Good Gosh- What’s Gouache?

Gouache (rhymes with squash) is a versatile opaque medium, similar to watercolor, and it has been in use for over twelve centuries.

It is water soluble and easy to use, but can be tricky when layering. In our workshop, we will learn techniques for blending, layering and adding details on our final painting. We will plan to finish two or three small landscapes and possibly a seascape.

Plein aire painters love this paint because it dries very quickly and is easy to use and transport.

Come and plan to have a good time and enjoy this fascinating medium- beginners welcome, ages 14+.  All supplies are furnished! Supply fee is included with cost.

Credits and Refunds are issued only for class postponements and cancellations.

Shirley’s Story:

Shirley (S.E.) Bland is an artist, writer, teacher, coach, widow, mom, grandma, and great grandmother
who is passionate about art.
“There is nothing I enjoy more than sharing what I’ve learned with other people,” she says. “I’ve been teaching for more than twenty years, working with all ages from 3 to 93. To see a face light up when someone learns a new skill is pure joy for me!” From her mother and grandmother she learned to enjoy the fiber arts: sewing, knitting, crocheting and
other forms of needlework were only the beginning. “I had a weaving loom and a spinning wheel and I spent many happy days creating cloth and household furnishings, but when in my 60’s, I learned to paint — that has been my great joy ever since.”
“When my husband was ill, I opened my studio and classroom in our house so I could be near him,” she remembers, ,,,”and I began working with paper to create smaller works of art that I could store easily.” During the Covid outbreak, she became fascinated with making journals and small books, and enjoys the variety of ways to make books, from beautiful art books to pocket journals and “junk journals” from recycled boxes and envelopes. “It’s a joy to transform a paper bag or cereal box into a beautiful book,”
she says, “and I’m amazed at the many a book can be used.”

Shirley Bland