill immediately. At the end of the class there is also a real time painting demonstration in which I take you through step-by-step on how to paint a seascape. This is a chance for you to put into practice all the skills taught in this class.   

My goal is to leave you feeling more confident and more excited to use gouache. It took me a while to get there but I’m hoping that by sharing all the knowledge that I gathered along the way in this class, you’re able to experience the joys of gouache much sooner. Let’s get into the class!

Music:
Easy Lemon (60 second) by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3696-easy-lemon-60-second-
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

• Introduction
• Materials
• What is gouache?
• Getting started: swatching colours
• Getting the right consistency
• Control of water
• Thin washes
• Blending: how I get smooth blends
• Blending exercise 1: simple gradient
• Blending exercise 2: advanced gradient
• Blending exercise: mistakes
• Dry brushing
• Dry brushing exercise: clouds
• First lesson summary
• Layering: thin to thick
• Drying times: wet to dry
• Layering exercise: white daisy
• Value change
• Light values dry darker
• Dark values dry lighter
• Palette management
• Project + closing thoughts
• Part 1 painting demo in real time
• Part 2 painting demo in real time
• Part 3 painting demo in real time
• Part 4 painting demo in real time
• Part 5 painting demo in real time