How it works
Shamrocks, harps, knotwork, parades and the odd leprechaun: these St Patrick's Day drawing ideas keep to 17 March. Each of the 46 subjects says whether it suits a card, a poster or a small canvas, and names the greens and golds to reach for. Deal three, then pick a group to narrow them.
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Shamrock or four-leaf clover: count the leaflets
A shamrock has three leaflets. Legend says Patrick used it to explain the Trinity, a story first written down in 1726. A four-leaf clover is a rare mutant of the same plant and stands for luck, which is a separate idea. In A shamrock built from three hearts the points meet at the stem. Add a fourth heart only when luck is the subject.
St Patrick's Day painting ideas in two greens and one gold
The To paint group holds 13 subjects sized for a small canvas, each with a method in its hint. A city river dyed green between towers asks for wet-on-wet viridian. A thatched cottage with a green half-door wants dry brush on the straw. Mix two greens and one gold before you start. Ochre under lemon reads as metal better than yellow alone.
- Green alone goes flat. Pick a dark, a mid and a light, and let gold be the only warm colour.
- A poster gets read from across a corridor, so the 16 Posters subjects use big shapes. Letter the words first and fit the drawing round them.
- Before the 20th century the leprechaun was said to wear red, not green. A red coat laced with gold is the older look.
Questions and answers
Which St Patrick's Day drawings can a beginner finish?
The 15 under the Easy group need nothing harder than a bowl, a band or a circle. A pot of gold seen from the front is a bowl, a rim and a heap of circles. The Irish tricolour on a short pole is three equal bands: green at the pole, then white, then orange.
Which greens and golds should I use?
Every hint names them. Kelly or emerald carries the main shape, forest or bottle green does the shadow, and lime or mint does the light. For gold, lay yellow ochre first and add lemon on top. On a card, a metallic gel pen is enough for buckles and coin rims.
Are these Irish customs or American ones?
Both, and the hints say which. The parades began in 18th-century North America and reached Ireland in the 20th. Chicago dyes its river green. Older Irish customs are here too: green ribbons and a shamrock sprig on a lapel, worn since at least the 1680s, and the ribbon-covered cross badge.