Cattails growing up from the tip, one dragonfly above themGreens, brown, pale blue. Long leaves fan out from the tip; brown heads at different heights. Liner brush.
Name on a painted ribbon that curls under the lettersColor B, white, a darker B. The ribbon folds back at both ends; the name follows its curve. Liner brush.
Handle painted to match the tip, bare wood betweenOne color. The same color on the handle and the end of the blade; nothing on the shaft. Tape.
Blade split on a slant, color A above and color B below, letters over the joinColor A, color B, white. One strip of tape from edge to edge; white letters sit across the line. Tape.
Border of small flowers around the blade, letters in the middleColor A, color B, green. Five-petal flowers a thumb apart follow the edge; the letters stay on plain color. Swab.
Checkered handle in your two colors, a plain blade for the lettersColor A, color B. Squares a thumb wide wrap the handle and stop where the blade begins. Small flat brush.
Each letter on a diamond of its own, points touching down the bladeColor A, color B, white. Three diamonds on the centerline, colors in turn; a white letter in each. Tape.
Front for the letters, back left plain for signatures inside a borderColor A, color B. A band of B a finger wide frames the back of the blade; the middle stays pale for pens. Tape.
Gold letters on color A with a pinstripe in color BColor A, color B, gold. The stripe follows the outline of the blade a finger in from the edge. Liner brush.
Letters across the widest part, a first name down the handleColor A, color B. Block letters fill the width of the blade; the name runs one letter above the next. Liner brush.
Letters left as bare wood, color all around themColor A or color B. Stick letter shapes on the blade, paint over everything, then lift them. Stencil.
List of names in order down the blade, the newest at the tipWhite or gold on color A. One name to a line, all the same size, with room left below for the next. Liner brush.
Name on a painted ribbon that curls under the lettersColor B, white, a darker B. The ribbon folds back at both ends; the name follows its curve. Liner brush.
Two names joined by a painted line, the giver on the handle, the receiver on the bladeColor A, white. A thin line runs down the shaft from one name to the other, with a small heart or star halfway. Liner.
Your letters stacked down the blade, the year at the tipColor A, color B, white. Letters in A with an outline in B, one above the next; small numerals at the tip. Stencil.
Camp and cabin paddles 12
Award paddle: a painted rosette and a blank banner for the winner's nameGold, red, cream. The rosette sits at the widest part with two ribbon tails; the banner crosses below it. Round brush.
Cabin number in a circle at the widest part, bunkmates around itRed, white, navy. A white disc with one large numeral; first names follow the circle. Liner brush.
Direction sign: LAKE and an arrow pointing toward the tipWhite, red. The word on the shaft side of the blade; the arrow head fills the tip. Stencil.
Greeting of your own along a paddle hung sideways over a doorNavy, white. Letters as tall as the shaft is wide, running from the handle to the tip of the blade. Stencil.
Growth chart: ruler marks up one edge, a name and a date at each heightWhite, black, one bright. Stand the paddle on its tip against the wall; short ticks up the whole length. Liner brush.
Outline of your own lake with an X where the cabin standsBlue, green, red. The shore drawn as tall as the blade; the red X on the green side. Round brush.
Pair for a wedding gift: a name on each paddle, the date across bothWhite, navy, gold. The names run down the two blades; half of the date sits on each shaft. Liner brush.
Pair painted as mirror images to hang crossed in an XTwo colors. Whatever sits on the left of one blade sits on the right of the other. Tape.
Signature paddle: a painted border, the middle left bare for everyone to signOne bright, bare wood. A band two fingers wide around the blade; a small title in the top of it. Tape.
Trip log: the name of each lake or river paddled, a line added every summerDark blue on bare wood. Small capitals in a column from the top of the blade, the year after each name. Liner brush.
Two-sided door sign: GONE PADDLING on one face, BACK SOON on the otherWhite on blue, white on red. Two short words stacked on each face of the blade. Stencil.
Your camp's name down the blade in capitals, the year on the handleForest green, cream, red. Cream letters one above the next on green; red numerals near the top. Stencil.
Lake scenes along the blade 12
Birch trunks side by side filling the bladeWhite, black, pale blue. Four or five trunks from tip to shaft; short black marks across each. Flat brush.
Cabin with one lit window at the widest part, smoke curling up the shaftNavy, brown, yellow, gray. The cabin sits on the centerline; a gray curl winds on to the handle. Round brush.
Campfire at the tip, sparks rising up the blade and turning into stars on the shaftNavy, orange, yellow, white. Dots of orange thin out and whiten as they climb. Cotton swab.
Canoe seen from above in the middle of the blade, its wake a V toward the tipBlue-green, red, white. A red hull the length of a hand; two white lines spread behind it. Round brush.
Cattails growing up from the tip, one dragonfly above themGreens, brown, pale blue. Long leaves fan out from the tip; brown heads at different heights. Liner brush.
Dock running up the middle of the blade, a pair of boots at its endBlue, tan, brown, red. Plank lines across a tan strip that starts at the tip; water on both sides. Flat brush.
Green ribbons of northern light over a row of black spruceBlack, greens, violet. Spruce tips along the tip of the blade; the ribbons curve up toward the shaft. Sponge.
Lake at dusk: the far shore across the widest part, the sun path running to the tipOrange, pink, navy. Sky above the shore line; below it a broken orange stripe narrows to the tip. Flat brush.
Mountain and its reflection on a blade hung sidewaysGray-blue, white, navy. The waterline follows the centerline; peaks on one side, their mirror on the other. Flat brush.
One tall pine the length of the blade, its roots at the tipDark green, brown, pale sky. The trunk follows the centerline; the branches shorten toward the shaft. Fan brush.
River down the shaft that opens into a lake on the bladeBlue, greens. A thin blue line winds from the handle; where the wood widens, so does the water. Round brush.
Waterfall dropping the length of the blade into mist at the tipWhite, blues, gray. Rock on both edges; long white strokes down the middle; dabbed mist at the tip. Dry brush.
Fish, birds and animals 12
Bear's paw print as big as the blade, claws toward the tipBlack or dark brown. One wide pad across the middle, five toes above it, a claw mark over each toe. Round brush.
Black and white loon on the water with its reflection under itBlack, white, gray-blue. The bird sits at the widest part; broken strokes repeat it toward the tip. Liner brush.
The blade as one feather, the shaft as its quillWhite, gray, brown. A center line carries on from the shaft; fine slanted strokes run from it to both edges. Liner.
Dragonflies in a line up the shaft, the largest on the bladeTeal, black, white. Each has four thin wings and a body one finger long; they shrink toward the handle. Liner brush.
Fireflies glowing up a dark blade, fewer toward the handleBlack-green, yellow, white. A soft yellow dab with a white dot in it for each; grass blades at the tip. Sponge dauber.
Heron standing the height of the blade, its feet at the tipBlue-gray, white, yellow. The neck makes an S along the centerline; the beak points to one edge. Round brush.
Kingfisher diving beak-first toward the tip, a splash ring below itBlue, orange, white. The bird points straight down the centerline with its wings folded back. Round brush.
Moose head at the widest part, antlers reaching both edgesDark brown, tan, cream. The muzzle points to the tip; each antler spreads to an edge of the blade. Flat brush.
Otter floating on its back along the bladeBrowns, cream, blue. Head toward the shaft, paws on its chest, ripples on both sides. Round brush.
School of minnows turning together, all darting toward the tipSilver, gray, blue. Thirty or so single strokes, close together, bending as one shape. Round brush.
Trout as long as the blade, swimming toward the tipOlive, pink, cream, black. The back follows one edge and the belly the other; a spray of dark spots. Round brush.
The whole blade painted as a beaver's tailDark brown, black. Crossing lines make small diamonds from edge to edge; fur strokes begin at the shaft. Liner brush.
Dips, bands and stripes 12
Arrowhead tip: two slanted lines meeting on the centerlineOne color. Two strips of tape make a point that aims at the handle; fill from there to the tip. Tape.
Checkered tip, two rows deepBlack, white. Squares two fingers wide across the end of the blade, with a thin line above them. Tape.
Dipped tip: the end of the blade in one solid colorOne bright. Tape straight across a hand's width from the tip; paint both faces and the edge. Tape.
Handle painted to match the tip, bare wood betweenOne color. The same color on the handle and the end of the blade; nothing on the shaft. Tape.
Harlequin diamonds across the whole bladeTwo colors, gold. Tall diamonds on a pencil grid of crossing slants; a gold dot where the points meet. Small flat brush.
One side of the centerline painted, the other left as woodOne color. Tape from the tip up the middle of the blade and along the shaft to the handle. Tape.
One stripe from the tip to the handle on both facesOne bright. A stripe a finger wide follows the centerline of the blade and carries on up the shaft. Tape.
Ribbon winding around the shaft from the blade to the handleOne color, white. Wrap a strip of tape in a spiral, paint the gaps, peel it off. Tape.
Rings around the shaft, spaced wider toward the handleTwo colors. Five or six narrow rings, the first one where the blade ends. Tape.
Scallops along both edges of the blade, bare wood down the middleOne color, white. Half circles a thumb wide, flat sides on the edge; a white dot in each. Sponge dauber.
Slanted dip: the tip color cut off on a diagonalOne color, white. One strip of tape from low on one edge to higher on the other; a thin white line beside it. Tape.
Two wide bands and one thin one, grouped where the blade beginsRed, navy, white. All three cross the blade just below the shaft; the rest stays bare wood. Tape.
How it works
A paddle is a long handle that widens into a flat blade, so a design has a narrow part and a broad part. These 60 suit a canoe paddle for the wall, a camp paddle, or a keepsake paddle with your own letters.
Read the full guide
Ideas to paint on a Greek paddle
Twelve designs are for a sorority or fraternity keepsake paddle that carries letters, a name and a year. They say color A, color B and your letters, because those belong to your own chapter; no letters, crest or motto is drawn here. Start plain, with your letters stacked down the blade and the year at the tip, or keep the front for the letters and leave the back plain for signatures inside a border.
Painted paddle ideas for a canoe or a cabin wall
Use the shape. The river down the shaft opens into a lake where the wood widens, and the blade as one feather, with the shaft as its quill, needs no background.
Questions and answers
What paint do you use on a wooden paddle?
We do not test paints or varnishes. The label says whether yours grips bare or varnished wood. These designs are planned as wall pieces; for a paddle that goes back in the water, the label on the finish decides.
Which paddle designs are quick?
The dips, bands and stripes are mostly tape. Handle painted to match the tip, with bare wood between, takes one color, and rings around the shaft, spaced wider toward the handle, take two. Paint both faces if the back will show.
How do I fit a picture on such a narrow shape?
Pick something tall or long. The heron stands the height of the blade with its feet at the tip, and the mountain and its reflection turn the paddle on its side.