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Easy Long Canvas Painting Ideas for a Tall or a Wide Canvas

Three designs for one long, narrow canvas, each with its colours and which way the canvas hangs.

Easy Long Canvas Painting Ideas for a Tall or a Wide Canvas

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  1. Bunting flags strung along the long edgeFive colours, white. Triangles hang from one sagging line. Flat brush, one stroke down each side.
  2. Bamboo stalks with a gap at every jointGreens, yellow, cream. Three stalks from end to end. Press a flat brush, lift, and leave a gap at each joint.
  3. One fork of lightning running the whole lengthNavy, violet, white, yellow. One jagged line the full length, with a thinner branch off each bend.

Next step Sketch trees and falls in pencil firstFind an easy painting for any canvas

All 60 ideas

Hung tall 12

  • Balloons drifting up from a hand at the foot of the canvas Five bright colours, white, grey. Biggest balloon at the top end. Strings in paint pen.
  • Bamboo stalks with a gap at every joint Greens, yellow, cream. Three stalks from end to end. Press a flat brush, lift, and leave a gap at each joint.
  • Cairn of seven stones, largest at the foot Greys, cream, ochre, pale blue. One stone above another up the centre. Round brush, a soft shadow under each.
  • Climber on a rock face, rope trailing to the foot Greys, ochre, red, blue. Cliff fills the canvas. Climber two thirds up, rope a single line down to the base.
  • Giraffe from the knees up, head touching the top edge Ochre, umber, cream, sky blue. Neck up the centre line, ears at the top end. Patches with a flat brush.
  • Heron among reeds, neck folded into an S Blue grey, white, ochre, olive. Legs in the bottom third, bill near the top end. Round brush.
  • Hollyhock spire with the top buds still shut Pinks, green, yellow, sky blue. Open flowers low down, buds near the top end, one stem on the centre line.
  • Kite at the top end, tail zigzagging to the bottom Sky blue, red, yellow, white. Diamond in the top fifth, bows spaced down the string. Paint pen for the line.
  • Lighthouse with its lamp at the top end and surf at the foot White, red, navy, yellow. Tower up the middle, rock in the bottom sixth. Liner brush for the rail.
  • Lone pine under a full moon, trunk on the centre line Navy, dark green, white, yellow. Tap branches downward with a fan brush, widest at the base. Moon near the top.
  • Three birch trunks cropped at both ends White, black, grey, pale green. Trunks run off the top and bottom. Scrape the bark marks with a card edge.
  • Waterfall dropping the full height into mist Blues, white, grey, dark green. Fall down the middle third. Drag white downwards with a dry flat brush.

Hung wide 12

  • Beach huts along a promenade, doors in six brights Six brights, white, sand, sky blue. Huts fill the middle band from end to end. Flat brush for stripes.
  • Breaking wave curling from the left end to the right Teal, navy, white, sand. Crest starts high at one end and rolls down to the other. Fan brush for spray.
  • Crocodile from snout to tail tip Greens, cream, yellow, black. Snout at one end, tail tip at the other. Triangles down the back with a flat brush.
  • Dachshund stretched nose to tail Chestnut, umber, black, cream. Body takes four fifths of the width, short legs near each end. Round brush.
  • Fox at full gallop, stretched from end to end Rust, white, black, pale green. Legs reach toward both ends, tail level with the back. Round brush.
  • Geese strung out across a sunset, the leader at one end Peach, orange, grey, black. Sun near the right end. Nine geese as ticks, largest nearest. Liner brush.
  • Laundry pegged out across the whole width Sky blue, white, red, yellow, green. Line sags from end to end, one garment per hand-width. Round brush.
  • Mountain range from one end to the other, far peaks palest Blues, violet, white, grey. Peaks along the top third, the farthest range palest. Palette knife for snow.
  • Paintbrush lying the full width, bristles loaded at one end Tan, silver, black, one bright colour. Handle from the left end, metal band two thirds along. Flat brush.
  • Poplars in a line beside a lane, shrinking to one end Greens, ochre, sky blue. Seven tall flames evenly spaced, shrinking toward one end. Flat brush on its edge.
  • Skyline of rooftops and water towers against a dusk sky Violet, peach, black, yellow. Roofs step up and down along the middle. A few windows dotted with a cotton bud.
  • Steam train crossing a viaduct of arches Grey, red, cream, greens. Arches repeat along the bottom half. Engine a third in from the left end.

Top to bottom 12

  • Diver sinking toward a coral reef Blues, coral pink, yellow, black. Light at the top, dark at the bottom. Diver a small shape a third down.
  • Garden cut through: flowers above, bulbs and a worm below Greens, pinks, umber, ochre. Soil line halfway down. Bulbs and one worm drawn under it. Round brush.
  • Kelp forest rising from the seabed to a sunlit surface Olive, teal, navy, lemon. Light at the top, dark at the foot. Wavy stalks the full height, one fish halfway.
  • Mountain top to river mouth: snow, forest, fields, sea White, greys, greens, gold, blue. One stream runs down the middle from the top band to the bottom.
  • Noon sky at the top end sinking into midnight Yellow, orange, pink, violet, navy. Blend five bands downwards while wet. Stars only in the last.
  • One tree in full: canopy, trunk and what grows underground Greens, umber, ochre, dark brown. Ground line two thirds down. Roots mirror the branches below it.
  • Parachutist under a canopy, the landing field far below Red, white, sky blue, greens. Canopy in the top third, lines down to a small figure, fields in the bottom fifth.
  • Rope ladder hanging from a cloud down to the grass Blues, white, tan, green. Two tan lines the full height, rungs a brush-width apart. Sponge the cloud.
  • Sky above, open water in the middle, seabed at the foot Pale blue, teal, navy, sand. Thirds from the top. One fish in the middle band, one shell at the bottom.
  • Space, clouds, mountain, forest and lake in five layers Navy, white, grey, green, blue. Five layers of equal depth. Mask each edge with a torn strip of paper.
  • Tree house with a room on every level and a rope ladder between Umber, greens, yellow, red. Trunk up the centre, three platforms spaced along it, one lit window on each.
  • Volcano cut through, from crater down to magma Greys, red, orange, umber. Cone in the top half. A red vent runs down to a chamber at the bottom end.

Bands and blends 12

  • A single colour paling to white along the length One colour, white. Full strength at one end, more white every hand-width. Wide flat brush.
  • Chevrons marching from one end to the other Two colours, white. V shapes point along the length. Keep the gap between them one brush wide.
  • Colour wheel unrolled into a strip of a dozen blocks Twelve mixed colours. Equal blocks from yellow round to yellow-green. Mix each from its two neighbours.
  • Five colours dripping down from the upper edge Five colours on a white ground. Thin each with water and let it run from the top edge of an upright canvas.
  • Five ridges in one colour, lightest at the far end One colour, white, black. Each ridge a step darker and a step lower on the canvas. Flat brush.
  • Rainbow stripes across the short way Seven colours. Stripes of equal width all along the length. Steady the flat brush on your little finger.
  • Sea-glass stripes in greens and blues Mint, teal, aqua, navy, white. Uneven stripes down the length. Dry-brush white over the joins.
  • Slanted stripes, the longest joining opposite corners Three colours. Rule the longest stripe first and keep the rest parallel to it. Flat brush.
  • Sunset bands that widen toward the bottom Yellow, orange, pink, violet. Narrow bands near the top, wide at the base. Blend the edges with a damp brush.
  • Tartan of three wide bands crossed by thin lines Red, navy, green, yellow. Wide bands along the length, thin lines across. Let each layer dry first.
  • Wavy lines flowing end to end, never crossing Blues, white, sand. Six waves follow the first one's curve. Liner brush or paint pen.
  • Wet blend of three colours along the length Three neighbours on the colour wheel. Lay them in thirds and stroke across the joins while wet. Wide flat brush.

Easy 12

  • Bubbles rising, small to large Aqua, white, navy. Rings printed with three sizes of lid. A white tick of shine on each.
  • Bunting flags strung along the long edge Five colours, white. Triangles hang from one sagging line. Flat brush, one stroke down each side.
  • Cacti lined up along the base, no two the same shape Greens, terracotta, pink, cream. Five pots evenly spaced on one ground line. Round brush.
  • Dots growing from pinpoints to coins along the length Two colours. Cotton bud at one end, bottle cap at the other. Print the sizes in between.
  • Footprints walking from one end to the other One colour on a pale ground. Left and right prints alternate along the length. Stamp with a cut sponge.
  • Leaf prints down both sides of a painted stem Greens, white. Paint the back of a real leaf, press it down, and repeat either side of one long stem.
  • Lit bulbs on a wire that dips and rises along the length Navy, black, five brights, white. A teardrop bulb at each dip of the wire. Cotton bud for the glow.
  • One fork of lightning running the whole length Navy, violet, white, yellow. One jagged line the full length, with a thinner branch off each bend.
  • Row of hearts, each a shade lighter Red, white. Mix a little more white for each heart. Seven fill the length. Round brush.
  • Seven moons in a row, crescent to full and back Navy, white, grey. Full moon in the middle, crescents at the ends. Trace one lid for all seven.
  • Snail trail looping from one end to the other Greens, silver grey, tan. One wandering silver line the full length, with a small snail at its far end.
  • Your name in capitals, spaced to fill the whole length Two colours. Pencil equal boxes first so the last letter is not squeezed. Flat brush.

How it works

A long canvas is far taller than it is wide, or far wider than tall, so a square subject leaves both ends empty. Every design here is long or tall by nature and says where things sit along the length.

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Choose the way it hangs first

Decide the direction before you sketch. Hung tall holds things that climb: Three birch trunks cropped at both ends, a lighthouse, a heron. Hung wide holds things that travel: a wave, a train, Geese strung out across a sunset, the leader at one end. Top to bottom stacks one scene in bands, sky first.

Fill both ends

Tick the long edge into thirds in light pencil and put something in each third. A subject that touches both ends, or runs off them, uses the shape. Acrylic is fast-drying, so one band can be dry before the next overlaps its edge.

  • Bands and blends needs no drawing: A single colour paling to white along the length is one brush and two pots of paint.
  • Stand back after each third. On a long canvas it is easy to finish one end before the other has begun.
  • On an unframed canvas, carry the colour round the long edges so the picture does not stop at the corner.

Questions and answers

What can I paint on a long, skinny canvas?

Something long or tall by nature. Try Giraffe from the knees up, head touching the top edge on a canvas hung tall, or Beach huts along a promenade, doors in six brights on one hung wide.

Should a long canvas hang tall or wide?

Either. Hung tall and Top to bottom are written for an upright canvas, Hung wide for one on its side. Most of Bands and blends, and the plain Easy designs, read the same both ways.

Which design is the easiest?

Start with Dots growing from pinpoints to coins along the length: two colours, a cotton bud and a bottle cap. Wet blend of three colours along the length comes next, with one flat brush and no drawing.

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