Rooster in silhouette under the pin on a barn-red faceBarn red, black, cream. The bird stands on a strip of grass between 5 and 7; cream numerals if wanted. Round brush.
Train of twelve cars circling the rim, the engine at 12Red, blue, yellow, black. One car per hour, wheels toward the rim, coupled by short lines. Small flat brush.
Ball of yarn, the hands as two knitting needlesOne color in three tones. Curved bands wind across the face in three directions; the hands in silver. Liner brush.
A dozen eggs in a ring, the one at 12 cracked with a chick looking outWhite, cream, yellow, orange. One egg per hour on a pale blue face, small ends pointing to the pin. Round brush.
Daisy chain: twelve daisies linked stem to stem around the rimWhite, yellow, green. A daisy head on each hour point; the stems curve along the rim between them. Round brush.
Four seasons in quarters: snow from 12 to 3, blossom, sun, then falling leavesWhite, pink, yellow, rust. Three small pictures in each quarter, one at every hour point. Round brush.
Painter's palette: twelve blobs of paint for the hoursTwelve colors, tan. Blobs in rainbow order around a tan face; paint the hands as a brush and a pencil. Round brush.
Pizza cut in twelve slices, the topping changing at 3, 6 and 9Tan, red, cream, green. Crust at the rim; cut lines run from the pin to each hour; a topping per quarter. Round brush.
Ring of moons: full at 12, new at 6, thinning down one side and growing up the otherNavy, cream, gray. Twelve equal circles at the hour points on a dark face; shade each a little more. Sponge dauber.
Sunflower whose twelve petals are the hoursYellow, brown, orange. A brown seed disc around the pin; one long petal points at each hour. Round brush.
Train of twelve cars circling the rim, the engine at 12Red, blue, yellow, black. One car per hour, wheels toward the rim, coupled by short lines. Small flat brush.
Twelve balloons at the hours, every string gathered at the pinBrights, gray. One balloon per hour point near the rim; thin gray strings run straight to the center. Liner brush.
Twelve bees flying clockwise toward a hive painted at 12Yellow, black, white, tan. One bee at each hour, all heading the way the hands turn; a dotted trail joins them. Liner.
Twelve cupcakes, each with a different frosting, a cherry on the one at 12Pastels, tan, red. Paper cases point to the pin; a swirl of frosting on the rim side of each. Round brush.
Twelve stars that grow from a speck at 1 to the largest at 12Navy, gold. Five-point stars on a dark face, each a little bigger than the one before. Liner brush.
The hands are part of the picture 12
Airplane nose-on: the pin is the nose cone, the hands are the propellerSky blue, red, gray. Wings reach toward 9 and 3 behind a round body; the hands in gray. Flat brush.
Ball of yarn, the hands as two knitting needlesOne color in three tones. Curved bands wind across the face in three directions; the hands in silver. Liner brush.
Bowl of noodles from above, the hands as chopsticksRed, cream, green, black. Noodle swirls around the pin inside a red rim; both hands painted black. Liner brush.
Dinner plate: the hands are a knife and a forkWhite, blue, silver. A plate rim two fingers wide around the face; the hands in silver. Liner brush.
Drum seen from above, the hands as two drumsticksCream, red, gold. The whole face is the drum skin; a red rim with gold lugs at the hours; tan hands. Flat brush.
Face with a mustache: the pin is the nose, the hands are the mustacheSkin tone, black, white. Two eyes above the pin, a small mouth below it; both hands painted black. Round brush.
Lighthouse seen from above, the hands as its two beamsNavy, white, yellow. A small red and white ring around the pin on a dark sea; both hands in yellow. Sponge.
Open scissors: the pin is the screw, the hands are the bladesSilver, red, white. Two red finger loops painted on the face below the pin; the hands in silver. Round brush.
Rabbit: the face below the pin, the hands are its earsWhite or brown, pink. Eyes, nose and whiskers in the lower half; the hands in the color of the fur. Round brush.
Robot whose arms are the hands, the pin a bolt on its chestGray, red, yellow. A square body around the pin, the head toward 12, legs toward 6; the hands in gray. Flat brush.
Rowboat seen from above, the hands as its two oarsBlues, brown, white. The boat lies across the pin from 9 to 3 on rippled water; the hands in brown. Round brush.
Runner: the body painted above the pin, the hands are the legsSkin tone, one bright, black. Head near 12, arms mid-swing; the legs change stride all day. Round brush.
Numerals and marks 12
An inner ring of 13 to 24 under the usual twelveBlack, red. 1 to 12 near the rim in black; the afternoon hours half the size in red inside them. Stencil.
Chalk-style numerals on a blackboard-black faceBlack, white. Loose handwritten numerals in thinned white; a faint white smudge around the pin. Round brush.
Dice pips for the hours: one die up to 6, two dice from 7White, black. Small white squares at each hour point with the pips dotted in black. Liner brush.
The hours spelled as words around the rimOne dark on a pale face. ONE to TWELVE in small capitals, each word centered on its hour point. Liner brush.
No numerals: twelve short dashes, a double dash at 12Any two colors. Each dash lies on a line from the pin and stops a finger short of the rim. Tape.
Numerals tumbled into a heap at 6, as if they had slid down the faceBlack, one bright. All twelve overlap at odd angles in the lowest part; the rest of the face stays bare. Stencil.
Only 12, 3, 6 and 9, each so large the rim crops itBlack on white or white on black. Four numerals a hand tall; nothing at the other hours. Stencil.
Roman numerals in gold on a black faceBlack, gold. Every numeral stands with its foot toward the pin; a thin gold ring inside them. Liner brush.
Sixty dots in a ring, every fifth one largerOne color on a pale face. Mark the twelve large dots first, then fit four small ones between each pair. Swab.
Stencil numerals like the marks on a shipping crateBlack on bare wood. Broken stencil numerals at all twelve hours; a plank line or two across the face. Stencil.
Tally marks for the hours, every fifth stroke slashed across the four beforeChalk white on dark green or black. Each group sits on its hour point, feet toward the pin. Liner brush.
Teaching clock: hours in an inner ring, minutes 5 to 60 in an outer ringRed, blue, white. Hours in red; outside each one, its minutes in smaller blue numerals. Liner brush.
One picture across the face 12
Baseball: two curved rows of red stitches either side of the pinWhite, red. One curve bows in from the left and one from the right; small V stitches along both. Liner brush.
Chocolate chip cookie with a bite missing at 2Golden brown, dark brown, wall color. Paint the bite in the color of the wall so the rim seems broken. Round brush.
Dandelion clock: a seed head around the pin, seeds drifting to the rimWhite on gray-green. Fine lines fan out from the pin, each ending in a small star; a few float free. Liner brush.
Eight-point barn star in two colors, four of its points on 12, 3, 6 and 9Barn red, cream, navy. The other four points fall halfway between; rule it in pencil first. Tape.
Looking up through treetops: trunks lean in from the rim, sky around the pinBrowns, greens, pale blue. Six or seven trunks narrow toward the center; leaves dabbed between them. Sponge.
Low hills along the bottom, a sun painted around the pinGreens, yellow, pale blue. Three overlapping hills fill the lowest third; a yellow disc sits at the center. Flat brush.
Painted planks: boards across the face in chalky white, the edges rubbed bareWhite, gray. Thin dark lines divide the face into five boards; drag a nearly dry brush along each. Dry brush.
Ringed planet filling the face, its ring crossing at a slantNavy, ochre, cream. Soft level bands; the ring passes in front below the pin and behind above it. Flat brush.
Road around the rim with a start line at 12 and three small carsGray, white, green, brights. A gray band two fingers wide; white dashes along it; grass in the middle. Flat brush.
Rooster in silhouette under the pin on a barn-red faceBarn red, black, cream. The bird stands on a strip of grass between 5 and 7; cream numerals if wanted. Round brush.
Ship's wheel: eight spokes with handles reaching the rimBrowns, gold. A wooden ring halfway out; spokes cross it at 12, 3, 6, 9 and between; a gold hub. Flat brush.
Starry face: white speckles on navy, one larger star at each hourNavy, white. Flick thinned white from a stiff brush, then paint twelve four-point stars at the hours. Toothbrush.
Simple 12
A short word of your own in small capitals under the pinOne dark on a pale face. Letters a finger tall, centered halfway between the pin and 6. Stencil.
A single dot at 12 on a plain faceTwo colors. One dot the size of a coin a finger in from the rim, straight above the pin. Sponge dauber.
Bare face with the minute hand in red and the hour hand in blueTwo colors. Nothing on the face at all; two thin coats on each hand. Small flat brush.
Four dots, at 12, 3, 6 and 9, and nothing elseTwo colors. Dots the size of a coin, a finger in from the rim. Sponge dauber.
Level stripes straight across, ignoring the dialTwo colors. Equal stripes from rim to rim, one of them passing through the pin. Tape.
One solid color with hands in a strong contrast and no marks at allTwo colors. Roll the whole face; paint both hands in the second color. Foam roller.
One thin wash of color so the grain shows throughOne color thinned with water. Brush with the grain and wipe back with a cloth. For a wooden round. Wide brush.
Painted shadow: a soft gray crescent inside the lower rimGray, white. A crescent widest at 5 that fades out by 2 and by 8, as if the face were a shallow dish. Sponge.
Quarter wedge from 12 to 3 painted, the rest left plainOne bright. Two strips of tape from the pin, one to 12 and one to 3; fill between them. Tape.
Rim of small triangles pointing inward, like buntingThree colors. Triangles side by side with their bases on the rim, the colors taking turns. Small flat brush.
Sponge-dabbed clouds on pale bluePale blue, white. Five or six clouds of different sizes; paint both hands white. Sponge.
Two thin lines crossing at the pin, from 12 to 6 and from 9 to 3One dark on a pale face. Ruled lines that stop a finger short of the rim. Liner brush.
How it works
Here the clock itself gets painted: a blank wall clock, or a wooden round fitted with a clock movement. A dial has twelve evenly spaced hour points and two hands turning on a center pin. These 60 faces are built on both.
Read the full guide
Twelve points and two hands
With 12 at the top, anything that comes in twelves fits the dial: a sunflower whose twelve petals are the hours, or twelve balloons at the hours with every string gathered at the pin. The hands can join in: on the dinner plate they are a knife and a fork.
Painted wall clock ideas without numerals
Twelve short dashes with a double dash at 12 show which way is up, and only 12, 3, 6 and 9, each so large the rim crops it, give four anchors. The short hand tells the hour, so paint it to stand out.
Questions and answers
What paint do you use on a clock face?
We do not test paints. The label on yours says which materials it grips, so check it against what your clock face is made of. Paint before the hands go on, and keep the center hole clear for the movement.
Which clock painting ideas are simple?
Start with the Simple group. A single dot at 12 on a plain face is one dab, and the quarter wedge from 12 to 3 is two strips of tape with the rest left plain.
Do painted clock ideas need all twelve numbers?
No. Numerals are often replaced with plain marks, and a bare face is read from the hands' angles. Twelve designs are numerals and marks, from Roman numerals in gold on a black face to Sixty dots in a ring, every fifth one larger.
Can the hands be part of the design?
Yes, a whole group is built on them. On the rabbit, whose face sits below the pin, the hands are ears that perk and droop through the day, and on the rowboat seen from above they are two oars that row.