Paint a Small Cottage in the Woods Using Gouache

It has been a while since I shared an art project with you and today I am super excited to share a small cottage in the woods painting using my favorite medium – gouache!

I love painting using different mediums but I prefer gouache. I love gouache because I can use it thin like watercolor for certain parts of the painting and use its full opacity, which gives the painting lovely bold colors and a matte finish.

Let’s paint a small cottage in the woods.

Materials you will need to paint the small cottage in the woods:

You can use anything you have on hand, I recommend some of my favorites and the ones I used for this painting, but if you are starting out, student grade is perfect.

• Gouache Paint – I have various brands but for this painting, I used the Winsor and Newton Designer’s Gouache
• Paint Brushes
• Watercolor Paper
• Pencil and Eraser – the kneaded eraser is perfect because I can make small tips to erase small areas and do not have to clean any shavings after erasing.
• Palette – I used a Dollar Store clear plate
• Clip Board
• Tape

How to Paint a Cottage in the Woods in Gouache

First, tape the paper to the clipboard or the painting table. This will help with keeping the paper in place, reduce the buckling of the paper as well as give a small border to the painting.

You can use any paper size you want, in this case, I am using a 6 x 6 inch paper which I normally use for studies and general practice and trying new paints.

Sketch the horizon line approximately 1/3 from the bottom of the paper and sketch the cottage on the lower right side. Add two wavy lines above the horizon to show where the mountains and trees will end up. The top part will be the sky.

Start by painting the sky by mixing a light blue. Keep the paint very wet and fluid to obtain a light look and allow some space between brushstrokes to represent the clouds.

Use a darker color blue by mixing ultramarine blue, black, and white to paint the farthest of the tree lines.

Add more black to the mix and paint the closer tree line.

Use the green with a small amount of black and paint the meadow in front of the cottage. While the paint is still wet add a lighter color green, by adding white to the mix and a shadow for the house by adding more black to the mix.

Paint the tree line right behind the cottage using a dark green.

Add color variety to the tree line by adding a mid-tone green and a light green for highlights. For the highlights, use a warm yellow to start warming up the painting since we already have too much blue and a cool green in the meadow. Make sure each layer is dry before adding the next layer.

Paint the cottage shadows in a grey color.

Paint the roof of the cottage – I used a deep red mixing my red with some black and a bit of ultramarine blue.

Outline the cottage using black paint. Paint the windows and the door using black paint.

Use a dark green to add some shadows on the meadow and grass.

Use a darker brown and paint the tree trunk.

Add highlights and shadows to the tree trunk using black towards the left of the tree and white towards the white – since this is the direction where the light is coming from.

Paint the leaves of the tree. I used the spectrum red with white to make the mid-tone, the spectrum red with black to make the darker red for the shadows, and yellow ochre for the yellow leaves.

Add highlights to the tree using white.

Use the colors in your palette to add details to the meadow. Add the shadow from the tree, and more grasses to make the painting more complete. Paint as many details as necessary until you feel that the painting is complete.

Remove the tape and reveal your masterpiece.

I hope you enjoyed painting this little cottage in the woods and enjoy using gouache as another great medium for your art.

With gouache, just like watercolors, you want to keep the painting away from water to avoid damaging it. I recommend framing it quickly or sealing it with a fixative or even a varnish. I’ve used this matte varnish in the past for my gouache painting and it works very well.

This painting will make great thank you cards, note cards, and lovely art prints for the family. I share how to scan and digitize your art for products in this short tutorial.