Hatchlings stamped with a cut sponge, flippers by brushDark gray, sand, pale blue. Stamp small ovals down the beach and add four quick strokes to each.
Hatchling paddling just under the surface of clear waterAqua, white, dark gray. Paint the hatchling, let it dry, then glaze watery aqua across all but its nose.
Rings of swab dots inside every plate of a shellDark green, yellow, white. Dot a ring just inside each plate edge with a cotton swab, then one in the center.
Front flippers at the top of a stroke, raised like wingsBlue, olive, cream, dark brown. Angle both front flippers up and back so the body hangs between them.
Leatherback seen overhead: a leathery teardrop, no platesNavy, charcoal, pale gray. Paint the shell as one dark teardrop and leave it without any plate lines.
One turtle in the middle of a canvas of nothing but blueCobalt blue, white, olive, cream. Blend the blue paler toward the top, let it dry, and paint the turtle small.
Sea turtle from above on flat turquoise, four flippers outTurquoise, olive, cream. Paint the water flat, then the turtle as an oval with four paddle shapes.
Three turtles at three depths, the deepest one palestUltramarine, teal, olive, white. Mix more blue and white into each turtle the deeper it swims.
Turtle crossing a reef edge where pale sand turns deep blueSand, turquoise, navy, brown. Split the canvas on a slant, sand on one side and deep water on the other.
Turtle from above inside a ring of small silver fishUltramarine, silver gray, white, olive. Paint each fish as one short dash, all heading the same way around.
Turtle gliding over seagrass that all bends one wayGreen, yellow green, teal, brown. Pull every blade of grass in one direction with a liner brush.
Turtle over a sandbar with wave light across its backAqua, pale yellow, olive. Net the back and the sand with thin wavy lines of pale yellow.
Turtle paddling hard, a chain of bubbles off each flipperTeal, white, brown. Dot the bubbles with a cotton swab, largest near the flipper and smaller above.
Turtle surfacing for air, nose inside a ring of ripplesBlue green, white, olive. Paint two broken white rings around the nose with a nearly dry brush.
Turtle's shadow on white sand below it, seen from a boatAqua, sand, blue gray, olive. Paint the shadow as a soft copy of the turtle, set a little to one side.
Shell patterns 12
Amber rays fanning from the center of each brown plateDark brown, amber, yellow. Pull short strokes outward from the middle of every plate like a small sun.
Flat belly plate of a turtle swimming overheadCream, pale yellow, blue. Paint the underside pale with a few straight seams and darken the water around it.
Half a shell cropped by the canvas edge, the plates hugeRust, cream, dark brown. Draw a wide arc from one corner and fit only five or six plates inside it.
Rings of swab dots inside every plate of a shellDark green, yellow, white. Dot a ring just inside each plate edge with a cotton swab, then one in the center.
Row of plates down the spine with a ring around the rimOlive, tan, dark green. Paint the spine row first, then the plates beside it, then the rim plates.
Shell as a color wheel, twelve plates in rainbow orderRed through violet in twelve steps. Set twelve plates around a center one and step the color around the circle.
Shell as a stained-glass window, a color in every plateSix bright colors, black. Outline the plates in thick black and fill each one with a different color.
Shell built from sponge-stamped hexagonsBrown, tan, olive. Cut a sponge to a six-sided shape and stamp the plates in rows that touch.
Shell filling the whole canvas, plates outlined in creamBrown, olive, amber, cream. Fill the canvas with brown first and draw the plate seams over it in cream.
Shell in greens only, darkest at the seamsLime, leaf green, bottle green. Fill each plate light in the middle and blend it darker toward its edge.
Shell pattern carried past the turtle into the backgroundTeal, olive, gold. Let the plate lines run on past the shell and fade them out toward the edges.
Wet shell with one long white highlight across the platesBrown, olive, white. Finish the shell, let it dry, then drag one broken streak of white across the top.
Hatchlings on sand 12
Empty eggshells in a sand hollow, one hatchling climbing outWhite, cream, tan, gray. Shade the inside of each shell half with gray and leave the rims white.
Hatchling at the water's edge, first foam over its shellSand, white, pale blue, dark gray. Dab the foam on with a sponge so it half covers the shell.
Hatchling beside a seashell twice its own sizeCream, pink, charcoal, sand. Paint the shell large and detailed and the hatchling as a simple dark shape.
Hatchling paddling just under the surface of clear waterAqua, white, dark gray. Paint the hatchling, let it dry, then glaze watery aqua across all but its nose.
Hatchling seen head-on, both front flippers liftedCharcoal, gray, sand, white. Paint the head as a rounded block between two raised flippers.
Hatchling's view: surf ahead under a full moonNavy, white, pale yellow, gray. Put the horizon high and fill the lower half with ridged sand.
Hatchlings in single file at sunrise, shadows stretched longPeach, pink, sand, dark brown. Stretch each shadow away from the sun to four times the body length.
Hatchlings spilling from a nest hole toward the surfSand, charcoal, white, aqua. Paint the hatchlings as dark ovals that spread into a fan as they go.
Hatchlings stamped with a cut sponge, flippers by brushDark gray, sand, pale blue. Stamp small ovals down the beach and add four quick strokes to each.
Mother turtle's wide track up the beach to a mound of sandSand, tan, brown. Paint the track as two rows of scoops with a flat drag mark between them.
Night beach: dark hatchlings on moonlit silver sandNavy, silver gray, black. Blend the sand lighter toward the water and dot the hatchlings in black.
One hatchling and its flipper tracks down a pale beachCream, gray, charcoal. Paint two rows of small commas behind the hatchling for its tracks.
Swimming through light 12
Dark turtle against the bright surface, seen from belowWhite, pale aqua, navy. Blend the water brightest at the top and paint the turtle as a flat dark shape.
Evening gold on the top of the shell, violet underneathGold, orange, violet, navy. Paint the shell violet all over, then lay gold along its upper rim.
Moonlit turtle near the surface, a silver edge on its shellNavy, silver gray, black. Paint everything dark and run a single pale line along the top of the shell.
Turtle among drifting jellyfish, each one a pale glowNavy, pink, white, olive. Dab each jellyfish as a soft dome and pull a few trailing lines below it.
Turtle and its reflection on the underside of the surfaceAqua, white, olive, brown. Paint the reflection upside down above the turtle, paler and broken by ripples.
Turtle crossing a net of wave light on a sandy floorSand, pale yellow, teal, olive. Draw the light as joined wobbly rings over both the sand and the shell.
Turtle half in a sunbeam and half in blue shadeTeal, pale yellow, ultramarine, olive. Rule the beam on a slant and lighten every color inside it.
Turtle in green water that fades to black belowLime, green, black, olive. Blend the three water colors in bands while wet, lightest at the top.
Turtle over a coral head, colors brightest near the topCoral pink, orange, teal, olive. Gray the coral colors with teal as they go down the canvas.
Turtle passing a curtain of weed lit from behindYellow green, dark green, teal. Paint the weed as upright ribbons, light in the middle and dark at the edges.
Turtle rising through bubbles toward a white sun discBlue, white, olive. Paint the disc at the top first and blend rings of paler blue around it.
Turtle silhouette inside a circle of pale waterPale aqua, teal, black. Blend a light circle into a darker surround and paint the turtle black in the middle.
Pond turtles and tortoises 12
Baby turtle resting on a lily pad no bigger than itselfLeaf green, olive, pink, blue. Notch the pad with one V cut and set the turtle in its middle.
Old tortoise under a garden bench in striped shadeBrown, tan, green, dark gray. Lay bars of shadow from the bench slats across the shell and the grass.
Pond turtle sunning on a mossy log, head held highOlive, brown, yellow, blue green. Paint the log across the canvas and tip the turtle's head up at one end.
Tortoise from above, a patterned dome with four short legsOchre, brown, black. Paint the shell as an oval of plates, each with a dark ring inside its edge.
Tortoise in side view on a hill, its shell a high domeTan, brown, grass green. Paint the dome as a half circle and stand it on four straight, thick legs.
Tortoise pulled into its shell, only the front legs showingBrown, ochre, dark gray. Paint the opening dark and fold the two scaly legs across it like doors.
Tortoise stretching its neck toward a dandelionBrown, tan, yellow, green. Paint the neck as a long wrinkled tube reaching level with the flower.
Tortoise's elephant-like foot and scaly leg close upGray brown, tan, cream. Build the leg as a column and cover it with rows of small rounded scales.
Turtle slipping off a rock with ripples spreading outGray, olive, blue green, white. Paint three rings around the point where the shell meets the water.
Turtle under the surface of a pond, lily stems all aroundGreen, brown, pale yellow. Pull the stems up in long curves from the bottom edge to pads at the top.
Turtle's head poking up among bright green duckweedLime, olive, dark green. Dot the duckweed thickly with a cotton swab and leave a clear ring around the head.
Turtles in a row on a half-sunk log, each one smallerDark green, brown, tan. Paint the shells as a row of domes that overlap like fallen dominoes.
How it works
There are seven species of sea turtle, and they swim with front flippers that move like a bird's wings. These canvases show that from above, in shafts of light, on the shell and on the sand.
Read the full guide
Turtle acrylic painting ideas: water first
Paint the water before the turtle. Blend it wet, pale near the top and darker below, and let it dry. Acrylic is water-resistant when dry, so the turtle goes on top without lifting the blue. One turtle in the middle of a canvas of nothing but blue is that and no more.
The shell is a pattern
The shell is covered in plates called scutes, with a row over the spine and a ring of others around the rim. Row of plates down the spine with a ring around the rim maps them. A sea turtle cannot pull its head or flippers inside.
Questions and answers
What are easy turtle canvas painting ideas?
Easy first turtles, under More filters, holds 20. Sea turtle from above on flat turquoise, four flippers out is one flat shape on one color, and Shell built from sponge-stamped hexagons needs no brush for the pattern.
How do you paint baby sea turtles on a beach?
Small, dark and many. Most sea turtles hatch at night, so Night beach: dark hatchlings on moonlit silver sand dots near-black ovals on pale sand. Twelve canvases sit under Hatchlings on sand.
What colors do you need for a sea turtle painting?
Turquoise, teal, ultramarine and white for the water; olive, brown, amber and cream for the turtle. The beach canvases add sand and charcoal, and the pond group adds lime and leaf green.
Are tortoises and pond turtles on the list?
Yes, 12. Tortoises live on land, with column-like legs under a domed shell, and small pond turtles climb out of the water to bask. Pond turtle sunning on a mossy log, head held high is one.