15 Bold, Beautiful Gouache Painting Projects to Try Today
Gouache is bold, bright and endlessly fun. These projects will help you master this versatile paint—one brushstroke at a time.
Table of Contents
- Folk Art Flowers
- Simple Clouds
- Dreamy Flower Field
- Sepia-Toned Sunset
- Traditional Easter Eggs
- Moody Forest Landscape
- Striking Still Life
- Fantastical Creature
- Modern Poolside House
- Tropical Beach
- Black-Capped Chickadee
- Realistic Butterfly
- Scottish River
- Lifelike Mushrooms
- Monochrome Portrait
- From a Single Brushstroke to Your First Masterpiece
Vibrant, bold and versatile, gouache is often described as a more opaque version of watercolor. While watercolors demand an appreciation of their delicate translucency and flowing nature, gouache instantly creates vivid, opaque color with a single brushstroke.
But there’s a lot more to gouache than its brilliant colors. With the right techniques, you can use this unique medium to paint timeless folk art, dreamy landscapes, gorgeous still lifes, expressive urban sketches, realistic flora and fauna, and even true-to-life portraits. With these 15 projects, you can learn to do just that and more.
Hint: These projects are arranged by difficulty level. So if you’re looking for something simple and beginner-friendly, start at the top. But if you’re after more of a challenge, skip further down the list.
1. Folk Art Flowers
About the Project
What better way to start exploring the medium of gouache than with small, simple paintings that make a surprisingly big impact? That’s exactly what you’ll do in this project.
Best of all, these folksy flowers aren’t necessarily supposed to be realistic, so you can use whatever combination of colors you have. And, since they’re relatively small, you can paint as few (or as many) as you like.
Meet the Teacher
Based in the Pacific Northwest, Peggy Dean is an artist, educator and author. She’s also a Skillshare Top Teacher, and offers classes on everything from drawing to brush lettering to Procreate.
What Students Are Saying
After student Sophia Rod completed this project, she remarked that “it was a lot of fun learning how to put colors together to create cool designs.”
2. Simple Clouds
About the Project
Ready to learn how to create gradients and use dry brush techniques? Then you’ll love this quick but beautiful project.
In it, you’ll blend vibrant gouache shades to create seamless gradient backgrounds, then use a dry brush to paint wispy clouds in whatever shape you please.
Meet the Teacher
Top Teacher Ann Shen is a Los Angeles-based illustrator, author and hand-letterer who holds degrees in both Writing and Illustration. In addition to her classes on gouache painting, she’s also taught classes on creative writing, digital art and drawing.
What Students Are Saying
In the words of student Sophie Wolf, “How wonderful that this professional artist would take the time, knowledge and enthusiasm to share what she knows about gouache with us!”
Teacher Tip: Achieve Flawless Gradients
“One of the keys to painting smooth gradients is having two brushes, each loaded with its own color,” says teacher Ann Shen. The wet-on-wet technique is “what allows for a very smooth, seamless gradient. You just go back-and-forth into that color.”
3. Dreamy Flower Field
About the Project
Take your gouache skills to the next level by painting a dreamy floral scene, complete with white daisies in the foreground, grass in the midground and a soft, out-of-focus sky in the background.
This project will teach you how to do just that, with detailed instructions every step of the way.
Meet the Teacher
Bianca Rayala is a Skillshare Top Teacher who’s shown thousands of students how to work with watercolor, gouache and acrylic. Her love of painting is nothing short of contagious, and she firmly believes that “painting is for everyone!”
What Students Are Saying
According to student Claude C, this “project is beautiful and very satisfying.”
4. Sepia-Toned Sunset
About the Project
This project is just one of many you’ll find in the Skillshare class it’s from. While all the projects included in the class deliver beautiful results, we love how this one in particular uses sepia tones to create a realistic-looking sunset scene.
Plus, it only uses five colors, so there’s no need to buy dozens of colors before jumping in.
Meet the Teacher
Top Teacher Zaneena Nabeel describes herself as “an architect by profession and an artist at heart.” She is originally from India but is now based in Dubai, where she uses Skillshare to teach students from all over the world.
Want to know more about Zaneena? Check out our blog post on her popular watercolor challenge classes.
What Students Are Saying
Student Pooja Yadav admires “how Zaneena breaks down the painting process into small actionable steps.”
Teacher Tip: Lighten With White, Not With Water
With watercolor, “we add some water and we dilute the color and make it lighter,” says teacher Zaneena Nabeel. “But with gouache, to make your color lighter, you have to add white instead of water.”
5. Traditional Easter Eggs
About the Project
With its opacity and vibrance, gouache seems to be the perfect medium for creating folk art, and these vibrant Easter eggs serve as proof.
For this project, you’ll learn to utilize precise brush strokes, as well as create crisp flower and leaf shapes that pop against their backgrounds.
Meet the Teacher
Many of Skillshare’s Top Teachers have impressive resumes, but Anna Bucciarelli’s might be one of the most unique: she’s a money designer whose intricate creations are featured on Canadian gold and silver coins. In her Skillshare classes, she helps students master watercolor techniques ranging from beginner-friendly basics to advanced approaches.
What Students Are Saying
Student Laura Landau remarked that “this is a really fun class that I think even a beginner painter could do.”
6. Moody Forest Landscape
About the Project
Learn to use a limited color palette to its maximum potential by painting a gorgeous gouache landscape.
Along the way, you’ll discover how to use many different brush types to create a stylized look, as well as how to effectively layer your paint.
Meet the Teacher
Based on the South Coast of England, Top Teacher Kate Cooke is an accomplished artist with a background in textile design and illustration. She specializes in gouache, so if you love the medium, her Skillshare classes will be right up your alley.
What Students Are Saying
In the words of student Diana Castillo, “if you are interested in learning new techniques related to gouache and landscape composition, then this is the class for you.”
Teacher Tip: Start Light and Large
“Paint the larger background areas first,” advises teacher Kate Cooke. “Start with the lighter colors and build up to the darkest.”
7. Striking Still Life
About the Project
Take your gouache skills to the next level by painting the same still life using traditional art techniques, then painting it again with a more contemporary approach.
In this project, you’ll hone tried-and-true techniques like color mixing and building layers, then explore alternative painting methods that focus on bold pops of color and fun self-expression.
Meet the Teacher
Based in Dayton, Ohio, Dylan Mierzwinski is an illustrator who’s worked with clients like Anthropologie, Martha Stewart and Magnolia. And as a Skillshare Top Teacher, her well-organized lessons and encouraging attitude have won over tens of thousands of students.
What Students Are Saying
As student Marnie Davis put it, “there [were] a couple of times where I felt that the next step was intimidating but [Dylan’s] calm, fun approach to the project allowed me to overcome and be brave!”
8. Fantastical Creature
About the Project
Ready to get your creative juices flowing? Turn a simple blob into a magical creature with this deceptively simple project.
You’ll start with a blob in any shape or color you like, then gradually add details like eyes, arms and legs until you have a charming creature of your own creation.
Meet the Teacher
From her home in the South of France, Top Teacher Marie-Noëlle Wurm shows students from all around the world how to paint, draw and uncover their unique artistic voice. Whether you want to express yourself with paints, pencils or a digital device, Marie-Noëlle has a Skillshare class for you.
What Students Are Saying
“The teacher shows easy steps [on] how to explore color and shapes with your materials to create fun creatures,” says student Sandra.
Teacher Tip: Use Gouache Your Way
Teacher Marie-Noëlle Wurm emphasizes that “there's no real right or wrong way to use gouache…each different consistency will give you different opportunities and give a different feel to your paintings. So, work with what it is that you feel like exploring at that moment.”
9. Modern Poolside House
About the Project
Give your paintings some architectural flair with this vibrant two-story house situated by a picturesque pool.
Over the course of completing this project, you’ll learn how to use colored pencils to add details to a gouache painting, as well as how to create believable architectural paintings without using a ruler.
Meet the Teacher
Julia Henze is a freelance illustrator, urban sketcher and Skillshare Top Teacher who lives and works in the Dutch village of Bergschenhoek. If you’re interested in drawing windows, doors, buildings or any other element of an urban scene, her classes are sure to become your new favorites.
What Students Are Saying
Student Anna Sokolova observed that “the shadows and details with colored pencil add such a special touch” to this project.
10. Tropical Beach
About the Project
Dip your toes into seascapes with this vibrant tropical beach scene, complete with a palm tree, sand and an azure ocean and sky.
You’ll learn how to paint sunlight, shadows, water and clouds, all in easy-to-follow steps that make the most of gouache’s vibrant hues.
Meet the Teacher
Originally from India but now living on the island of Bahrain, Payal Sinha is a Top Teacher who excels at using gouache, watercolors and acrylics to create beautiful paintings of nature. And by taking one of her many Skillshare classes, you can learn to do the same.
What Students Are Saying
Student Pooja T “loved the blending [and] layering techniques” of this project, and also appreciated learning “how to paint palm trees.”
11. Black-Capped Chickadee
About the Project
If you’re ready to move on from plants, landscapes and still lifes, why not take the plunge with an adorable chickadee?
As you paint this charming bird, you’ll learn to transfer a sketch onto mixed-media paper, prepare the perfect color palette for your chickadee and use gouache to create realistic feathers. And as an added bonus, you’ll also learn about artists throughout history who painted birds.
Meet the Teacher
Valerie Mercier is a Skillshare teacher and artist from Ottawa, Canada. With her extensive teaching experience and multidisciplinary talents, Valerie is passionate about sharing her love for painting, creating collages, birding and more.
What Students Are Saying
“I enjoyed learning gouache techniques and some art history from Valerie Mercier,” said Kathleen M. “The instruction was engaging and clear as more details were added layer by layer.”
Teacher Tip: Don’t Forget to Dry
“Gouache has the quality of being opaque, which means it's very easy to layer a color onto another,” says teacher Valerie Mercier. “All you have to do is make sure that the first layer is completely dry before you add another color on top.”
12. Realistic Butterfly
About the Project
Create a stunningly realistic butterfly with this surprisingly approachable project.
Thanks to clearly laid-out steps and detailed instructions, you’ll have no problem painting a butterfly that looks like it could flutter off the page.
Meet the Teacher
Skillshare teacher Alice Rosen is a United Kingdom-based science and natural history illustrator. With a variety of mediums, she creates scientifically accurate illustrations of plants, animals and their habitats.
What Students Are Saying
“I was able to paint the most beautiful butterfly [of] my life,” said student Alisa Zilbershtein.
13. Scottish River
About the Project
Take your landscape skills up a notch by using gouache to paint a serene river winding through verdant mountain scenery.
For this project, you’ll learn to control values, work in layers, employ various brushstrokes and even add realistic-looking mist.
Meet the Teacher
Sarah Burns is a Skillshare teacher, artist and photographer who relocated from Colorado to the Highlands of Scotland. She loves to paint the beautiful vistas she encounters on her hikes, and she shares her talent for painting landscapes in many of her Skillshare classes.
What Students Are Saying
Student Charlotte Hollindale “thoroughly enjoyed this class and found it easy to follow along.” She was also “able to produce a work that I was happy with by the end of the class.”
Teacher Tip: Time = Realism
According to teacher Sarah Burns, achieving realistic landscapes is all about “overlapping and adding lots of variety,” and “that variety is what [creates] realism.” Ultimately, if you want a “realistic or detailed painting, you just gotta put in the time.”
14. Lifelike Mushrooms
About the Project
Get up-close-and-personal with some fungi for this technique-rich project.
As you paint, you’ll learn how to hone your observational skills, create a sketch, block it in, paint your subject and add realistic details.
Meet the Teacher
Bill Singleton is a fine artist and Skillshare teacher who’s based in Tucson, Arizona. He holds a degree in Studio Art, and has decades of painting experience under his belt, with past clients including McGraw-Hill, Pima County, the National Park Service and more. On Skillshare, he teaches students how to paint with acrylic, gouache and Procreate.
What Students Are Saying
Student Cindy Mead expressed that she was “happy to finally join in [on Bill’s] classes,” and praised this project’s “excellent tutorials.”
15. Monochrome Portrait
About the Project
Many beginning and intermediate painters view realistic portraiture as a daunting feat. But with this project, you’ll be able to create a believable portrait with just two shades of gouache paint.
And by the time you’re finished, you’ll have a deeper understanding of value, light, shadows and the human form.
Meet the Teacher
Arleesha Yetzer is an artist, YouTube creator and Skillshare teacher who hails from the northeastern region of the United States. She excels at painting the human figure in new and whimsical ways, and offers classes on anatomy, figure drawing, watercolor techniques and more.
What Students Are Saying
Student Elaine Vechorik commented that “there are very few advanced portrait tutorials on Skillshare and this is a good one, whether you want to learn gouache or watercolor portraits.”
From a Single Brushstroke to Your First Masterpiece
Whether you're just getting started with gouache or you're ready to push its boundaries, these 15 projects offer a well-rounded exploration of the medium’s possibilities. From simple botanical studies to advanced portraiture and realistic landscapes, each project will not only sharpen your technical skills but also help you get in touch with your own creativity.
As you tackle your chosen project, remember that artistic growth is as much about trial and error as it is about technical mastery. And no matter how many mistakes you make along the way, you’re sure to end up with a one-of-a-kind gouache painting you can be truly proud of.
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Carrie Buchholz
Carrie Buchholz is a freelance writer who lives in Northern Colorado with her husband and dog.
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