Oil lantern set on the porch steps at nightfallBlack, warm yellow, grey, violet. Glow the glass yellow first, then cage it in black lines.
Old red pickup with hay bales and a dog in the bedRed, straw yellow, cream, grey. Draw the truck from two boxes and two circles. The dog is a head over the side.
Goat balanced on a hay bale, ears out sidewaysWhite, grey, straw yellow, blue. The bale is a rectangle scored with yellow lines. Stand the goat dead centre.
Barn and silo as a black silhouette on a sunsetOrange, pink, yellow, black. Blend the sky in bands, let it dry, then fill the silhouette in one coat.
Barn door half open with hay stacked insideBarn red, straw yellow, umber, black. Paint the dark doorway first, then the gold bales peeking out of it.
Barn with a cupola and a weather vane on the ridgeBarn red, white, grey, sky blue. Paint the vane last with a liner brush, its arrow no longer than a fingernail.
Chicken coop with a ramp and a row of nest boxesCream, barn red, ochre, green. Keep the coop to a box and a triangle and add the ramp as one slanted stroke.
Covered bridge from the road, a bright square of daylight insideBarn red, umber, gold, pale blue. Paint the dark mouth of the bridge first and leave a small bright square inside it.
Farm lane to a farmhouse between two rows of treesGreens, ochre, cream, pale blue. Narrow the lane to a point at the porch so the eye walks up it.
Farmhouse under stars, a single lamp in the kitchenNavy, black, warm yellow, white. Paint everything dark first. The one yellow window goes on last.
Gambrel barn at noon with pale doors and window framesBarn red, white, sky blue, ochre. Block the barn as one flat red shape, then rule the trim with a flat brush.
Grain elevator beside a rail line on the plainGrey, white, ochre, pale blue. Put the horizon low so the tall elevator stands against open sky.
Grey barn gone silver with age, its door ajarGrey, umber, white, dull green. Drag a nearly dry brush down the boards so the canvas shows through as wear.
Old barn through morning fogGrey, white, dull blue, umber. Mix the barn a little darker than the fog and soften its edges with a damp brush.
Snow on a red barn roof beside a bare treeBarn red, white, blue grey, umber. Leave the roof until last and lay the snow on thick with a palette knife.
Three grain bins with cone lids in a rowSilver grey, white, blue, green. Each bin is a rectangle with a triangle lid, lighter on the sunny side.
White farmhouse at dusk, lamps on along the porchWhite, lilac grey, peach, sap green. Paint the house pale grey first, then light only the windows peach.
Farm animals 15
Barn cat curled on a feed sack by the doorGinger, cream, tan, umber. Paint the sack as a pale pillow shape, then curl the cat on it like a comma.
Barred Plymouth Rock hen on a fence railBlack, white, red, grey. Paint her grey, then stripe short black and white bars with a small flat brush.
Border collie circling wide behind the flockBlack, white, green, cream. Black body first, then the white blaze, chest and tail tip.
Donkey with tall ears behind a wire fenceGrey, cream, umber, green. Exaggerate the ears and keep the fence to two thin lines across the chest.
Duck leading ducklings across a farm trackWhite, yellow, orange, ochre, green. Line them up big to small. Each duckling is a dot and a smaller dot.
Goat balanced on a hay bale, ears out sidewaysWhite, grey, straw yellow, blue. The bale is a rectangle scored with yellow lines. Stand the goat dead centre.
Hereford calf with a white faceRust red, white, pink, green. Keep the body one red shape. The white face and chest go over it when dry.
Holstein cow with black patches, chewingWhite, black, pink, sap green. Paint the whole cow white first, then drop the black patches on top.
Horse with its head over a five-bar gateChestnut, cream, grey, green. Paint the gate bars last so they cross in front of the horse's chest.
Owl looking out of the hayloft door at duskCream, gold, umber, black. Paint the dark square of the loft first. The pale face goes on top.
Pink pig dozing on a bed of hayPink, peach, straw yellow, umber. Build the pig from one bean shape and flick hay over its edge.
Red hen scratching in the yard, chicks at her feetRust red, ochre, yellow, cream. One teardrop for the hen, three yellow dots with beaks for the chicks.
Rooster on a fence post against a pink sunrisePink, orange, black, red. Blend the sky, then paint rooster and post as one black shape with a red comb.
Shaggy Highland cow with wide horns in tall grassRust, ochre, cream, pink, umber. Paint the face flat, then pull the coat down over it with a fan brush.
Three woolly sheep walking away up a laneCream, grey, black, green. Dab each fleece with the end of a round brush and add two black legs.
Fields and back roads 15
Back road under a tunnel of turning leavesOrange, gold, red, umber, grey. Sponge the canopy first, then paint the road and trunks under it.
Corn rows meeting at the horizonGreens, yellow, blue, white. Paint the rows as green stripes fanning out from one point low in the sky.
Creek through a pasture with one willowBlue, greens, white, ochre. Let the creek snake in an S and trail the willow in downward strokes.
Dark fence posts stepping away into a sunsetOrange, yellow, violet, black. Shrink the posts as they go back. Three are enough to show distance.
Dark sky over farmland with one sunlit stripSlate grey, white, bright green, yellow. Keep the sky dark and paint one band of lit grass under it.
Dirt road between two wheat fieldsOchre, gold, cream, blue. Start the road wide at the bottom edge and close it to nothing at the horizon.
Fireflies over a hayfield at duskNavy, deep green, yellow, white. Dot the fireflies with a cotton bud and halo each with thin yellow.
Hay rolls casting long shadows on a mown fieldGold, orange, pink, olive, violet. Each roll is an oval end on a short drum, with a long violet shadow.
Mailbox on a post at the end of a laneSilver grey, red, green, ochre. One loaf-shaped box, one post, one red flag standing up.
Pumpkins on the vine with one barrow-load pickedOrange, green, umber, grey. Heap orange ovals in the barrow and scatter a few more among curling vines.
Queen Anne's lace beside a gravel roadWhite, pale green, grey, ochre. Print each flat flower head with a scrunched tissue dipped in white.
Quilt of fields under one drifting cloud shadowGreens, gold, umber, grey. Divide the land with dark hedge lines, fill each field, then glaze one grey patch.
Scarecrow in a cornfield, hat tipped by the windBlue, straw yellow, umber, black. Cross two sticks, hang a shirt on them and tilt the hat off centre.
Sunflowers along a fence, tallest in the middleYellow, umber, green, sky blue. Stamp the centres with a bottle cap, then pull petals out with a round brush.
Zigzag split-rail fence with black-eyed SusansGrey, yellow, umber, green. Zigzag the rails, then dot yellow flowers with dark centres along the foot.
Trucks, tractors and windmills 14
Combine harvester cutting wheat with dust behind itRed, gold, cream, grey. Smudge the dust cloud with a dry brush while the gold field is still damp.
Faded blue pickup under a shade treeFaded blue, rust, cream, greens. Paint the tree shadow across the roof and hood in a darker blue.
Farm windmill dark against an orange prairie skyOrange, yellow, purple, black. Low horizon, tall tower. The wheel sits against the brightest part of the sky.
Farm windmill with a wheel of blades over a water tankGrey, white, sky blue, ochre. Paint the tower as a tall A and the wheel as a circle cut into wedges.
Hay wagon stacked high behind a tractorRed, straw yellow, umber, green. Stack the bales like bricks, each one a rectangle with two string lines.
Milk cans on the back of a flatbed truckSilver grey, cream, faded green, umber. Line up three cans and give each a white stripe of shine.
Old red pickup with hay bales and a dog in the bedRed, straw yellow, cream, grey. Draw the truck from two boxes and two circles. The dog is a head over the side.
Old wagon wheel leaning on a barn wallUmber, grey, barn red, ochre. Draw the rim round a plate, then cross it with spokes like a clock face.
Red tractor side-on, big wheel behind and small in frontRed, black, grey, ochre. Start with the two wheels as circles. The body sits on the line between them.
Rusty truck in a meadow, flowers up through the hoodRust, teal, yellow, pink, green. Stipple the rust with a sponge, then dot flowers where the engine was.
Tractor from the front, two round headlamps and a grilleRed, black, grey, yellow. A tall box between two big tyres. Headlamps are two yellow circles above the grille.
Tractor ploughing at dusk, drawn as one dark shapeOrange, pink, violet, black. Blend the sky first. The tractor and furrows are flat black.
Truck headlights on a dirt road at nightNavy, black, yellow, white, ochre. Two yellow cones of light fan across the road from two white dots.
Windmill reflected in a stock pondBlues, grey, white, olive. Paint it once upright, then again upside down and broken by ripples.
Porch and kitchen 14
Basket of brown and white eggs on a tableCream, tan, umber, straw yellow. Each egg is an oval with one soft highlight. Weave the basket in short strokes.
Cast iron skillet of cornbread with one wedge cutBlack, gold, cream, red. Paint the black circle, the gold round inside it and the gap where the wedge was.
Enamel jug of daisies on a checked clothWhite, navy, yellow, red. Rule the cloth's checks, then stand the white jug with its dark rim on them.
Gingham curtains round a kitchen window with herb potsRed, white, green, terracotta. Stripe the curtain both ways in thinned red so the crossings read darker.
Glass jar of wildflowers on a porch railBlues, yellow, pink, white, green. Leave a stripe of white down the jar for the shine on the glass.
Lattice pie on a wire rack beside a rolling pinGolden brown, cream, red, grey. Lattice the crust with cream strips and add three curls of steam.
Oil lantern set on the porch steps at nightfallBlack, warm yellow, grey, violet. Glow the glass yellow first, then cage it in black lines.
Pair of work boots used as flower pots on a stepUmber, tan, pink, yellow, green. Paint both boots first, then fill their tops with dabbed blooms.
Pantry shelf of jam jars with cloth lidsReds, ambers, cream, umber. Paint each jar a different jam colour and cap it with a checked cloth circle.
Patchwork quilt pegged out to air between two postsReds, blues, cream, sky blue. Grid the quilt in pencil, then fill the squares in a pattern of three colours.
Porch swing with striped cushionsWhite, navy, cream, green. Hang the swing from two chains and stripe the cushions with a flat brush.
Screen door with a wreath, seen from the yardWhite, green, red, grey. Paint the door frame, then cross-hatch the screen thinly in grey.
Sunflowers in a milk can beside the doorYellow, umber, silver grey, green. Paint the can first. The stems cross over its lip.
Watering can and seed packets on a potting benchGrey green, cream, umber, pink. Shape the can from an oval, a spout and a looped handle.
How it works
A gambrel roof has two slopes on each side, shallow above and steep below, so a barn reads as a barn from one flat shape. These canvases are farm scenes and porch still lifes, each with its palette.
Read the full guide
Start with the big shape
Most of these scenes are one large shape against a sky. Block the barn, the cow or the truck in a single flat colour, let it dry, then add trim, patches or rust on top. Acrylic is fast-drying and water-resistant once dry, so a dry layer stays put under the next.
Which ones are easy
The Subject dropdown under the button sorts the list into barns, animals, fields, machines and the porch. Under it, More filters opens Level, which holds the easy ones: a silhouette, a few bands of sky or one repeated mark. Dark fence posts stepping away into a sunset needs a blended sky and three posts.
Try the horizon a third of the way up for a sky scene, two thirds up for a field. Dead centre halves the canvas.
Thin the paint with a little water for skies and dust, and use it thick for fur, hay and rust.
A farm windmill is a many-bladed wheel on an open tower. Paint the wheel as a circle first and cut the wedges in after.
Questions and answers
What is an easy country scene to paint first?
Try Barn and silo as a black silhouette on a sunset or Dirt road between two wheat fields. Each is a blended sky and one flat shape, with no detail smaller than the brush.
Which colours do farm scenes need?
A barn red, an ochre or straw yellow, a sap green, sky blue, white and a dark brown cover most of the list. Each idea names its own palette, so shop for the one you picked.
How do I paint a Highland cow?
The breed has a long shaggy coat and long horns. For Shaggy Highland cow with wide horns in tall grass, paint the face shape flat, let it dry, then pull the coat down over it in a lighter mix.