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Anywhere, Anytime Art: Gouache: An artist's guide to painting with gouache on the go!
Take a fresh look at an up-and-coming art medium with Anywhere, Anytime Gouache !
Gouache paint has a long history, but it’s often associated with watercolor and multimedia art. Until now, that is! Trendy artists with large social-media followings are reinvigorating gouache, making this the ideal time to add this medium to your toolbox...or start your art journey with it!
Like the other books in the Anywhere, Anytime Art series, Gouache explores this medium in a portable, approachable, and contemporary way. Basic painting topics, such as tools and materials, techniques, and color theory, are presented in an easy-to-read, visual style. The subsequent step-by-step projects focus on various subjects that artists can find anywhere, whether they’re home or out and about. Artists can learn to paint their favorite things, including plants, flowers, cats, patterns, and more.
Anywhere, Anytime Gouache is filled with vibrant, colorful artwork that’s sure to inspire any artist to give gouache a try and get out there and paint!
Gouache paint has a long history, but it’s often associated with watercolor and multimedia art. Until now, that is! Trendy artists with large social-media followings are reinvigorating gouache, making this the ideal time to add this medium to your toolbox...or start your art journey with it!
Like the other books in the Anywhere, Anytime Art series, Gouache explores this medium in a portable, approachable, and contemporary way. Basic painting topics, such as tools and materials, techniques, and color theory, are presented in an easy-to-read, visual style. The subsequent step-by-step projects focus on various subjects that artists can find anywhere, whether they’re home or out and about. Artists can learn to paint their favorite things, including plants, flowers, cats, patterns, and more.
Anywhere, Anytime Gouache is filled with vibrant, colorful artwork that’s sure to inspire any artist to give gouache a try and get out there and paint!
- GenresArtNonfictionArt Design
128 pages, Paperback
Published May 1, 2018
84 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
July 3, 2019
I have reviewed so many art books released by the esteemed Quarto Publishing Group and fallen in ❤️ with each one. “Anywhere, Anytime Art: Gouache” by the talented Agathe Singer is no exception. The illustrations are gorgeous. The easy instructions effortlessly guide even new artists on how to paint with gouache — which has a storied history usually associated with watercolor and multimedia art but is being updated in fresh ways by trendy new artists. 5/5
Thank you to the author, Quarto Publishing Group – Walter Foster, and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.
#Anywhere,anytimeArt:gouache #NetGalley
Thank you to the author, Quarto Publishing Group – Walter Foster, and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.
#Anywhere,anytimeArt:gouache #NetGalley
April 3, 2021
I've tried painting with gouache once before reading this book. I don't typically paint with gouache, so I struggled with the underlayers reactivating with water when I would attempt to lay down the next layer. I was looking to see if there would be tips in this book to assist me with this technique. It was very basic - just stating you need to wait until the first layer is completely dry before starting the next layer. I liked the author's conversational tone. The author states that her most comfortable compositions involve flowers and birds and her projects are mainly based on her strengths. I really liked the advice she gave about color composition. I think I will break out my gouache kit and try one of the projects.
May 15, 2021
A great intro! I enjoyed the projects and ended up doing some fun stuff with it!
July 3, 2018
Disclaimer: I received an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for a review.
I like this book. I'm a complete beginner when it comes to painting. I didn't even know what gouache was when I started reading this, and I don't think my drawing/painting skills have much improved since kindergarten. This book makes it seem do-able to paint something I might not want to throw into the garbage immediately.
There's some quite brief info on tools (paints, palettes, brushes, paper) and then the book dives into painting techniques with a short detour through color theory before presenting 12 project-based lessons.
Some of the instructions are a bit too brief, though. One the page about layering and texture (p.14 in the proofs), for example, there are 16 boxes, each with two colors. I imagine they have something to do with the layering the author is talking about, but she doesn't explain so you have to guess. Are these examples showing what it looks like to apply a darker color on top of a lighter color? Vice versa? No way to be sure. Across all the lessons, I would have liked to see more info on how to choose an appropriate brush for a given task.
I also didn't care for was the chapter on how to outfit yourself for painting outdoors (or at least outside your usual painting place). It seemed out of place in a book about techniques for how to learn to paint - can't most people figure out how to put paint and brushes in a backpack by themselves?
Overall, I like this book but I think in future editions, it could be fleshed out a bit more in the instructions and techniques. Either that or market it towards beginners with gouache but who aren't necessarily beginning painters.
I like this book. I'm a complete beginner when it comes to painting. I didn't even know what gouache was when I started reading this, and I don't think my drawing/painting skills have much improved since kindergarten. This book makes it seem do-able to paint something I might not want to throw into the garbage immediately.
There's some quite brief info on tools (paints, palettes, brushes, paper) and then the book dives into painting techniques with a short detour through color theory before presenting 12 project-based lessons.
Some of the instructions are a bit too brief, though. One the page about layering and texture (p.14 in the proofs), for example, there are 16 boxes, each with two colors. I imagine they have something to do with the layering the author is talking about, but she doesn't explain so you have to guess. Are these examples showing what it looks like to apply a darker color on top of a lighter color? Vice versa? No way to be sure. Across all the lessons, I would have liked to see more info on how to choose an appropriate brush for a given task.
I also didn't care for was the chapter on how to outfit yourself for painting outdoors (or at least outside your usual painting place). It seemed out of place in a book about techniques for how to learn to paint - can't most people figure out how to put paint and brushes in a backpack by themselves?
Overall, I like this book but I think in future editions, it could be fleshed out a bit more in the instructions and techniques. Either that or market it towards beginners with gouache but who aren't necessarily beginning painters.
June 16, 2018
(Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Of course.)
There are a lot of things I really like about this book. I've been personally working with gouache as part of my artistic toolbox for several years now, and love it like crazy -- and I really wish I'd had a book like this when I started. I came in via watercolor (just like Singer), and had a...uh...bit of a learning curve, since the two mediums are like cousins who look alike but just don't quite get along. What's fine for one is a screaming hissyfit of a disaster for the other.
If you're looking to make the leap, or just to start with the medium in general, there's a lot here for you to learn. Singer goes over mixing and color, blending, making patterns, and even how to figure out how much water your paint needs (a big part of getting gouache to not look like a three year old finger-painted it with kool aid. Trust me.). It's a very solid primer on how to start painting with it.
Most of this was repeat info for me, but I loved some of her creative suggestions on making your gouache work a practice. She delves into things like setting goals and the 365 project (a piece of art every day for a year), and even on developing your own language of color. Also, her style is wonderful -- even experienced artists would probably glean a bit of inspiration from her work.
The step-by-step projects are done well. There are enough process steps that even a newcomer can get some pretty great results, and get in some practice time at the sketchbook, too. My only complaint with it (and it's not much of a complaint) is that I didn't always understand what the step-outs were trying to teach for that project. I can usually look at these projects and think *okay, this is teaching how to use pattern*, or *aha! this is where we get to see about color mixing*, and do only those exercises with my own problem areas. I felt like these were very cute, very well-done practice examples, but less technique than just medium practice -- which is perfectly okay, especially for beginners.
I will say, too, that after reading through the book, my fingers were positively itching to get out my brushes and my paints and make stuff. That kind of inspiration is almost always worth the cost of obtaining it, and luckily, in book form, this one can be at my fingertips when I need it.
If you've ever wanted to try gouache, or have tried it unsuccessfully before, I'd definitely recommend this book as a great place to (re)start. Warning, though: once you've been bitten by the bug, you may find you're painting a lot more often.
(As if that's even a downside.)
There are a lot of things I really like about this book. I've been personally working with gouache as part of my artistic toolbox for several years now, and love it like crazy -- and I really wish I'd had a book like this when I started. I came in via watercolor (just like Singer), and had a...uh...bit of a learning curve, since the two mediums are like cousins who look alike but just don't quite get along. What's fine for one is a screaming hissyfit of a disaster for the other.
If you're looking to make the leap, or just to start with the medium in general, there's a lot here for you to learn. Singer goes over mixing and color, blending, making patterns, and even how to figure out how much water your paint needs (a big part of getting gouache to not look like a three year old finger-painted it with kool aid. Trust me.). It's a very solid primer on how to start painting with it.
Most of this was repeat info for me, but I loved some of her creative suggestions on making your gouache work a practice. She delves into things like setting goals and the 365 project (a piece of art every day for a year), and even on developing your own language of color. Also, her style is wonderful -- even experienced artists would probably glean a bit of inspiration from her work.
The step-by-step projects are done well. There are enough process steps that even a newcomer can get some pretty great results, and get in some practice time at the sketchbook, too. My only complaint with it (and it's not much of a complaint) is that I didn't always understand what the step-outs were trying to teach for that project. I can usually look at these projects and think *okay, this is teaching how to use pattern*, or *aha! this is where we get to see about color mixing*, and do only those exercises with my own problem areas. I felt like these were very cute, very well-done practice examples, but less technique than just medium practice -- which is perfectly okay, especially for beginners.
I will say, too, that after reading through the book, my fingers were positively itching to get out my brushes and my paints and make stuff. That kind of inspiration is almost always worth the cost of obtaining it, and luckily, in book form, this one can be at my fingertips when I need it.
If you've ever wanted to try gouache, or have tried it unsuccessfully before, I'd definitely recommend this book as a great place to (re)start. Warning, though: once you've been bitten by the bug, you may find you're painting a lot more often.
(As if that's even a downside.)
June 28, 2018
4 stars
** Received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**
I requested Anytime, Anywhere Art: Gouache because I am a new user of the medium and thought that this book would be a good supplement to the limited knowledge I had about using gouache paints. I loved it. The simplicity of the exercises gives you a chance to get comfortable with the medium as well as to try out different techniques to build your own style/preferences.
For sure I would recommend anyone who wants to have some beginner level exercises using gouache should pick up a copy of this book. There were 12 lessons in total [and yes a few were pretty similar in their subject matter i.e. birds versus birds on a branch…] and they are all simple enough to follow along with basic supplies.
I myself have some Simply Simmons and Princeton Preferred brushes and basic Reeves gouache paint tubes, but that was more than enough to follow along and get some really interesting results. I was worried when reading the introduction to supplies that I would need materials that I didn’t have [and wasn’t going to get] to participate in the tutorials, but that is most definitely not the case.
My only criticism that brought my rating to four stars was the specific art style that the book was teaching to. Now, this isn’t something that is detrimental to the overall usage of the book, but if you don’t like the art style featured on the cover, then you will not like the art style given in the lessons. It is fit to teach in Agathe Singer’s style [and rightfully so], but because it is unique, it may not be suited for everyone.
Final notes:
-12 lessons
-Step by step illustrated instructions
-Various subject matter that can be adjusted to your preferred taste
-A very specific art style that may not be for everyone
** Received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**
I requested Anytime, Anywhere Art: Gouache because I am a new user of the medium and thought that this book would be a good supplement to the limited knowledge I had about using gouache paints. I loved it. The simplicity of the exercises gives you a chance to get comfortable with the medium as well as to try out different techniques to build your own style/preferences.
For sure I would recommend anyone who wants to have some beginner level exercises using gouache should pick up a copy of this book. There were 12 lessons in total [and yes a few were pretty similar in their subject matter i.e. birds versus birds on a branch…] and they are all simple enough to follow along with basic supplies.
I myself have some Simply Simmons and Princeton Preferred brushes and basic Reeves gouache paint tubes, but that was more than enough to follow along and get some really interesting results. I was worried when reading the introduction to supplies that I would need materials that I didn’t have [and wasn’t going to get] to participate in the tutorials, but that is most definitely not the case.
My only criticism that brought my rating to four stars was the specific art style that the book was teaching to. Now, this isn’t something that is detrimental to the overall usage of the book, but if you don’t like the art style featured on the cover, then you will not like the art style given in the lessons. It is fit to teach in Agathe Singer’s style [and rightfully so], but because it is unique, it may not be suited for everyone.
Final notes:
-12 lessons
-Step by step illustrated instructions
-Various subject matter that can be adjusted to your preferred taste
-A very specific art style that may not be for everyone
August 10, 2018
A charming little book for the beginner to gouache, or indeed the beginner to painting at all. For those new to the subject, gouache is somewhat easier than watercolour, and can serve as an introduction to painting or indeed can be the artists' choice of medium. There is a brief explanation of materials and techniques, then 12 projects to be copied step-by-step. The designs, while perhaps not to everyone's taste, are modern and stylised, and quite achievable for the beginner as they do not involve much in the way of shading, proportion, etc. Designs mostly are of birds, flowers, still life etc, and are colourful and charming. A lovely book for the aspiring artist, would suit children well too. The cover illustration is a good representation of the style within.
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy.
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy.
June 15, 2018
This book is a guide to using gouache aimed at people who have never tried it before. The author provided some very basic tips and techniques for using gouache along with some very simple, stylized painting projects to get you experimenting with the medium. The patterns, flowers, birds, and cats in the 12 projects are very basic and easy to do following her instructions because you aren't attempting realism. The author had an encouraging tone and promotes fanciful painting for fun and relaxation. I've been painting with gouache for several years now, so I didn't learn anything new. However, this book could be useful to someone new to gouache or even to painting.
I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
August 6, 2018
I was sent a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This book is great for gouache beginners! Plus the artist has a lovely style and she's really good at explaining the art of gouache and at encouraging people to try painting even if they do not know perspective yet or are scared of certain things in art.
While I absolutely loved the artist's style, I found that because the artist is so individualistic and a master of her art, it doesn't translate to the reader well. As in, you will end up painting way too similarly to this artist and you do not get a lot of tips with gouache or painting in general, but most of the tips are "how to paint like me". More diverse illustration would've helped this book a lot!
This book is great for gouache beginners! Plus the artist has a lovely style and she's really good at explaining the art of gouache and at encouraging people to try painting even if they do not know perspective yet or are scared of certain things in art.
While I absolutely loved the artist's style, I found that because the artist is so individualistic and a master of her art, it doesn't translate to the reader well. As in, you will end up painting way too similarly to this artist and you do not get a lot of tips with gouache or painting in general, but most of the tips are "how to paint like me". More diverse illustration would've helped this book a lot!
August 7, 2024
"Anywhere, Anytime Art: Gouache" by Agathe Singer is a delightful and inspiring guide to the gouache medium. The book is well-structured and offers clear instructions, making it accessible to artists of all levels. The illustrations are vibrant and the projects are thoughtfully designed, gradually increasing in difficulty and covering a range of topics. This book is not only informative but also highly motivating, as it encourages artists to feel that creating beautiful gouache art is entirely achievable. I found it very enjoyable and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in exploring this versatile medium.
November 20, 2025
simple instructions for a beginner
I have always painted with watercolors. I am not a professional artist…just average talent. After looking at Gouache art on the web and Pinterest..… I wanted to try this new type of dense watercolor. The author clearly and simply explains how to work with this paint, which is opposite of working with watercolors ( light to dark) . Gouache works dark to light. Each chapter has a easy beginner project. Highly recommend this book.
I have always painted with watercolors. I am not a professional artist…just average talent. After looking at Gouache art on the web and Pinterest..… I wanted to try this new type of dense watercolor. The author clearly and simply explains how to work with this paint, which is opposite of working with watercolors ( light to dark) . Gouache works dark to light. Each chapter has a easy beginner project. Highly recommend this book.
October 17, 2020
I enjoyed the book it is straightforward and has a simple and easy to understand guide to starting to paint with gouache. I like that once you learn a little about the kinds of gouache, tools to use and a little color theory that you get some fun and easy art projects to get you started and build a collection of finished paintings.
April 24, 2020
Good introduction to gouache paintings
I liked the step by step painting exercises and suggestions for color mixing. The author suggested decoration of each painted object as a great way to suggest form -a la Matisse
I liked the step by step painting exercises and suggestions for color mixing. The author suggested decoration of each painted object as a great way to suggest form -a la Matisse
September 26, 2019
Very inspiring. Loved it!
October 24, 2019
ok but very short
nice book but it was very short. i was expecting more projects & explanation. the projects arent challenging that much
nice book but it was very short. i was expecting more projects & explanation. the projects arent challenging that much
April 7, 2020
Provides simple guides for beginners. Besides, the examples are cute and easy to follow.
August 18, 2020
Really cute. Nice illustrations although some of them were a little bit simple if you are past the beginner level. But good inspiration and information.
November 14, 2020
Mycket trevlig nybörjarbok för den som ska prova gouachefärger för första gången. Roliga övningar i Singers charmiga stil.
January 31, 2021
Cute, delightful exploration. Singer's art has delightful colors, showing off the unique benefits of a more opaque medium.
March 1, 2021
An excellent grounder
May 13, 2022
Lovely artwoek with clear examples I think anyone could follow. It’s difficult to know where and how to simplify sometimes and this book gives some good examples.
June 13, 2018
I've long been interested in Gouache but struggled to get it to work for me. I think the easy to follow techniques in this book will really help me up my crafting game.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
June 17, 2018
THe guide introduces gouache painting. There is an introduction to the materials used and detailes step-by-step instructions on how to paint with gouache. Different projects increase the difficulty level in small steps and guide you from basic colour block paintings to paintings with different layers featuring animals and plants.
Since gouache is different from water colours, I especially appreciated the information on how much water to add to the colours, how to mix and layer the colours.
This guide is suitable for anyone who would like to try out gouache painting.
Since gouache is different from water colours, I especially appreciated the information on how much water to add to the colours, how to mix and layer the colours.
This guide is suitable for anyone who would like to try out gouache painting.
August 19, 2018
I know a little about gouache, although have never used it before, I am willing to have a go after reading this book. The book starts with an excellent explanation of the paint medium and is followed by samples. The projects are really quite appealing in this book, and are made to help you understand how the gouache works on designs. The projects are easy to follow and the drawings can be reproduced with a little skill in your own interpretation. This is followed by a section on pattern and design and painting in a series.
I am certainly going to enjoy doing these projects
I am certainly going to enjoy doing these projects
September 5, 2018
Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of this book in return for my honest review.
I had not heard of gouache prior to seeing this book on Netgalley and I was interested to learn a little about this process. This book gave a good introduction and would be useful for anyone hoping to create their own gouache .
I had not heard of gouache prior to seeing this book on Netgalley and I was interested to learn a little about this process. This book gave a good introduction and would be useful for anyone hoping to create their own gouache .
January 12, 2019
Great starter for anyone wanting to learn all about the properties and uses of Gouache.
This review was originally posted on Books In Brogan
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews