Gouache Painting Techniques

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By adopting gouache as your new medium of choice, you may unleash artistic abilities you didn't know you had.

Gouache makes vibrant, colourful art. You can choose from a wide selection of painting surfaces and there are several techniques you can apply to make the bold and beautiful colours pop off the page.

Prine your surface

Create a base to work from by covering the surface you want to paint with a layer of watered down gouache colour. Use a large, wet brush and even strokes.

Layering Technique
Learn the technique of layering, using opaque layers and dry brushing. The power of layering works wonderfully and is a fantastic effect for rich, vivacious gouache paint. Opaque layers are used to disguise thinner layers underneath.

Dry-brushing

Dry brushing is an alternative layering technique that creates texture using slightly wet gouache. Get rid of any excess paint from your brush and brush the surface of your painting to create areas of texture and shading.

Bloom Technique
The bloom technique in gouache painting creates beautiful, organic patterns that resemble blooming flowers. Apply a wet wash of gouache to your paper. While the wash is still wet, introduce drops of water or diluted gouache into the wash. This technique adds texture and visual interest to backgrounds or abstract compositions. Experiment with different colour combinations and amounts of water to achieve various effects.

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