5 Books on learning how to paint with Gouache
The first time I tried to paint with gouache, I hated it. My practice squares were a streaky watery mess. When I attempted to layer paint on top, it turned into a runny blob on the page. I just couldn’t get the paint consistency right. I tried to learn through YouTube, but it just wasn’t clicking for me. It wasn’t until I purchased the book Get up & Gouache by Jessica Smith, and painted every project in the book, that painting with gouache started to make sense, and became fun.
A few reasons to pick up a gouache painting book
Getting started with gouache can be a bit intimidating. I mean, what do you paint? What colors should you use? How much water, again?
Picking up a book on learning how to paint with gouache is kind of like treating yourself to private art lessons. It can be a great way to learn something new, expand on a hobby, or unwind after a long day. Painting books can help answer questions you may have, on color mixing, paint to water ratio, and subjects to paint, without the distraction of turning to the internet. Each painting tutorial will guide you from beginning to end on your chosen authors creative process, and can give a peek into why they do what they do.
One thing all these authors have in common is that they encourage you to slow down, enjoy the process, and to practice as much as possible. Every book includes bright, playful picture and text based paint lessons that cover various subjects from food, to buildings, people, objects, furniture, hand-lettering, plants, animals, patterns, and clothes.
Get up and Gouache: Unleash your creativity with 20 painting projects
This is a great all around book for those just getting their feet wet with gouache. Jessica Smith’s bright color palette and fun prompts are a great way to spend an afternoon. A majority of the projects are painted with large flat colors with details painted on top, and minimal shading. You’ll paint a variety of subjects, portraits, pets, buildings, food, imagined scenes, patterns, still-life’s, and landscapes. My personal favorite tutorials in this book is the Beach Scene and Lounging Cats.
Gouache: An Artist’s Guide to Painting with Gouache on the Go!
This 12 project book by Agathe Singer encourages you to let loose and dive straight in with paint first, no sketching is necessary. There’s a handy section on striking a good balance between water and paint, and a quick blurb on layering and texture. Projects include flowers, animals, fruit, plants, and buildings. The projects don’t take a lot of time, so this book is great to turn to when you want to paint a full piece, but don’t have the time or energy to commit to a long painting session. A project I return to again and again, is Project 7 Floral Pattern.
The Art of Gouache: 20 fun and creative painting projects for everyone
If you’re interested in experimenting with wet on wet gouache techniques, and playing around with opacity, this is the gouache book for you. Victoria Semjenova goes into great detail about different techniques such as collage, wet on wet, wet on dry, layering, mixing or blending paints, dry brush techniques, and mark making over gouache. The projects start simple, and quickly expands into more advanced pieces ranging from 30 minutes to 3.5 hours.
Gorgeous Gouache: The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Opaque Watercolor Painting
The gouache painting book by Viddhi Saschit covers the basics of color theory, including the color wheel, tints, tones, shades, and color temperature. One of my favorite sections of the book is the color mixing paint swatches, that shows you how to create different shades of colors such as orange, purple, and green. Another helpful section is on developing color palettes, and how the colors you use in a composition can influence the overall mood of a piece. The tutorials range from cheerful florals, patterns, and hand-lettering, to sweeping multilayered landscapes. If you just want to paint without worrying about drawing, the back of the book has tear-out page templates for all 20 projects.
Get Started with Gouache: A Colorful Guide to Painting the World Around You
This 20+ project gouache is full of charming illustrations, with a soft color palette. Emma Block encourages you to start with a small set of paints, and teaches you how to mix the colors needed for each project. You’re encouraged to further experiment with the color mixing possibilities of your paints by creating a color chart. You’re introduced to the projects through a series of basic techniques such as using negative space, creating texture, diluting gouache with water, creating expressive brushstrokes, and painting on dark paper. Getting a solid understanding of these techniques will help you with the rest of the texture filled whimsical projects.
