• 60 ideas
  • Checked October 2026

Impressionism Painting Ideas

Three ideas, each a canvas to paint in broken strokes, with its colors and what to do.

Impressionism Painting Ideas

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  1. Sun path on a lake in short horizontal dashes of orangeOrange, yellow, blue, violet. Lay the water in blue dashes, then drop orange dashes down the middle.
  2. Vegetable rows running to a far gate, strokes shrinkingGreen, brown, ochre, blue. Make the strokes large near the bottom edge and tiny by the gate.
  3. Rows of lavender as violet dashes closing toward the horizonViolet, green, ochre, pale blue. Angle the rows so they meet far away; each plant is a few dashes.

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Light on water 12

  • Beach shallows in bands of sand, aqua and violet-blue Sand, aqua, violet-blue, white. Lay three bands in short strokes and let them overlap where they meet.
  • Harbor in morning haze, masts as single upward strokes Gray-blue, peach, violet. Keep every edge soft; each mast is one thin stroke and its wobble below.
  • Lily pads as flat ovals among sky-colored strokes Green, pink, blue, lilac. Paint the pond in the colors of the sky, then float flat green ovals on it.
  • Rain puddles on a path, each one holding strokes of sky Gray, blue, ochre, white. Paint the path warm; fill each puddle with the cool colors of the sky.
  • River under a bridge, the arch mirrored in broken strokes Ochre, blue, green, white. Paint the arch solid and its reflection in separate horizontal touches.
  • Sailboats with white sails doubled as zigzags below White, blue, turquoise, cream. Paint each sail as one triangle and its reflection as a zigzag.
  • Sea sparkle: white dabs touched onto wet blue and green Blue, green, white. Brush the sea in two colors and touch thick white on top before it dries.
  • Small boat at rest, its colors repeated below in loose dabs Green, brown, white, blue. Paint the boat simply and repeat its colors below it in loose side-to-side dabs.
  • Stream over stones in dark dabs and light dabs, no outlines Blue-gray, ochre, white, green. Build each stone from a dark dab and a light dab side by side.
  • Sun path on a lake in short horizontal dashes of orange Orange, yellow, blue, violet. Lay the water in blue dashes, then drop orange dashes down the middle.
  • Swans as white commas on water dabbed in three blues White, blue, turquoise, navy. Dab the water first; each swan is one curved stroke of thick white.
  • Waterfront houses dissolving into their own reflections Cream, rust, blue, green. Paint the houses in blocks, then drag their colors down into the water.

Gardens and fields 12

  • Dappled path under trees, its shadows laid in violet patches Yellow, green, violet, cream. Paint the path pale and lay violet shadow patches across it.
  • Garden bench in shade, sun patches as pale yellow dabs Green, blue, pale yellow, brown. Paint the shade cool, then drop warm pale dabs where the sun gets in.
  • Haystack in a mown field, its shadow painted blue-violet Gold, orange, blue-violet, green. Build the stack from short warm strokes; the shadow has no black.
  • Orchard in blossom: pink and white touches over gray-green Pink, white, gray-green, blue. Paint the branches thin, then cover them in small pale touches.
  • Poppy meadow: scarlet flecks among upright grass strokes Red, green, yellow-green, blue. Fill the meadow with upright green dashes and touch red flecks among them.
  • Ripe grain in upright yellow strokes below a slanting sky Yellow, ochre, blue, white. Stroke the field upward and the sky on a slant so the two parts differ.
  • Rose arch in loose dabs, no single petal drawn Pink, crimson, green, cream. Dab pink and crimson over green in an arch shape and stop before details.
  • Rows of lavender as violet dashes closing toward the horizon Violet, green, ochre, pale blue. Angle the rows so they meet far away; each plant is a few dashes.
  • Sunflowers against a fence in thick, short strokes Yellow, orange, brown, blue. Load the brush and press each petal on as one short thick stroke.
  • Tree in full leaf made of five greens dabbed side by side Yellow-green, green, blue-green, olive, dark green. Dab the crown color by color and do not blend.
  • Two figures in sun hats, small in tall summer grass Green, yellow, white, pink. Paint the grass first; the figures are a few touches with no faces.
  • Vegetable rows running to a far gate, strokes shrinking Green, brown, ochre, blue. Make the strokes large near the bottom edge and tiny by the gate.

Streets, cafes and stations 12

  • Bridge seen from a high window, its traffic as dabs Cream, blue-gray, brown, ochre. Paint the bridge as a pale band and dot the traffic along it.
  • Cafe awning and round tables in dabs of red and cream Red, cream, green, gray. Paint the awning as stripes of dabs; each table is one cream oval.
  • Corner bakery at opening time, light spilled on the street Yellow, orange, blue, violet. Paint the street cool and spill one warm shape out of the doorway.
  • Crowd on a wide street as dark ticks under pale buildings Cream, gray, blue, brown. Paint the buildings in pale blocks and the people as small upright ticks.
  • Flags along a street as flickers of three bright colors Red, white, blue, cream. Touch the flags on in quick strokes of pure color over a pale street.
  • Flower market stalls as heaps of colored touches Pink, yellow, red, green, gray. Paint the stalls gray and heap small touches of pure color on them.
  • Park bandstand on a Sunday, the crowd as hats and dots Green, cream, red, blue. Paint the trees in dabs and the crowd as rows of small colored dots.
  • Rail bridge with a train, its smoke mixing into cloud Gray, white, blue, rust. Paint the smoke and the cloud with the same brush so they join.
  • Row of umbrellas in rain, each one a single curved stroke Gray, blue, black-brown, red. Paint the wet street in gray dashes; each umbrella is one dark arc.
  • Snowy street with blue shadows and one warm window White, blue, violet, orange. Leave the snow light, paint every shadow blue and add one orange square.
  • Train station under a glass roof filled with blue steam Blue, gray, cream, brown. Paint the roof as a dark V and fill the space under it with pale blue cloud.
  • Wet boulevard at dusk, lamps reflected as vertical streaks Blue-gray, orange, yellow, violet. Paint the road dark and pull each lamp's color straight down.

One view at three times of day 12

  • A bridge in fog, in sun and at night, one small canvas each Gray, blue, yellow, navy. Paint the fog version nearly edgeless and the night one from its lights.
  • A harbor wall in gray morning, bright noon and gold evening Gray, blue, white, gold. Keep the wall and the boats in place; only the light changes.
  • A pond at dawn, at high sun and under the last light Pink, green, blue, orange. Paint the water in the color of each sky and keep the banks the same.
  • A row of poplars in morning mist, noon glare and dusk Gray-green, yellow-green, blue, rose. Soften the trees in the mist panel and sharpen them at noon.
  • A shoreline at low sun, high sun and after sunset Gold, sand, aqua, violet. Change the color of the sand as well as the sky in each part.
  • A snowy field at dawn, noon and blue dusk Pink, white, blue, violet. The snow takes the sky's color each time: pink, then white, then blue.
  • Fruit bowl by a window in morning, noon and evening light Yellow, orange, blue, violet. Leave the bowl where it is and paint it at three hours of one day.
  • One haystack three times: pink dawn, white noon, orange dusk Pink, gold, white, orange, violet. Split the canvas in three and change only the light in each part.
  • One hill in three skies: yellow, blue and violet Yellow, blue, violet, green. Paint three small panels with the same hill and one sky color in each.
  • The same tree at sunrise, noon and sunset, side by side Peach, green, blue, orange. Keep the tree's shape fixed; change the sky and the shadow color.
  • Stone tower at morning, midday and evening on three panels Blue, cream, gold, rose. Draw the tower once, trace it twice and paint each in the colors of its hour.
  • Your street from one window: morning, noon and lamplight Blue, cream, yellow, violet. Paint from the same spot each time and let the shadows move.

Broken color studies 12

  • All-over small strokes, each warm one beside a cool one Orange, blue, pink, green. Cover a small canvas in short strokes, never two warm ones together.
  • Cast shadow mixed from blue and orange, no black used Blue, orange, white. Mix the two for a dark and paint the cast shadow of one object with it.
  • Green leaf in strokes of yellow and blue left unblended Yellow, blue. Lay the two colors in alternate strokes along the leaf and leave them alone.
  • One apple with no outline, built from touches of five colors Red, yellow, green, violet, white. Start with the shadow side and add touches until the shape appears.
  • One lemon twice: blended smooth, then in broken strokes Yellow, orange, green, violet. Paint two lemons side by side and compare them from across the room.
  • Orange made from red and yellow dabs laid side by side Red, yellow. Fill a square with small dabs of the two colors, touching but unmixed, and step back.
  • Overcast sky from red and green blended to a neutral Red, green, white. Mix red into green until it turns neutral, lighten it and paint the clouds with it.
  • Sky in three blues dabbed wet into wet with a flat brush Cobalt blue, turquoise, pale blue, white. Dab the three while all are wet so the edges soften.
  • Thick yellow sun pressed into a still-wet pink sky Yellow, pink, orange, white. Brush the sky, then press thick yellow strokes into it without waiting.
  • Tree trunk with no brown: violet, orange and green strokes Violet, orange, green. Stroke the trunk in the three colors side by side, top to bottom.
  • White cloth in sunlight: find its blues, pinks and yellows White, pale blue, pink, pale yellow. Paint the folds in pale colors and save pure white for the top.
  • White paper boat on a white table, shadows blue and violet White, pale blue, violet, cream. Paint only the shadows; the bare ground is the boat and the table.

How it works

Impressionism is visible brush strokes, ordinary subjects and light as it changes. These canvases follow that: water, gardens, streets, one view at three times of day, and studies in broken color.

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Short strokes, side by side

The Impressionists used short broken strokes and laid colors side by side and barely mixed. Orange made from red and yellow dabs laid side by side tests that on one square. Tree in full leaf made of five greens dabbed side by side does the same on a subject.

Darks without black

Grays and darks came from mixing complementary colors, and shadows outdoors were painted with the blue of the sky. Cast shadow mixed from blue and orange, no black used and Haystack in a mown field, its shadow painted blue-violet both practice that.

  • The easy ones are under More filters, Level.

Questions and answers

Can impressionist painting ideas be done in acrylic?

Yes, with speed. The Impressionists placed wet paint into wet paint, and acrylic is fast-drying, so work one small area at a time. Sea sparkle: white dabs touched onto wet blue and green is a canvas to try it on.

What did the Impressionists paint?

Ordinary life, often outdoors: water, gardens, fields, streets, cafes and train stations. The groups here follow those subjects, and none of the canvases copies a known painting.

Why paint one view at three times of day?

Because the light is the subject. Impressionism puts its weight on light in its changing qualities, so One haystack three times: pink dawn, white noon, orange dusk keeps the stack and changes only the colors.

What is an easy Impressionist painting for a beginner?

Easy first canvases holds 19. Poppy meadow: scarlet flecks among upright grass strokes is dashes and flecks, and Beach shallows in bands of sand, aqua and violet-blue is three bands of short strokes.

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