Live Lessons: Horse Race with Gouache

In Horse Race with Gouache, you’ll dive into a dynamic, high-energy painting project that teaches you how to render a dramatic wintertime horse race scene using gouache (opaque watercolor) on cold-press watercolor paper. This comprehensive series consists of 10 video lessons totaling over 10 hours of instruction.

The journey begins in Lesson 1, where you learn about the essential materials, supplies, and setup, then lay out the contour lines of the composition using a grid and graphite pencil. From there, the lessons progress sequentially as the painting takes shape.

In Lesson 2, the first gouache applications are applied to establish tonal values and base colors. Lessons 3 through 5 build on this foundation by progressively developing the horses, riders, and their forms—layer by layer—working carefully through structure, light, and shadow effects.

By Lesson 6, you’ll finish much of the central horse subject and begin integrating the background to place your action into context.

As the series advances, Lesson 7 introduces the next horse, Lesson 8 deepens and refines the background elements, and Lesson 9 focuses on painting the snowy foreground and refining value transitions.

The grand finale is Lesson 10, where you apply splattering techniques to give the illusion of flying snow—adding movement, atmosphere, and life to your composition.

Throughout the class, you not only gain strong technical skills in working with gouache—understanding how opaque layers blend, how to manage contrast, and how to plan your approach—but you also receive a structured system for tackling a complex, multi-subject painting. You’ll observe how to shift between foreground, middle ground, and background, how to treat overlapping forms, and how to bring harmony to color, light, and edges.

This class is ideal if you already have some painting experience or want to push your skills into more expressive, bold territory. Whether your goal is to master animal motion, snow effects, or dramatic lighting, Horse Race with Gouache guides you step by step toward confidence.

Lesson 1 (1:11:00)

In lesson one, we discuss the materials and begin drawing the contour lines with graphite pencil using a grid.

Lesson 2 (1:07:19)

In lesson two, we begin with gouache applications.

Lesson 3 (1:02:55)

In lesson three, we continue with gouache applications on the first horse rider and horse.

Lesson 4 (1:13:04)

In lesson four, we work down the body of the first horse.

Lesson 5 (1:07:57)

In lesson five, we continue work on the body of the first horse.

Lesson 6 (1:14:13)

In lesson six, we complete the body of the first horse and begin work on the background.

Lesson 7 (1:12:30)

In lesson seven, we begin work on the third horse.

Lesson 8 (1:08:56)

In lesson eight, we develop the background behind the horses.

Lesson 9 (1:11:47)

In lesson nine, we begin work painting the snow in the foreground.

Lesson 10 (1:26:16)

In lesson ten, we complete the painting by using splattering techniques to create the illusion of flying snow.