Painting gives us an unmatched satisfaction and keeps us productive and happy at the same time. But at times , it becomes really difficult to think of a new idea and that keeps us procrastinating. So, to avoid any of it, here is a list of really simple painting ideas that you can try at home.
Spray Painting
Material Required : Old toothbrush, Paints ( Watercolors, Poster colors, Acrylic paints), Drawing sheet, Palette, Newspaper, Scissors
Method : Draw a flower , animal or any figure on the newspaper & cut it with scissors properly. Place it on your drawing sheet as per your desired composition. Now apply paint on the bristles of the toothbrush and roll your finger over it in a swift motion. The toothbrush acts like a spray. Use it on your drawing sheet.
Pro tip : To create a 3D effect , vary the amount of spray at different places.
Fluid Art
Material Required : Acrylic or watercolor Paints, Water, Disposable paper cups , Straws, Paper (preferably High GSM / Thick)
Method : Take the paper & stick it on a hard surface like wood or plastic pad. Take white color and mix it with water, it shouldn’t be too thick or too thin. Apply this mixture on your paper. Now select a colour combination you like. In the paper cups, mix each colour with a little water. Remember to use different cup for different colour. Invert the cup on your paper, and repeat the process with all the cups. Use either straw to blow the fluid, and mix it to create patterns. Or simply just twist the paper to create amazing patterns.
Pro tip : Control the flow of colours by blowing in a particular direction for a better composition.
Silhouette Painting
Material Required : Paints ( Watercolors/Poster colors/Acrylic paints), Drawing sheet, Paint brushes, Palette
Method : Select an element you like, maybe an animal, flower or scenery. Depending upon your element, colour the background with colours of your choice. Once it is dry, use black colour to fill your element. Your silhouette painting is ready.
Pro tip : For the background, go for theme colours like sunset, rainbow, ocean, etc.
Sponge Painting
Material Required : Paints ( Watercolors/Poster colors/Acrylic paints), Drawing sheet/Canvas, Sponge(you can use sponges from packing boxes of electronic devices) , wet cloth , Plate, scissors
Method : Cut or shape your sponge with scissors as per requirement. Place a cloth in the plate. This is done to avoid extra absorption of paints by the sponge. Pour some water over the cloth to keep it wet. Then put the paint onto the cloth. Dip your sponge into the paint & start painting on your sheet. Create beautiful patterns or sceneries and enjoy !
Pro tip : The harder you press on the paper the darker the pattern will appear.
Galaxy Painting
Material Required : Paints ( Watercolors/Poster colors/Acrylic paints), Drawing sheet/Canvas , Paint brushes, Sponges(preferably round) , palette , Water
Method : Paint the whole canvas with black color. Wait till it gets dry. Now mix white color with blue, magenta or purple. Using the sponge, imprint different colours at different places. Don’t press too hard, or else the transparent effect may vanish. Let it dry. Dip the toothbrush in the white paint, Use your thumb to flick the toothbrush bristles to make small white dots on your painting. Add as many stars as you’d like!
Pro tip : Add an interesting element like a unicorn or a fairy to make it interesting !
Rainbow Painting
Material Required : Paint – Rainbow colours and Black, Drawing sheet/Canvas , Paint brushes, Water
Method : This is the most easiest technique. Divide your paper into seven parts. Paint each part with a colour of the rainbow. Select an element of your choice and paint it on the rainbow background using black colour. And, your rainbow painting is complete.
Pro tip : Paint the background black and use rainbow colours to paint the element.
Stencil Art
Material Required : Paints (Watercolors/Poster colors/Acrylic paints), Drawing sheet/Canvas, Newspaper, Scissors, Brush, Water
Method : To make the stencil, draw it on the newspaper. Cut it out using the scissors. Paint your canvas or sheet with an interesting background. Let it dry. Place the stencil at the desired position and use a dark colour to paint inside it. And your stencil painting is ready.
Pro tip : Use more stencils to create more details.
Finger Painting
Material Required : Paints ( Watercolors/Poster colors/Acrylic paints), Drawing sheet/Canvas, Paint brush, Pallete , white or grey chalk/oil pastel
Method : Paint your canvas /sheet depending upon the colours in your painting. Let it dry. Using the chalk/oil pastel, compose a drawing using minimum lines. Make sure your paints are not too thick or not too thin. Dip your fingers and using different finger movements start painting. Remember to shade and mix in circular movement for a blurry effect. For bold strokes, place your finger and swipe it rapidly. Continue with different colours and different movements until your drawing is completed.
Pro tip : For different effects, apply different pressure !
3D Mixed Media
Material Required : Acrylic paints, Canvas, buttons, bangles, pins, pencils, sticks, pebbles, shells, glitter or unused small objects, glue
Method : Paint your canvas with a simple yet beautiful background. Compose all the objects you have in an interesting pattern. Once, you have decided the composition; glue one object at a time to your canvas. Let it dry for sometime. Now, paint these objects with the colours of your choice. And, you are done.
Pro tip : Use a contrast colour combination to highlight your artwork.
Print making
Material Required : Canvas/Paper, Paints ( Watercolors/Poster colors/Acrylic paints), Paint brush, knife, vegetables like: onions, broccoli , bell-peppers, tomatoes, mushroom, cauliflower, cabbage, potato, ladies finger. Fruits like : Apple, Sweet lime, Pineapples etc
Method : Paint canvas with base color. Let it dry. Cut the vegetable/fruits and on a separate sheet check the patterns they create. Using a brush, apply paint evenly on the cut-out of the vegetable/fruit. Always remember to first use on a rough sheet to avoid any extra colour or misprint. To make it interesting, apply more than one colour to your vegetable or fruit to get a shaded effect.
Pro tip : You can carve veggies & fruits to get different shapes & designs.
If you try any of these, do let us know. Also, if you know of any more interesting ideas, share them with us ! We would love to write about it.