• 60 ideas
  • Checked October 2026

Hippie Painting Ideas

Three ideas, each a hippie canvas with its colors and the step that makes the look.

Hippie Painting Ideas

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  1. Tape-resist peace sign under a three-band sunset blendYellow, orange, magenta. Tape the sign first, blend the bands over it and peel to leave bare lines.
  2. Oversized daisy whose yellow center holds a peace signWhite, golden yellow, turquoise. Pull each petal outward in one stroke; line the sign last in white.
  3. Rising sun behind rolling hills in five flat bandsYellow, orange, pink, green, teal. Each hill is one flat wavy band; the rays fan to the corners.

Next step More flowers to paint, by techniqueSunset skies to paint

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Peace signs and flowers 12

  • Five flat poster flowers tied with a peace-sign tag Pink, orange, yellow, green, cream. Paint each bloom as a disc with round petals; hang the tag low.
  • Flat orange V-sign hand on wavy rainbow bands Orange, red, yellow, green, blue. Paint the bands edge to edge, then the hand as one flat shape.
  • Olive branch laid across a peace sign in two greens Cream, olive, sage, brown. Paint the sign pale, then pull paired leaves along one curving stem.
  • Oversized daisy whose yellow center holds a peace sign White, golden yellow, turquoise. Pull each petal outward in one stroke; line the sign last in white.
  • Palette-knife dove above a border of poster flowers White, sky blue, pink, orange. Lay the dove in three knife strokes; stamp round flowers along the foot.
  • Peace sign built from dabbed marigold heads on teal Teal, orange, gold. Pencil the sign, then dab ruffled orange heads along every line.
  • Peace sign with a dabbed flower field in each gap Orange, pink, leaf green, white. Dab one flower color into each gap and leave the bars white.
  • Row of round flower-power blooms in flat poster colors Hot pink, orange, yellow, lime. One disc and six round petals each, no shading, on a cream ground.
  • Sponge-stamped blooms circling a blue and green globe Blue, green, pink, yellow. Paint the globe flat, then stamp a ring of blooms with a cut sponge.
  • Sunflower and peace sign sharing a denim-blue canvas Denim blue, yellow, brown, white. Drybrush the blue so it looks worn; paint the two as equal circles.
  • Tape-resist peace sign under a three-band sunset blend Yellow, orange, magenta. Tape the sign first, blend the bands over it and peel to leave bare lines.
  • White peace sign ringed with brush-pressed daisies Sky blue, white, yellow. Paint the sign on blue, then press five petals at a time around its rim.

Suns, moons and mushrooms 12

  • Full moon with a daisy chain painted around it Navy, cream, yellow, white. Sponge the moon pale, then press daisies around it in a loose ring.
  • Half sun on the bottom edge with cotton-swab dotted rays Mustard, orange, cream. Paint a half circle on the edge and dot each ray outward in a line.
  • Red toadstool with cotton-swab spots on moss green Red, white, cream, moss green. Paint the cap as a half circle and dot the spots with a cotton swab.
  • Ring of small toadstools on a hill under a rainbow arc Red, cream, green, rainbow colors. Paint the arc with a wide flat brush; dot the small caps below.
  • Rising sun behind rolling hills in five flat bands Yellow, orange, pink, green, teal. Each hill is one flat wavy band; the rays fan to the corners.
  • Smiling sun in a daisy crown on a turquoise ground Turquoise, yellow, orange, white. Paint the sun flat, give it a simple smile and press white daisies along its top.
  • Spiral sun: one coiled stroke with short dashes for rays Indigo, gold, orange. Coil the sun from its center in one stroke on indigo, then dash the rays around it.
  • Sun face with flame-shaped rays, each a warmer orange Yellow, gold, orange, rust. Paint the face flat, then one flame-shaped ray at a time from pale to dark.
  • Sun sinking into wavy water, its reflection in dashes Orange, yellow, turquoise, white. Blend the sky, then lay short orange dashes down the water.
  • Sunburst filling the canvas, rays in rainbow order Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet. Rule the rays from one center and fill them in order.
  • Three toadstools of three heights under a patterned moon Rust, mustard, cream, navy. Stack the caps tall, middle, short; fill the moon with dots and rings.
  • Toadstool house with a round door and a flower chimney Red, cream, brown, green. Paint the cap roof first; add the door and the dots once it is dry.

Vans, tents and road trips 12

  • Camp pennants in four patterns strung from pine to pine Dark green, red, yellow, blue, white. Paint the line as one sagging stroke; hang a triangle every inch.
  • Guitar leaning on a van door painted with a sunburst Orange, yellow, brown, cream. Rule the sunburst rays on the door first; the guitar overlaps them.
  • Looping hill road ending at a striped sunrise Green, lime, gray, yellow, orange. Lay the hills back to front; the road narrows as it loops upward.
  • Open van doors framing a beach, striped curtains tied back Turquoise, sand, white, coral. Paint the beach first; the doors and curtains go on as a dark frame.
  • Painted route map: dotted line joining sun, sea and pines Cream, teal, orange, green. Paint three small landmarks, then join them with cotton-swab dots.
  • Rear window crowded with painted travel stickers Gray, red, yellow, teal, white. Block the window gray, then fill it with small round and oval patches.
  • Roof rack piled with a guitar, a bedroll and flower crates Sky blue, tan, red, green. Paint the van roof as one band and stack the load as flat overlapping shapes.
  • Side-on turquoise van with daisies stamped on its panels Turquoise, white, yellow, gray. Block the van in two flat colors; stamp daisies with a round sponge.
  • Tambourine and sandals on a striped picnic blanket Red, mustard, cream, brown. Paint the stripes with a flat brush; the objects sit on top once dry.
  • Tent with a patchwork door flap in a wildflower field Cream, rust, mustard, green, pink. Paint the tent as a triangle; fill the flap with small flat squares.
  • Van from behind on a desert road toward a huge sun Orange, rust, mustard, teal. Paint the road as a narrowing band and the sun as a half disc ahead.
  • Van outline on a hilltop against a blended sunset Yellow, orange, pink, black. Blend the sky wet, let it dry, then paint the hill and van flat black.

Swirls and tie-dye color 12

  • Crumple-look tie-dye sponged in turquoise and violet Turquoise, violet, white. Dab the two colors with a damp sponge, leaving ragged white veins between.
  • Folded-stripe tie-dye: bands with soft bleeding edges Red, orange, yellow, white. Paint wide bands and mist the joins with water so each edge creeps.
  • Heart-shaped tie-dye burst in pink, orange and yellow Pink, orange, yellow, white. Paint heart outlines one inside the next and blur each into its neighbor.
  • Marbled swirl combed through wet paint with a card edge Navy, turquoise, white, gold. Pour three stripes, then drag a notched card through them in an S.
  • Paisley teardrops in knife-thick paint with dotted rims Rust, mustard, teal, cream. Press each teardrop with a palette knife; dot the rims with a cotton swab.
  • Rainbow coil painted as one long unbroken stroke Red, yellow, blue, white. Load a wide brush with three colors side by side and turn it in a slow coil.
  • Ribbons of color flowing corner to corner, edges blended Teal, lime, yellow, orange, pink. Paint five wavy ribbons side by side and soften every join while wet.
  • Sunburst tie-dye: wedges of color bleeding at the seams Purple, pink, orange, yellow. Rule eight wedges from the center and blur each seam with a damp brush.
  • T-shirt shape filled with a blended tie-dye spiral White, magenta, turquoise, yellow. Mask a shirt shape with tape, coil the colors inside it and peel.
  • Tie-dye bullseye with rings feathered outward by a dry brush Blue, green, yellow, white. Paint the rings wet, then drag a dry brush from the center across them.
  • Twin tie-dye coils meeting in an S, blended at the join Magenta, turquoise, yellow, white. Coil one spiral from each end of an S and blur the place where the two touch.
  • Wet-blended spiral in magenta, orange and yellow Magenta, orange, yellow. Lay three bands in a coil and pull a damp brush through the joins while wet.

Lettering in bubble shapes 12

  • BE KIND stacked in two lines, flowers filling the gaps Coral, mustard, cream, green. Paint the letters first, then tuck round flowers into every gap.
  • DREAM in letters that melt into a wavy underline Lavender, pink, indigo. Paint the letters, then pull the foot of each one down into one wavy line.
  • GOOD DAY in bubble letters inside a wavy rainbow frame Cream, red, orange, yellow, teal. Paint the frame as four wavy bands; letter the middle in teal.
  • GROOVY in bubble letters shaded dark to light Orange, yellow, cream, brown. Fill each letter orange, then blend yellow up from its foot while wet.
  • GROW in bubble letters with a vine climbing each stroke Leaf green, cream, pink. Fill the letters cream; pull a thin vine up each one and dot pink buds.
  • HELLO in lime bubble letters on a hot pink ground Hot pink, lime, white. Paint the ground pink edge to edge; the letters go on in two coats of lime.
  • One giant bubble letter filled with tiny painted daisies Orange, white, yellow. Fill your initial flat orange and dot daisies over it with a small round brush.
  • PEACE in fat bubble letters, each a different bright color Pink, orange, yellow, green, blue. Pencil five round letters, fill each flat and outline in white.
  • SMILE arched like a rainbow in five bubble letters Red, orange, yellow, green, blue. Pencil an arch, sit one letter on it per color and fill them flat.
  • SUNNY in bubble letters with rays behind every letter Yellow, orange, sky blue. Paint the sky and the orange rays first; the letters go on top in flat yellow.
  • WANDER in bubble letters along a winding road line Gray, yellow, green, cream. Paint the road as an S and stand one letter on each bend.
  • Your name in bubble letters over a tie-dye blend Magenta, yellow, turquoise, white. Blend the ground and let it dry; paint the letters white on top.

How it works

Hippie style ran on bright colors, flowers and the peace symbol, and the tie-dye spiral became a sign of the 1960s and 1970s. These canvases use all of it: peace signs, suns, vans, swirls and bubble letters.

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Hippie canvas painting ideas that start with a blend

Tie-dye on cloth is made by folding, twisting or crumpling, binding and then dyeing. On canvas the same look is a wet blend. Wet-blended spiral in magenta, orange and yellow lays three bands in a coil and pulls a damp brush through the joins. Acrylic is fast-drying, so blend one join at a time.

The peace sign in paint

The peace sign dates from 1958: a circle, one line down the middle and two short arms. Tape-resist peace sign under a three-band sunset blend masks those lines with tape, blends over them and peels, so the lines stay sharp without a steady hand.

  • The easy ones are under More filters, Level.

Questions and answers

Are hippy painting ideas the same thing?

Yes. Hippy is the British spelling of hippie, so the canvases are the same: peace signs and flowers, suns and moons, vans and tents, tie-dye swirls and bubble letters.

What colors make a painting look hippie?

Bright ones side by side. Tie-dye is known for bright, saturated colors, and the palettes here lean on yellow and orange, then green and pink, with cream or white to rest the eye.

What is an easy hippie painting for a beginner?

Easy first canvases holds 22. Row of round flower-power blooms in flat poster colors is discs and round petals with no shading, and Red toadstool with cotton-swab spots on moss green is a half circle and dots.

How do you paint bubble letters on a canvas?

Pencil round letters that almost touch, fill each one flat, then outline. PEACE in fat bubble letters, each a different bright color gives every letter its own color and a white outline.

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