Learn to Paint with Gouache

With this Gouache painting course and connected community

take at your own pace - start TODAY

Join the Course!
Materials
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FAQ

You've got passion and creativity. And you're already investing your time and attention, watching tutorials and working on studies.

The problem is you feel like you're stuck in an endless cycle of frustration. You want to create gouache paintings that match your vision 

So you can step back from your painting and think, “I can’t believe I made this”. 
But the technical struggles with consistency, blending, and opacity are standing in your way.

5 telltale signs you need a structured approach to learning gouache rather than more trial and error

 1. You mix your colors only to watch them turn muddy and dull when applied to paper

2. You feel a knot in your stomach when your brush touches the paper, knowing it probably won't look like you imagined

3. You're eager to paint fine details and crisp lines. But your brushstrokes look chunky and uneven

4. You spend hours watching tutorials but still can't figure out why your paintings still don't improve

5. You know deep down that you could create beautiful gouache art. But you can't quite bring yourself to confidently approach a blank page without trepidation. 

 

If ANY of that's true for you...

You don't need to extend your paint collection or watch random YouTube tutorials.

 

What you need is to

focus on the skills and techniques that matter

so that you can control this wildly versatile medium with confidence and

create the vibrant, dimensional artwork you've been dreaming of. 

 

Introducing...

The Gouache Course

The comprehensive 8-week online course for frustrated artists at any level that want to finally unlock the versatility of gouache and create artwork they're proud to share.

I've taken everything I've learned during my journey from frustrated hobbyist to confident gouache artist... and turned it into this proven system that eliminates guesswork and builds your skills systematically

So you can stop feeling like you're fighting against your paint and start enjoying the creative process while achieving results you love.

Get confident controlling water-to-paint ratios and creating consistent marks

No more guessing how much water to use. Now you can feel confident applying gouache exactly where and how you want it. Because you'll learn the exact techniques for different effects.

Create vibrant paintings without everything turning to mud

I'll show you how. And you'll be amazed how forgiving gouache becomes when you know the right approach.

 

Paint with joy instead of frustration

Imagine sitting down to paint without that knot of anxiety in your stomach. Instead, you confidently mix your colors, knowing exactly how they'll behave on paper and what value they'll dry to. You finish your session feeling energized rather than defeated.

Fed up with paintings that look nothing like your vision?

Let's turn that disappointing experience into paintings with form, character, and professional-looking results that make you proud to call yourself an artist.

Djamila Knopf - Course Participant

"As a digital artist, I've always been extremely intimidated but also intrigued by traditional painting. Turns out all my worries were unfounded because the course made the medium of gouache easily accessible, and introduced all the required techniques step by step. The lessons were engaging, well structured, humorous and entertaining. Justin is a great teacher, and his enthusiasm for painting is infectious! He has managed to create such a positive learning environment for his students, and I loved being part of the community on Discord. Even as someone who has been working as a professional artist for years, I learned many new things, and I can only recommend the course."

The Gouache Course is brought to you by

Justin Donaldson

Professional Artist
 

When my journey began I had a love-hate relationship with gouache. My guess is you know exactly what Im talking about. I loved the matte finish and crazy versatility but could not for the life of me figure out how to actually create what I wanted with it.

Eventually… I realised that if I was going to learn I needed to stop guessing, watching endless tutorials of people telling me what to do, and put the time into figuring out how to work through the key skills. If I broke down gouache into its core components + skills... what could I do then? 

That's when I discovered that while there are a million things I can put my attention towards, there are actually just a few core skills - and If I managed to get them right everything else would take care of itself. 

Jenny Luco - Course Participant

"I really enjoyed this course! The videos were very clear and it felt like Justin was very open to answer any questions. Discovering the versatility of the medium was a lot of fun and a wee bit mindblowing at times, haha.

On a personal note: I've mostly been painting digitally for the last few years. Sure I did the occasional watercolour, but while I enjoyed the feel of real paint it also felt like a bit of a messy struggle. After taking this course, I think I may have found a new favourite traditional medium. Gouache can get messy too, but it is also pretty forgiving! Doing the assignments really did give me more confidence as a traditional painter."

Lets see what's inside...

Session 1: Painting with Consistency

Gouache is an amazingly versatile medium! While its versatility is fantastic, this often makes the outcome hard to predict or control. The first step in this is beginning to understand the materials and techniques we need to use in order to create consistent marks and passages. This is the base skill that we, at all levels (myself included) can ALWAYS afford to put more time and practice into, and ill show you how!

Session 2: Wet to Dry

This is the second key concept we need to understand: How to lean into the "wet to dry" nature of gouache and water media. This can often be seen as a weakness... but I'll show you how it can become your biggest strength! 

Session 3: Gradients

Gradients are an amazing way to communicate form and movement, and now we will have an opportunity to learn about the practice and application of gradients. There is always more to learn and master when it comes to gradients and this is an open invitation, no matter where you are in your journey, to sit down and learn how to improve! I can't wait to dive into this with you!

Session 4: Layering 

Gouache has an amazing capacity for immense layering! This module will explore the art of layering, glazing and re-wetting - you heard that right! you can re-wet and work INTO your painting if you like, and I will show you how!

Session 5: Wet in Wet

Now we are talking! Wet in wet! this is where we begin to dive into the techniques about how to handle, push, and pull the naturally expressive wet quality of gouache. Did you say charging? placing? "the vacuum"? lets talk about it.

Session 6: Handling Value

So... your gouache changes value as you paint... lets talk about it! Are there methods and materials that can help us predict, or even prolong the eventuality of this effect? oh yes, Lets get into how to handle value with gouache! 

Session 7: Opaque AND Transparent. 

Like a mentor of mine once told me, "If you are only using gouache for opaque painting you are only using half of gouache." so lets get into the other half, and talk about how to use both opaque and transparent painting to make our paintings even richer! 

Session 8: How far can we push gouache? 

Gouache is often communicated as an intermediate medium. You and I both know this isn't true and that no matter how far you push its use and technique there is always further to go. So lets learn how to push beyond by completing a few paintings together!

Lunsel - Course Participant

"Before this course, gouache was a technique I hated and tried to avoid using, but thanks to the great Justin's classes and explanations, i learned how to make the things in the right way and started to love gouache. Also,classes are easy to understand even if you are not english native. I'm more than happy of how much i learnt in this weeks. One of the best courses I have ever been."

PLUS… get INSTANT ACCESS to these confidence boosting bonuses!

Color mixing sessions

develop this super power as we work through 5 color mixing sessions where we practically, in real time, work through the skill and practice of mixing colour. Mixing colour is the painting superpower - unlock this and everything else becomes easier

Community 

Exclusive access to my students-only community of 500+ others and myself as we work together to find more freedom in gouache. 

In short... 

THE GOUACHE COURSE

The comprehensive 8-week online course for frustrated artists at any level that want to finally unlock the versatility of gouache and create artwork they're proud to share.

  • SESSION 1: Painting with consistency
  • SESSION 2: Wet to dry
  • SESSION 3: Gradients
  • SESSION 4: Layering
  • SESSION 5: Wet in wet
  • SESSION 6: Handling values
  • SESSION 7: Opaque AND Transparent 
  • SESSION 8: Pushing gouache

PLUS!

  • BONUS #1: 5 x Color mixing sessions
  • BONUS #2: A thriving gouache community to progress with
Gouache Course - At your own pace

Join the Gouache Course

$425.00 USD
3 Month Payment Plan Gouache Course

3 monthly payments of $143

the Full Gouache Bundle

$800

Start your adventure today - Save $200

  • Gouache Course 1.0
  • Gouache Course 2.0
  • Anime Background Bootcamp
  • access to the Discord community 
  • Indefinitely access to course materials
  • Work at your own pace
BUY NOW

 

THE GOUACHE COURSE is RIGHT for you if...

  • You have basic art supplies and the willingness to practice
  • You're ready to master the core skills of gouache painting
  • You are prepared to end the course ready to create what you have always wanted to create

 

THE GOUACHE COURSE may NOT be right for you if...

  • You aren't going to find the basic art supplies and don't have the willingness to practice
  • You aren't ready to work on the core skills of gouache painting
  • You're not don't want to find the confidence + skills you need to put your vision onto the page

Don't you think it's time you enjoyed the versatility of gouache instead of feeling frustrated every time you try to paint?

Joakim - Course Participant

"What a great course this has been! I learned more in 8 weeks than I would have in years of figuring things out on my own. Lots of useful techniques that really expands what you can achieve with gouache. The Discord community really makes it feel like you’re working with a group!"

What Materials will I need?

First a word on materials. While I am going to give you a list of recommended materials, you need to understand that the materials don't make the artist. You can make amazing paintings on sub par paper, with sub par paints. So if you can't get your hands on the following materials exactly, thats ok. If you have any questions about if you can do it with what you have, send me an email at [email protected] and we can talk about it. 

 

Djamila Knopf

As a digital artist, I've always been extremely intimidated but also intrigued by traditional painting. Turns out all my worries were unfounded because the course made the medium of gouache easily accessible, and introduced all the required techniques step by step. The lessons were engaging, well structured, humorous and entertaining. Justin is a great teacher, and his enthusiasm for painting is infectious! He has managed to create such a positive learning environment for his students, and I loved being part of the community on Discord. Even as someone who has been working as a professional artist for years, I learned many new things, and I can only recommend the course.

Jenny Luco

I really enjoyed this course! The videos were very clear and it felt like Justin was very open to answer any questions, even from those just auditing (like me). Discovering the versatility of the medium was a lot of fun and a wee bit mindblowing at times, haha.

On a personal note: I've mostly been painting digitally for the last few years. Sure I did the occasional watercolour, but while I enjoyed the feel of real paint it also felt like a bit of a messy struggle. After taking this course, I think I may have found a new favourite traditional medium. Gouache can get messy too, but it is also pretty forgiving! Doing the assignments really did give me more confidence as a traditional painter.

All in all: I am very happy I took this class and I am also enthusiastic about the community of students we had here on Discord. Seeing others tackle the same issues and learning the same things really added something for me as well

Tommy

I’d like to take the time to thank Justin properly for the quality of this course! I am a person with generalised anxiety and I really struggle to find enjoyment throughout my journey to become a professional artist, as I obsess very easily on getting everything perfect on the first try or setting standards too high for myself, which results in a lot of frustration. So I cannot stress enough how beneficial it was to have Justin constantly remind me THE important things:

“take your time”, “it’s okay to make mistakes”, “learning happens best at your own pace”, “don’t expect to get it right the first time”, “great technique develops on solid foundations of basic skills, so don’t be afraid/ashamed to spend as much time as you need on mastering those before moving on to the next step” and the very poetic but oh so true “productive complexity can only occur within the bounds of profound simplicity”.

So thank you Justin for creating a welcoming and kind space where I could reconnect with the pleasure of growing as an artist. What I learnt here certainly helped me change the way I view gouache and most importantly the way I see art in general. Keep up the good work and maybe see you in another one of your courses!

FAQ

Gouache Course - At your own pace

Join the Gouache Course

$425.00 USD
3 Month Payment Plan Gouache Course

3 monthly payments of $143

the Full Gouache Bundle

$800

Start your adventure today - Save $200

  • Gouache Course 1.0
  • Gouache Course 2.0
  • Anime Background Bootcamp
  • access to the Discord community 
  • Indefinitely access to course materials
  • Work at your own pace
BUY NOW