Gouache Painting Ideas: Mermaids

Looking for gouache painting ideas? In this gouache series, I share different motifs to help spark your imagination so you can break through your creative blocks and start painting right away.

Note: All images in this post are copyrighted and can’t be sold or recreated for profit. Read my blog post about how to gather reference images without copying here.

In honor of the MerMay painting challenge, this month’s gouache inspiration is:

Mermaids!

Every May, artists around the world participate in MerMay, a month-long celebration of creativity featuring daily mermaid drawing prompts. I love dreamy art and all things magical, so mermaids are some of my very favorite subjects to paint — no matter the time of year!

How to paint a mermaid in gouache:

Many people are intimidated by painting people (or mermaids in this case), but with a little practice, it gets easier and easier! And bonus — with mermaids, you don’t have to worry about painting legs and feet! Plus, mermaid art gives you an excuse to explore whimsical color palettes that you might not get a chance to with traditional portraits.

In my class, Painting Portraits in Gouache, I teach my exact process for painting people setp-by-step. You’ll learn how to create a magical painting that you can turn into a mermaid of your own!

This class is hosted on Skillshare which is home to all my gouache painting tutorials including the gouache portrait class!

If you’re new to Skillshare, you can get a free month-long trial which grants you unlimited access to my classes plus thousands of others.