The Secrets of Painting

Lachlan Goudie
November 25, 2026 @ 10.30am

How do you paint a masterpiece? Lachlan Goudie seeks the answer  by exploring how twenty of the greatest paintings in human history were created, from a blank surface to the finishing brushstroke.

Beginning at the dawn of civilization with prehistoric cave paintings and ending with the arrival of AI, Lachlan unveils the methods and techniques employed by individual artists, bringing their studios to life at the very moment they produced their most celebrated works. Along the way a bigger picture is painted, charting how the evolution of painting materials has changed the course of human creativity.

Lachlan Goudie

Lachlan Goudie is an artist whose work is regularly exhibited around the world. In addition to painting, he is also a writer and broadcaster, having written and presented the landmark BBC TV series The Story of Scottish Art, presented BBC4’s Life Drawing Live! (2020, 2021) and has been nominated for awards at BAFTA and the Royal Television Society Scotland.

His first book, The Story of Scottish Art, was published in September 2020 and his new book The Secrets of Painting has just been published. Born and raised in Glasgow, he now lives in London.