BLOOM with both Os painted as open flowersBlush, magenta, green, charcoal. Letter B, L and M plainly and give each O five petals and a center.
BREATHE in thin capitals across a pale blue-to-white fadePale blue, white, navy. Blend the fade, dry it, rule two pencil lines and letter with a paint pen.
CALM in pale gray letters sinking into a misty washGray blue, white, pale gray. Letter the word, then drag thin white across its lower half.
DREAM in lowercase, each letter on its own pastel blockMint, peach, lilac, butter, sky, charcoal. Paint five blocks side by side, then one letter on each.
GATHER in serif capitals inside a ring of olive leavesIvory, olive, dark gray. Trace a plate for the ring and press a round brush once per leaf.
GROW in block capitals, a seedling rooted in the letter OCream, charcoal, leaf green. Letter the word first, then paint a stem and two leaves rising out of the O.
HELLO in rounded white script on a coral squareCoral, white. Write the word in pencil as one joined line, then thicken every downstroke.
HOME stacked two letters over two on warm wood brownBurnt sienna, cream. Rule a cross to split the canvas in four and center one letter in each quarter.
KIND written five times in rows, one row in a bright colorWhite, charcoal, orange. Rule five lines, letter four rows gray and the middle one orange.
SHINE in gold capitals, short rays fanning off the SBlack, gold. Pencil the letters in white chalk, fill them with a gold paint pen and wipe the chalk away.
WANDER set along the ridge line of a painted mountain rangeSlate, snow white, dusk pink. Paint the range, dry it, and sit each letter on the slope beneath it.
YES in huge block letters filling the canvas edge to edgeYellow, white, black. Tape the letter edges, fill them black, and peel.
A short line written for this page 12
ASK MORE QUESTIONS in typewriter capitals, dead centerCream, black. Rule one line across the middle and space the letters evenly with pencil ticks.
BE THE ONE WHO WAVES FIRST lettered in a ring round a sunSky blue, yellow, white. Trace a bowl for the ring and turn the canvas as you letter around it.
GOOD THINGS TAKE A WHILE, the last word stretched wideNavy, cream. Letter three short lines, then space W H I L E across the full width below them.
THE KETTLE IS ON curved like a handle above STAY A WHILETeal, cream, copper. Pencil an arc with a plate for the first line and a ruled line for the second.
KNOCK LOUDLY, WE ARE PAINTING lettered on a painted doormatTan, brown, dark green. Paint the mat as a tan rectangle with a stitched edge and letter inside it.
LOOK UP in giant letters above a strip of small cloudsCobalt, white. Fill the top two thirds with the two words and sponge a row of clouds underneath.
MAKE SOMETHING in bold, THEN MAKE ANOTHER in thin scriptWhite, red, black. Letter the bold line with a flat brush and the script with a liner brush.
PAINT FIRST, TIDY LATER in brush script on a speckled groundWhite, mixed brights, black. Dot the ground with swabs, dry it, then write over it in black.
RAIN NOW, FLOWERS LATER split in two by a band of gray washGray, yellow, pink, charcoal. Paint the gray band first; letter above it in gray and below it in pink.
SLOW MORNINGS, STRONG TEA on two wide torn-edge stripesOat, rust, cream. Paint two rough stripes with a dry flat brush and letter one phrase on each.
TINY STEPS STILL COUNT stacked, one word to a lineSage, white. Rule four lines, center each word on its own, and letter in plain capitals.
TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO BEGIN in three centered linesButter yellow, charcoal. Count the letters in each line and start lettering from the middle one.
An old proverb 12
A ROLLING STONE GATHERS NO MOSS along a downhill curveMoss green, gray, cream. Pencil a slope, letter along it, and paint one round stone at the bottom.
A STITCH IN TIME SAVES NINE inside a dashed stitch borderLinen, red, navy. Letter the saying in navy and paint short red dashes around the edge.
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER sliding in from the right-hand edgeMustard, black. Start the line off canvas so the B is cut in half by the edge.
BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER on a wire of small birdsPale blue, black, rust. Paint a sagging wire, perch seven small birds on it, and letter below.
LITTLE STROKES FELL GREAT OAKS small on a big empty canvasWhite, pale pink, charcoal. Leave the canvas almost bare and letter the line low in one corner.
LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP, the last word jumping off its lineSky blue, white, navy. Letter three words level, then tilt LEAP upward past the edge of the row.
MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK ringed by finger-paint handprintsFinger paint in four brights, navy. Print the hands in a ring, dry them, then letter in the middle.
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT written three times, neater each timeCream, charcoal, gold. Letter the top row loosely, the middle with care, the last in ruled gold.
ROME WASN'T BUILT IN A DAY in letters stacked like bricksBrick red, cream, gray. Rule rows, stagger the words like courses of brick, and letter in cream.
TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE across two matching circlesTeal, coral, white. Trace two overlapping bowls, fill them, and letter straight across both.
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT lettered on a patchwork of scrap colorsLeftover paints of any color, black. Patch the ground with whatever is on the palette, then letter over it.
WELL BEGUN IS HALF DONE, the second half left as pencilWhite, black, graphite. Paint WELL BEGUN solid and leave IS HALF DONE as outlines only.
Words with one picture 12
BE BRAVE beneath a small boat on one big waveNavy, white, red. Paint the wave as one curl, set the boat on its crest, and letter underneath.
BUSY AS A BEE circling one striped bumblebeeHoney yellow, black, white. Paint the bee in the middle and turn the canvas to letter around it.
FRESH START over a single green leaf, lots of white spaceWhite, sap green, charcoal. Paint the leaf in two strokes and letter small and wide beneath it.
GONE FISHING on a wooden sign hung from a painted rodTan, brown, sky blue, red. Paint the board with a dry brush for grain and letter in dark brown.
HELLO SUNSHINE under one round yellow sun with stubby raysYellow, orange, white, gray. Paint the sun in the top half and letter in gray capitals below.
HOME SWEET HOME under a tiny house on a green hillGreen, red, white, sky blue. Paint the hill as one hump with the house on top and letter in white.
KEEP GROWING below a seedling with two leaves in a clay potTerracotta, green, cream. Keep the pot small so the words carry as much weight as the plant.
OFF WE GO next to a red bicycle with a front basketRed, black, wicker tan, cream. Paint two wheels and a frame of straight lines; letter above.
ONE MORE CHAPTER above three stacked books and a mugPlum, mustard, teal, cream. Paint the books as three flat bars and letter along the top spine.
STAY CURIOUS beside a cat peering into a paper bagKraft brown, black, white, teal. Paint the bag and the back half of the cat; letter up the side.
THANK YOU inside a loose wreath of five leavesBlush, sage, charcoal. Space five leaf strokes in a ring and letter the two words in the gap.
YOU ARE HERE with a pin stuck in a painted globeOcean blue, green, red, white. Paint a circle of sea, dab land shapes, and add a red pin.
Your own line 12
Family saying lettered in a ring round your house numberNavy, white, brass yellow. Paint the number big in the center and letter the saying around it.
Name and date in the lower third, the rest one flat colorAny one color, white. Tape a line a third of the way up and letter below it in white.
One huge initial with your word small beneath itAny dark color, cream. Fill most of the canvas with the letter and tuck the word under its foot.
One long sentence spiraling in to the middle of the canvasCream, ink blue. Pencil a spiral with a string and pin, then letter along it from the outside in.
Saying of your grandmother's inside a painted oval frameIvory, gold, sepia. Paint the oval in gold, let it dry, and letter inside in sepia script.
Three words stacked, the middle one in brush scriptPale wash of any color, charcoal. Letter the outer words in small capitals and write the middle large.
Word in your own handwriting, enlarged and tracedWhite, black. Write it small, copy it large in pencil by eye, and go over it with a round brush.
Your line in chalk-white print on a blackboard-black canvasBlack, white. Rule lines in chalk, letter with a white paint pen, and wipe the chalk off.
Your line left white by letter stickers peeled off a washWhite, any two wash colors. Stick the letters down, paint over everything, and peel them off.
Your line on a ribbon banner across a corner of flowersCream, rose, sage, charcoal. Paint the ribbon with folded ends, letter along it, then add the blooms.
Your line split across three small canvases, a phrase eachThree shades of one color, white. Paint each canvas a step darker and letter one phrase per panel.
Your word in white capitals over a two-color sunset blendOrange, magenta, white. Blend the two colors wet, dry fully, then letter in white paint pen.
How it works
A quote painting is a layout first and lettering second. These canvases are sorted by the kind of words: one word, a short line, an old proverb, words beside one picture, or a layout that waits for your own line.
Read the full guide
Easy painting ideas: quotes in one word
One word needs no line breaks, so the only choices are size and color. SHINE in gold capitals, short rays fanning off the S takes two paints, black and gold. Paint the ground, let it dry, rule two pencil lines for the top and bottom of the letters, and letter between them.
Painting ideas with quotes: where the words come from
The proverbs are old English sayings, each one listed on Wikiquote's English proverbs page. The short lines were written for this page, and no line is credited to a person.
The easy ones sit under More filters, Level.
Letter from the middle of the line outward and the words end up centered.
Questions and answers
Which quote canvas painting ideas are easiest?
Most of the one-word canvases: fewer letters can be bigger letters. Among the proverbs, LITTLE STROKES FELL GREAT OAKS small on a big empty canvas is one ruled line of lettering on a nearly bare ground.
How do you paint letters neatly on canvas?
Rule two faint pencil lines, sketch the letters between them, and go over them with a paint pen or a small round brush once the background is fully dry. Erase the pencil last.
Can I paint my own quote?
Yes. The Your own line group is layouts only, such as Three words stacked, the middle one in brush script. Count the letters in your line first, then pick the layout it fits.
What colors work for a quote painting?
Two with strong contrast: white on navy, gold on black, charcoal on cream. Keep any picture or pattern paler than the letters so the words are read first.