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Easy 3 Piece Painting Ideas for Canvases Hung Together

Three designs at a time for two or three canvases hung together, each saying what goes on which.

Easy 3 Piece Painting Ideas for Canvases Hung Together

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  1. Dog on one canvas, the ball it is watching on the otherTan, white, red, green. Dog looks toward the gap. Ball in mid-bounce at eye level.
  2. One thick stripe running through every canvas at the same heightTwo colours. Push the canvases together and pull one loaded flat brush across them all.
  3. Skyline with its tallest tower on the centre canvasNavy, black, yellow, violet. Rooftops step up to the middle and down again. Cotton bud for windows.

Next step Paint one canvas each, as a pairSketch the wide scene on paper first

All 60 ideas

Two canvases 12

  • Bridge with one tower on each canvas Reds, grey, blue, white. Cables swoop down to the gap and up again. The deck runs level across both.
  • Butterfly shared by two canvases, a wing on each Orange, black, white, pale blue. Body splits on the gap. Measure each wing spot from the inner edge.
  • Cat on the left reaching for a moth on the right Black, cream, yellow, navy. Paw stretches to the inner edge and the moth sits just past the gap.
  • Day canvas and night canvas of the same hill Sky blue, yellow, navy, white, green. Trace one hill line onto both so the two meet at the gap.
  • Dog on one canvas, the ball it is watching on the other Tan, white, red, green. Dog looks toward the gap. Ball in mid-bounce at eye level.
  • Full moon divided by the gap, half its face on each canvas Navy, white, grey. Trace one plate across both canvases while they touch. Sponge the craters.
  • Heron on one canvas, fish on the other, eye to eye Blue grey, white, orange, teal. Heron faces right, fish faces left, both at the same height. Round brush.
  • Lighthouse on the left, ship on the right, the beam joining them Navy, white, red, yellow. The beam is a pale wedge that widens across the gap. Flat brush.
  • Mug on the left canvas, its steam curling across to the right Cream, umber, white, grey. Mug low on the left. Steam curls across the gap and fills the right canvas.
  • Paper plane landing on the right, its dotted trail on the left Sky blue, white, grey. Dotted trail loops once on the left canvas and ends at the plane. Paint pen.
  • Storybook lying open, its spine on the gap Cream, umber, navy, gold. One page per canvas. Lines of text as grey strokes, one large drawn letter each side.
  • Two swans, one per canvas, necks curving toward the gap White, black, orange, teal. Mirror the pair. The beaks almost touch across the gap. Round brush.

One picture across three 12

  • Blossom branch entering on the left and ending on the right Umber, pinks, white, pale grey. Branch thins as it crosses. Cotton-bud blossom thickest in the middle.
  • Comet crossing all three, head on the right Navy, violet, white, yellow. Tail fades back through the other two canvases. Dry brush.
  • Island map spread over three, a headland on each side canvas Sand, greens, teal, navy. Island body in the centre. Dotted route in paint pen from one headland to the other.
  • Oak with its trunk on the centre canvas, limbs reaching into the other two Umber, greens, sky blue. Trunk fills the centre canvas. Boughs cross both gaps at matching heights.
  • Sailing boat on the middle canvas, open sea either side Blues, white, red, cream. Horizon at one height on all three. The wake trails into the left canvas.
  • Skyline with its tallest tower on the centre canvas Navy, black, yellow, violet. Rooftops step up to the middle and down again. Cotton bud for windows.
  • Snake winding through all three, head on the right Greens, yellow, black, sand. Body crosses each gap twice. Mark the crossing points before you paint.
  • Sunset over the sea, sun whole on the middle canvas Orange, pink, violet, navy. Rule the horizon across all three. Sun sits just above it in the centre.
  • Train with engine, carriage and guard's van, one per canvas Red, black, grey, green. Couplings meet at the gaps. One rail line runs under all three.
  • Water lilies with a leaf lying across each gap Greens, pink, white, teal. Paint the leaves that straddle the gaps first, then fill in round them.
  • Wave in three acts: swell, curl and foam Teal, navy, white, sand. Swell on the left, curl in the centre, foam on the right. Fan brush.
  • Whale across three, the spout alone on the middle canvas Navy, grey, white, teal. Tail on the left, eye on the right. Keep the water line level on all three.

Three that match 12

  • Fern, palm and split leaf, one per canvas Three greens, white. Each leaf fills its canvas from corner to corner. Flat brush for the big shapes.
  • Fox, hare and owl, each facing front Rust, tan, cream, grey, black. Heads the same size and height on all three. Round brush.
  • Moon in three phases: crescent, half and full Navy, white, grey. Trace one lid on each canvas so the discs match. Sponge the shadow side.
  • Morning, midday and evening skies with cloud only Peach, sky blue, violet, white. No land at all. Blot the clouds with a tissue while each sky is wet.
  • One orchard tree three times: blossom, summer leaf, apples Pink, greens, red, umber. Trace one trunk onto all three. Dab the crown with a sponge.
  • One pear on three grounds: warm, cool and dark Greens, yellow, orange, blue, umber. Same pear, same place on each canvas. Only the ground changes.
  • Three cacti: a column, a ball and a paddle Greens, terracotta, pink, cream. One pot per canvas on the same ground line. Round brush.
  • Three feathers on one slant, a different pattern on each Teal, gold, grey, white. Quill on the same slant on each. Pull the barbs out with a fan brush.
  • Three fish facing left, right, left Orange, teal, yellow, navy. One fish per canvas at the same height. Scales with the end of a brush handle.
  • Three fruits cut in half: kiwi, peach and watermelon Greens, peach, red, pink, black. One half per canvas, cut face toward you. Seeds in paint pen.
  • Three mugs with the tea going down Cream, umber, three mug colours. Same mug outline on each. Only the level of the drink drops.
  • Three windows: shutters wide, half shut and shut Cream, blue, yellow, grey. Same frame on each canvas. Only the shutters move.

Stacked top to bottom 12

  • Beanstalk: clouds at the top, leaves in the middle, a cottage below Greens, white, sky blue, umber. Stalk twists up through all three. Leaves alternate sides.
  • Cone on the lowest canvas, a scoop on each of the two above Tan, pink, cream, brown. Waffle lines on the cone with a liner brush. One drip crosses the lower gap.
  • Flamingo with neck on top, body in the middle, one leg below Pinks, white, black, teal. The S of the neck ends at the first gap. The leg is one straight line.
  • Giraffe with head on top, neck in the middle, legs below Ochre, umber, cream, sky blue. Neck runs straight down the centre of all three. Patches with a flat brush.
  • Kite on the top canvas, string through the middle, hand below Sky blue, red, yellow, white. String in paint pen, drawn while the three are pushed together.
  • Lighthouse stacked as lamp, tower and rocks White, red, navy, yellow, grey. Stripes on the middle canvas. Waves break on the bottom one.
  • Mountain with summit on top, a path in the middle, a lake at the foot White, greys, greens, blue. The path zigzags down across the middle canvas into the lowest.
  • Rocket on top, flame in the middle, launch pad below Navy, white, red, orange, grey. Flame widens downwards. Smoke dabbed with a sponge at the base.
  • Sea in three depths: sunlit surface, mid water and seabed Aqua, teal, navy, sand. Each canvas a step darker. One creature per depth. Flat brush.
  • Three owls stacked, each standing on the one below Browns, cream, yellow, black. One owl per canvas, feet at the bottom edge, ear tufts at the top.
  • Waterfall falling through all three canvases Blues, white, grey, dark green. Fall stays the same width. Mist on the bottom canvas with a dry brush.
  • Woodland stacked as sky, canopy and leaf litter Pale blue, greens, umber, ochre. Trunks carry through the lower two. Sponge the canopy.

Easy 12

  • A heart on each canvas, each a size smaller Red, pink, white. Largest heart on the first canvas. Fold paper to cut matching templates.
  • Blend from one colour to another across the whole set Two colours. Start each canvas where the last one stopped. Wide flat brush, long strokes.
  • Checkerboard squares with the two colours swapped on each canvas Two colours. Rule four squares by four in pencil. Swap which colour starts in the corner.
  • Diagonal stripes that line up across the gaps Three colours. Rule the stripes in pencil with the canvases touching, then paint them apart.
  • Dots that grow from canvas to canvas: small, medium, large One colour on a pale ground. Cotton bud, bottle cap and jar lid, one size per canvas.
  • Drips on every canvas, one colour for each Three colours on white. Thin the paint with water and let it run from the top edge of each upright canvas.
  • Leaves printed one, then two, then three Greens, white. Paint the back of a real leaf and press it down. Add a leaf with each canvas.
  • One colour in three strengths: pale, mid and deep One colour, white. Mix the middle strength first, then add white for one canvas and colour for the other.
  • One thick stripe running through every canvas at the same height Two colours. Push the canvases together and pull one loaded flat brush across them all.
  • Polka dots that thin out toward the last canvas Two colours. Crowd the dots on the first canvas and leave only a handful on the last. Cotton bud.
  • Sponge-printed clouds drifting across the set Sky blue, white, grey. Blue ground on every canvas. Dab clouds with a damp sponge, one crossing a gap.
  • Wavy line that leaves one canvas and enters the next Blues, white. Draw the wave in one move with the canvases touching. Paint pen or liner brush.

How it works

A triptych is one work divided into three sections, and a diptych is two panels that make a single piece. These designs are planned the same way: each says what falls on which canvas and what crosses the gap.

Read the full guide

Easy double canvas painting ideas

Two canvases suit a subject with two ends or two characters. Put one on each and let something cross the gap: a look, a beam of light, a curl of steam. On Dog on one canvas, the ball it is watching on the other, the gap is the distance the ball still has to travel.

Easy multi canvas painting ideas for a set of three

Lay the canvases touching and pencil every line that crosses a gap, then separate them to paint. One picture across three keeps its horizon level. Three that match repeats one subject three ways. Stacked top to bottom runs a tall subject down the wall.

  • Paint the sky or the ground on every canvas in one sitting, from one pool of colour, so the set matches.
  • Number the backs in pencil, left to right or top to bottom, before the canvases leave the table.
  • Keep small details away from the inner edges. An eye or a nose split by the gap is hard to read.

Questions and answers

What should I paint on 3 canvases?

One long subject across all three, or one subject three ways. Whale across three, the spout alone on the middle canvas is the first kind. Moon in three phases: crescent, half and full is the second.

How do I make the picture line up across the gaps?

Lay the canvases touching, draw the lines that cross, then pull them apart and paint each one. Carry the colour round the inner sides too, so the join looks finished from an angle.

Do the canvases have to be the same size?

No, though equal sizes are simpler to plan. In a traditional triptych the middle panel is typically the largest, with a smaller one either side, so a bigger centre canvas works too.

Which set is easiest for a beginner?

Try One colour in three strengths: pale, mid and deep, or Sunset over the sea, sun whole on the middle canvas. Both are flat bands of colour with no drawing.

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