Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Subject(s): Learning to handle a gouache medium with various techniques

Unit of Study: Applying new techniques to still life painting in gouache

Objective: Students will feel more confident in the use and application of a gouache medium. They will be able to apply these lessons to their own studio practice.

Time Allotment: Students will use the majority of day one learning the handling of the paint and applying it in different painting exercises as predetermined by the instructor. The remaining time of the 2-day allotment will be spent using new techniques to create a still life painting in their own style.

About the Instructor
Jessica Myer earned her MFA in 2013 with a focus in illustrative painting, specific to children’s books. She has an extensive background in fine art gallery management and, most recently, has taught art to youth groups local to Cumberland County. Over the years she has taught a wide variety of audiences in the New England area including New York, Massachusetts, and Maine. Myer is now working as a full time studio artist in Portland, Maine.

About the Medium
Gouache has been used for the past 12 centuries in cultures around the world. It is similar to watercolor being that it is water soluble and can be rewetted. It also can be applied in varying degrees of transparency. However, it can also be applied rather thickly and opaquely, much like acrylic. It has a mostly matte finish and is traditionally used for design work and illustrative paintings.