Freepainting With Gouache (Online Workshop) Spring 2024 w/ Ruth Formica
May 11 to May 25 (Saturdays), 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Eastern Time
**All sessions are live and will be recorded, students do not have to be present. All recordings will be available to students for 3 months after the final session, after 3 months the recording will be deleted.
Please check your email spam/junk folder for your Zoom invite.
Workshop Description
Gouache is a medium and a step between watercolor and oil painting. Color is king in this class! It is my hope you will be at ease, and able to paint what you “feel” vs painting something that you are looking at, and worrying that its not “exact”. We will learn and practice solid foundational techniques to allow your creative work to form more loosely, in your unique style.
Organic shapes that you recognize may appear during this process, or it may become quite abstract, either is just fine. We will work to find the beautiful painting that will bring you joy. Along with our organic shapes, we might add some more hard edged man-made shape (I love a good contrast!).
To quote Picasso, “It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” This is our aim as you join me for this creative experience of Gouache freepainting.
Workshop Outline
We will discuss the following things as needed:
Just what is Gouache?
Design of the page (i’ll show an example)
Value change
Keeping it fresh
Layering
Using 3 colors on your brush
Adding Inks
Painting wet into wet color
Week 1
Demo - We will be using 1, 2 and 3 of the above thinking for a still life demo which may not be complete but most of the painting will be finished.
Week 2
Demo - A second layer on the painting from week one thinking about steps 4, 5 and 6 from above as well as beginning a second painting.
Week 3
Demo - Could be adding inks to an already completed painting or adding ink to a new painting while it is wet.
Workshop Materials List
Paper
At least 3 sheets of 22”x30” -300 lb. toned watercolor paper. I use Twinrocker Paper Supply’s Patriot Paper, toned, 300 lb.
It’s handmade and not always available so you can tone white sheet of 300 lb watercolor paper by staining it with tea (brew tea, dip paintbrush in and cover, let dry). This will make it much easier to work gouache on watercolor paper.
Brushes
A mop brush is essential for this workshop, it will be your main brush. some examples would be Princeton series 2850 mop, Winsor Newton series 240 or 340.
You might also like to have a liner brush and a small flat brush. I like the Cotman blue handled brushes for gouache because they are not too soft and relatively inexpensive with a nice snap.
A white ink pen or jar of white ink
A black ink pen or small jar of black ink
(Optional) Calligraphy brush
Gouache Paint
Please buy tubes of paint, not dry pans. Also, you are going to be using a lot of paint, get the larger sizes where possible.
I use Holbein brand or Winsor Newton gouache. At the minimum, you should have a warm and cool of red, yellow and blue, here are some examples:
Yellow - Yellow Light (not Lemon) for your cool and Yellow Deep for your warm.
Red - Magenta and or Permanent Rose for your cool and geranium, Winsor Red, Brilliant Red for warm.
Blue - Turquoise and Brilliant Turquoise, Cyan, Katsura Blue for cool and Ultramarine for warm.
Purple- Iris, Lilac, and Dioxazine purple (If you are on a budget, Viridian Green and Magenta make a nice purple).
Greens - Winsor Turquoise Green, or Viridian Green for coolant Permanent Green Light (Please note if you are on a budget-you can mix some blues and yellows to make green).
White - Permanent White or Designer White - Get a Large tube!
Ivory Black.
Also - feel free to buy and colors you are attracted to as well as the above recommendations.
Palette
You will need a paint palette, plastic or I use a piece of glass with plenty of room for mixing
Gator Board (Recommended)
Since your paper will be wet at times, if you don’t have a table that can get wet, get a piece of ‘Gator Board” or large piece of Plexiglass or shatterproof glass, (Make sure its bigger than your paper) or you might even be able to use a vinyl tablecloth to protect your table.
Additional Materials (Recommended)
Since we will be working looking down- Also have a piece of cardboard, or backing board and some clothes pins so you can stand up the painting up to look at it from across the room now and then. This is always a good idea.