Intro to Gouache Painting

7 week course

Thursdays 6:00 - 8:30 pm

NOV 6TH - DEC 18TH 2025

WITH CHAITANYA Varma

LEVEL: Beginner

PRICE - $265

class summary

Gouache (Goo-wash) — Often described as somewhere between watercolor and acrylic, this opaque water based paint is beloved by professionals and enthusiasts alike for its ease of use and portability. Once the medium of illustrators and background painters, gouache has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in recent years

This beginner friendly course is designed to give you a complete introduction to the medium while painting from life. By starting with simple monochrome painting and adding color as we go, students will gain a familiarity with materials, basic color theory, and painting techniques

MATERIALS

Gouache Paint - There’s two options
- HIMI sells gouache kits on Amazon, and they are incredibly affordable. I used an 18 color HIMI set for quite a while and it worked great! Plus, the box sets are super cute
- For a higher quality option, you can purchase individual tubes of artist’s gouache. I personally use Winsor Newton. Look for the following colors or similar ones
  - Titanium/Permanent White
  - Burnt Sienna
  - Flame Red
  - Primary Yellow
  - Magenta or Permanent Alizarin Crimson
  - Yellow Ochre
  - Permanent Green Medium
  - Primary Blue
  - Ultramarine Blue
  - Ivory Black
  - Any other colors you’d like to try! The list above is a basic set, but possibilities are endless. I often use burnt/raw umber and marigold yellow
Watercolor paper 9x12 in — if buying cold press, make sure the texture isn’t too prominent
- My recommendation is a Canson XL cold press Watercolor sketchbook
Soft synthetic brushes, a mix of rounds and flats
- I use mostly flats, the smallest a size 6 and the largest 3/4” for washes
Water container
- Old yogurt containers work great. A larger container means the water won’t get dirty as quickly
Paper towels or rags
Painter’s Tape
Pencil, Eraser and sketch paper
Small misting bottle to keep paints wet
Mixing surface (I use an 11x15 in. white butcher tray which you can buy at most art stores)
Optional: Dr. Ph. Martin's Bleedproof White
- This is my secret weapon, an extra bright white paint. You don’t need it for the class, and you can try out some of mine if you want to see what it’s like

Syllabus

Week 1 Materials, dry time, monochrome exercises

Week 2 Developing values, introducing temperature

Week 3 Variety in paint consistency

Week 4 Using vibrant colors

Week 5 Painting wet into wet

Week 6 Putting it all together

Week 7 Final painting

REFUNDS

Please contact us at least 1 week before class for a full refund. Unfortunately due to our limited class sizes we cannot process refunds after this time. Transfers to other classes are usually possible

It is possible that a class is cancelled if an inadequate number of students register. In this case, tuition will be promptly refunded

absences

Anyone who must miss classes may attend up to two make-up sessions in other classes as long as space permits

Click here to sign up!