Easy Painting Ideas for Beginners: Chic DIY Wall Art for Your Home

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It’s 2026, and people are finally starting to realise that staring at a glowing rectangle for 6 hours straight isn’t exactly the pinnacle of a fulfilling personality. More and more of us are craving screen free creative activities that actually switch the brain on instead of frying it, and painting is right at the top of that list, especially when it comes to easy beginner artworks you can do at home.

At Art Shed, we’re seeing a shift away from cookie-cutter décor and overpriced prints that look like they came free with a beige couch. Abstract is back baby, textured art is in, and perfection is officially out… thank god. The best part? You don’t need a fine arts degree or a tortured artist backstory to pull it off. Just a canvas, a bit of curiosity, and the willingness to make something that might start off looking questionable… and end up looking way better than you expected.

If you love the look of chic, gallery-style pieces but not the price tag that comes with them, you’re in exactly the right place. You don’t need to be an artist (at all) to make easy paintings for beginners that actually look good on your walls. In fact, this is for the “I haven’t painted since primary school” crew, the “I just want my house to feel a bit cuter” crew, and everyone in between.

We’ve put together four easy beginner painting ideas designed to double as actual chic home décor. Think expressive abstract cowboys, loose, wine-soaked still lifes, and textured art paintings inspired by artists like Werner Bronkhorst that bring a bit of mood and personality into your space. These are simple canvas painting ideas that have that elevated, styled-home feel without being complicated or intimidating, but made completely your own.

This is your sign to ditch the scroll, pick up a brush, and get a little messy with it. We’ve got the steps, the materials, and a few classic Shed-style tips to help you along the way. No pressure, no perfection, just good art, good vibes, and a very real chance you’ll end up covered in paint wondering how it escalated this quickly.

WHAT YOULL NEED BANNER

What You’ll Need to Get Started

Before we dive headfirst into creating your new favourite wall piece, let’s get you set up with the right tools. The best part about painting, especially when you’re just starting out, is that it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to look like it did.

Our in-house artist team at Art Shed has pulled together a beginner-friendly art setup that covers everything from sketching and planning through to texture, colour, and those final finishing touches that make a piece feel complete. If you’re starting from scratch, this list will give you a solid, no-fuss foundation to build from. And if you’ve already got a stash at home, you can absolutely mix, match, and make it work your way. 

Paints

Mont Marte Signature Acrylic Paint Set 48 × 36ml Tubes
If you’ve ever stood in front of a wall of paint tubes and immediately forgotten every colour you’ve ever seen, this set is your safety net. With a full spectrum of colours, it’s perfect for beginner acrylic painting and experimenting with colour mixing without committing to individual tubes. Acrylic paint dries quickly, layers beautifully, and is ideal for easy quick paintings like the ones in this blog.

Surfaces

Mont Marte Signature Canvas Panel 5" x 7" – 3pc
Small canvases are your best friend when you’re starting out. They take the pressure off, let you experiment freely, and are perfect for testing ideas before committing to a larger piece. Also great for creating mini artworks for shelves or gallery walls.

Mont Marte Premium Canvas Double Thick 30" x 30"
A larger canvas instantly elevates your work and gives that gallery-style painting feel. It comes pre-primed with gesso, so you can get straight into painting without any extra prep, and the double thickness means you can hang it without a frame, which is exactly the vibe for modern, chic home décor.

Sketching & Planning

Mont Marte Graphite Pencils Metal Tin 12pc
These pencils give you a full range from light sketch lines to darker, more defined marks, making them perfect for planning your composition or mapping out shapes before painting.

Canson Mixed Media Artist Art Book A5 Landscape 300gsm
Think of this as your go-to for smaller, more refined pieces. The A5 landscape size makes it ideal for compact artworks, whether you’re building a series, creating something for a shelf, or just working on a smaller scale without sacrificing impact. The 300gsm mixed media paper is designed to handle both wet and dry materials, so you can layer acrylic, sketch over the top, or incorporate pastels without the page warping or falling apart. It’s a really versatile option when you want flexibility without stepping up to canvas.

Texture & Base Layers

Mont Marte Clear Texture Gesso 500ml
Texture gesso primes your surface while adding a subtle grit that makes paint sit beautifully on top. It’s especially good for textured art painting ideas and gives you that slightly raw, matte finish you see in high-end abstract pieces.

Mont Marte Modelling Paste 500ml
Modelling paste is a thick, acrylic-based medium designed to hold its shape, so you can create raised areas, sculptural marks, and layered surfaces that don’t flatten out as they dry. It adheres well to primed surfaces and can be applied with a palette knife or brush, then painted over once dry. Great for adding depth, structure, and that tactile finish you see in modern textured artworks.

Mont Marte Studio Series Palette Knife Set 5pc
Palette knives let you spread, scrape, and layer paint and modelling paste in a way that feels way more organic and expressive. Perfect for textured abstract painting and anyone who likes a bit of controlled chaos.

Brushes & Application

Mont Marte Signature Paint Brush Set – Acrylic Taklon Bristle 11pc
A solid brush set gives you options. Flat brushes for bold strokes, round brushes for detail, and everything in between. These are beginner-friendly, durable, and versatile enough to handle most acrylic painting techniques you’ll come across.

Tools & Setup

Mont Marte Palette – Easy Clean 30 x 40cm
A flat palette gives you proper space to mix multiple tones without grooves getting in the way, which is key when you’re trying to build soft, cohesive colour blends. The plastic surface also makes it super easy to clean, scrape back, and get the most out of your paint without it soaking in or going to waste.

Masking Tape 12mm x 50m
Underrated hero. Use it to create clean edges, section off your canvas, or guide compositions. Also incredibly satisfying to peel off once your paint is down.

Details & Finishing Touches

Uni Ball Posca Pen Ultra Fine Pin Tip 0.7mm – White
This is where the magic little details happen. Perfect for adding fine highlights, outlines, or subtle accents over dried paint. It’s especially useful for contrast on darker backgrounds and giving your piece that polished, finished look.

Extra Creative Layers

Sennelier Oil Pastel 24pc Set – Assorted Colours
These are buttery, rich, and ridiculously satisfying to use. Oil pastels are perfect for adding expressive marks, soft blends, or layered details over acrylic paint. They bring a bit of looseness and personality into your work.

Mont Marte Extra Soft Oil Pastels Natural Hue 39pc
If you’re leaning into those earthy, chic, Pinterest-core tones, this set is the perfect mix of muted colours, warm neutrals, and soft blends that work beautifully in modern home décor style paintings.

Beginner Tips from the Shed (So You Don’t Rage Quit 10 Minutes In)

Before you dive in and accidentally redecorate your entire desk in acrylic paint, here are a few simple tips to make the whole process smoother, more enjoyable, and way less chaotic. Painting should feel fun, not frustrating, and a few small tweaks to your setup and approach can make a massive difference.

Set yourself up properly

Lay something down. Old newspaper, a plastic sheet, even a bin bag split open, anything is better than raw desk or table. Acrylic paint will find a way onto surfaces you didn’t think were involved.

Keep a jar of water and a cloth or paper towel nearby so you can quickly rinse brushes between colours. It saves your brushes and stops everything turning into a muddy brown situation.

Don’t use colours straight from the tube (we’re classy now)

Even if you’re going for a simple look, take 10 seconds to mix your colours. Adding a touch of white, brown, or even a complementary colour can soften tones and make your piece feel way more styled and intentional.

This is especially important if you’re chasing that chic, home décor vibe. Straight-out-of-the-tube colours can look a bit flat, while mixed tones feel more elevated.

Brushes are tools, not precious objects

You don’t need to baby them, but you do need to clean them. Don’t let paint dry in your brushes unless you want them permanently crunchy.

Rinse them well, reshape the bristles, and let them dry flat if you can. It keeps them usable and saves you from buying new ones every time.

Let layers dry (even if you’re impatient)

Acrylic paint dries quickly, but not instantly. If you keep going over wet layers, you’ll end up dragging paint around instead of building it up which can create soggy canvas and pilling. 

If you’re like me and allergic to waiting, use a hair dryer on the cool setting to speed up the process, i would also suggest coating all your canvas in gesso at the same time if you’re doing multiple pieces so they’re ready and dry by the time you get to them.

Start loose, not perfect

Your first marks are not meant to be perfect. In fact, they probably won’t be, and that’s the point. Start with light sketching or loose paint layers and build from there.

A lot of the “effortless” look comes from not overworking it. If something looks a bit off, leave it, add to it, or work around it instead of trying to fix it into oblivion. 

Use texture to your advantage

If something isn’t looking quite right, texture can save you. Adding a bit of modelling paste, thicker paint, or layered strokes can turn a flat area into something way more interesting.

Texture distracts the eye in the best way and adds that high-end, tactile feel without needing advanced skills.

Clean as you go (or regret it later)

Wipe your palette, rinse your brushes, and keep your space semi-tidy as you work. It makes the whole process feel calmer and stops everything from turning into a chaotic paint graveyard by the end.

COWBOY STEPS 

Painting One: The “Cowboy” 

This piece is making its rounds all over Pinterest and is the definition of “looks way harder than it actually is.” It leans heavily on contrast, loose mark-making, and negative space, which makes it perfect if you’re new to painting but still want something that feels modern, expressive, and genuinely cool on your wall.

You’re not aiming for perfect lines or clean fills here. The charm of this one is in the wonky shapes, the uneven brushwork, and that slightly undone, sketch-meets-paint finish. Think expressive, not exact.

Step-by-Step

Start by priming your canvas with a layer of clear texture gesso. This not only preps the surface but gives you a slight grit to work on, which helps the paint grip and adds to that soft, matte finish. Let it dry before going in with paint.

For your background, mix up a mauve base using your acrylic paints, then add a small amount of modelling paste to thicken it slightly. This helps create a bit of body in your brushstrokes. To deepen the tone and give it that rich, moody feel, mix in touches of dark purple and crimson until you land somewhere in that warm, red-toned mauve range.

Using a thicker brush, apply the paint across your canvas in opposing, slightly messy strokes. Don’t overthink this part. The uneven direction and visible brush marks are what give the piece dimension and movement.

Once your background is dry, grab your white Posca pen and loosely map out your cowboy. If drawing feels a bit intimidating, break it into simple shapes. Start with a curved line moving upward on the right side. Add two slightly wonky rectangles for the shoulders and shirt collar. From there, sketch a rough line for the head, then build the hat using a soft triangle for the brim and two loose curved lines extending upward for the crown.

The beauty of this piece is that it relies heavily on negative space, so you don’t need to fill everything in or make it perfect. In fact, it looks better when you don’t.

Next, take a soft, thinner brush and some titanium white paint. Very loosely and messily paint over parts of your Posca sketch, filling in sections while still letting some of the line work show through. Keep your strokes varied, some thin, some thicker, and resist the urge to “fix” anything too much. The contrast between rough brushwork and fine pen lines is what makes this style work.

To finish, go back in with your Posca and add any final lines or details you feel it needs. You can even sign or write on the back (or front, if you’re feeling bold) to give it that personal, artist touch.

COWBOY MATERIALS BANNER

Materials Used

For this piece, you’ll be working with a small, manageable setup that still gives you plenty of room to experiment with texture and layering:

• Mont Marte Signature Acrylic Paint Set 48 × 36ml Tubes – for mixing your base colour and layering your whites
• Mont Marte Signature Canvas Panel 5" x 7" – a compact surface that keeps things low-pressure and easy to control
• Mont Marte Graphite Pencils Metal Tin 12pc – optional for lightly mapping things out before committing
• Mont Marte Clear Texture Gesso 500ml – to prime your surface and add a subtle texture underneath
• Mont Marte Signature Paint Brush Set (Taklon Bristle 11pc) – a thicker brush for your base and a softer, thinner one for detail
• Uni Ball Posca Pen Ultra Fine 0.7mm – White – for sketching and final details

Painting Two: The “Wine Bottle” 

This piece feels like something you’d spot hanging in a dimly lit jazz bar, slightly abstract, a bit romantic, and effortlessly cool. It’s all about contrast between texture and flat colour, plus those warm, earthy tones that instantly make a space feel more styled and intentional.

The best part? It looks elevated, but the process is actually super simple. You’re letting texture, colour mixing, and loose drawing do most of the heavy lifting here.

Step-by-Step

Start by priming your canvas with clear texture gesso. This gives your surface a slight grit and helps everything sit nicely on top. Once that’s dry, place a strip of masking tape diagonally across the canvas to divide your composition.

On the top half, take your modelling paste and a palette knife, using the flat edge to apply it in organic, slightly messy lines about 2mm thick. Don’t try to make it perfect. The unevenness is what gives this piece that soft, sculptural feel. Let it dry completely before peeling off your masking tape for that clean, satisfying edge.

For the bottom half, mix up a musky olive green using olive green as your base, then deepen it with burnt umber, warm yellow, and the tiniest touch of black. This creates a richer, more muted tone that feels a bit more grown-up than straight-from-the-tube colour. Paint this across the lower section of your canvas.

Next, for the textured top section, mix a soft beige using white, warm yellow, and a touch of burnt umber. Apply this over your dried modelling paste, letting the raised texture catch the paint naturally. This contrast between flat and textured areas is what gives the piece its depth.

Once everything is fully dry, grab your Posca pen and loosely sketch in your wine bottle and a slightly wonky wine glass. Keep it relaxed and imperfect. That loose line work is part of the charm.

For the bottle, take your olive green mix and deepen it further with more burnt umber to create a dark, brownish green. Fill in the bottle shape, keeping your edges a little soft. For the label, mix a muted pink using a blend of yellow, pink, and a touch of your beige mix to keep it toned down and cohesive.

Use that same red tone from earlier to fill in the wine glass and add small details like “VN” on either side of the bottle. (Fun fact, vin means wine in French… because apparently we’re cultured now.)

And yes, i forgot to take progress photos before painting over my  sketch… shh. It’s fine. You get the idea hehe 

Materials Used

Mont Marte Signature Canvas Panel 5" x 7" – small, manageable, and perfect for controlled compositions

Mont Marte Clear Texture Gesso 500ml – to prime your surface and add grip

Masking Tape 12mm x 50m – for that clean diagonal split

Mont Marte Signature Acrylic Paint Set 48 × 36ml Tubes – for mixing your custom tones

Mont Marte Signature Paint Brush Set (Taklon Bristle 11pc) – for base painting and detail

Mont Marte Studio Series Palette Knife Set 5pc – for applying modelling paste and creating texture

Painting Three: The “Martini Olives” (Playful, Retro, Slightly Fancy)

This piece taps into a retro, cocktail-inspired aesthetic with a clean, modern finish. It’s graphic, slightly expressive, and brings in just enough colour and contrast to feel styled without being overpowering, ideal for kitchens, bar carts, or curated gallery walls.

It’s also a great medium for beginners, as oil pastels blend easily, layer well, and allow you to build depth and softness without needing a lot of technical experience.

Step-by-Step

Start by sketching out your olives using a graphite pencil. Keep it simple. Three stacked ovals, small circles for the pimento centres, and a line running through them for the cocktail stick. Don’t stress about perfection, slightly wonky actually works better for this style.

Once you’re happy with the placement, use masking tape to create a border around the edge of your page. This gives you that clean, framed look at the end and instantly makes the piece feel more finished.

Now into colour. Grab your oil pastels and start with a leaf green. Lightly outline your olives and loosely fill them in about halfway. From there, bring in a jungle green and build a bit more depth, focusing on the lower olives and shadow areas.

To fill the remaining space, use a butterscotch tone. This warms everything up and stops the green from feeling too flat. Go back over it lightly with your leaf green to blend the tones together, then add a bit more jungle green around the edges for dimension.

Use a cotton tip (q-tip) to gently blend small areas. Key word: gently. You want softness, not a fully blended, muddy situation. Leaving some visible strokes keeps it looking more intentional and textured.

Next, take hooker’s green to define the inner circles of the olives and deepen your shadows. This adds contrast and helps the shapes feel more solid.

For the pimento centres, use flamingo as your base, then deepen it with Sennelier’s deep red and ruby red to create that rich, glossy look. Layering here makes a big difference, so don’t be afraid to build it up slightly.

Add a few streaks of Sennelier earth brown for extra depth, then bring in a touch of eggshell blue to cool down your shadow areas and balance out the warmth. It’s a small detail, but it helps the whole piece feel more dimensional.

Use white to add highlights where the light would naturally hit, keep them a bit loose and streaky rather than perfectly blended. Then use brown to define the cocktail stick running through the olives.

Finally, fill in your background with that same eggshell blue for contrast, then peel off the masking tape to reveal those crisp, clean edges.

Materials Used

Canson Mixed Media Artist Art Book A5 Landscape 300gsm – perfect for smaller, finished pieces with mixed media

Mont Marte Graphite Pencils Metal Tin 12pc – for sketching your base shapes

Masking Tape 12mm x 50m – to create a clean border

Mont Marte Extra Soft Oil Pastels Natural Hue 39pc – your main colour palette

Sennelier Oil Pastel 24pc Set – for richer reds and deeper accents

Painting Four: The “Surfers” 

Inspired by the work of Werner Bronkhorst, this piece is all about scale, texture, and contrast. From afar, it reads as this soft, minimal, almost abstract ocean scene. Up close, you’ve got these tiny little surfers scattered across the surface, which is where all the personality comes in.

It’s one of those artworks that looks seriously high-end, but the process is actually very achievable. You’re letting texture do most of the work, then layering in small, simple details to bring it to life.

Step-by-Step

Start by priming your canvas with gesso. Standard procedure, but it makes a difference. It gives your surface that slight grip and sets you up for everything that’s about to happen next.

Now for the fun part. Grab the biggest palette knife you can find and start layering your modelling paste onto the canvas. And when I say thick, I mean thick. You’re trying to mimic those big, expressive palette knife strokes you see in textured gallery pieces.

Pro tip (slightly unhinged but works): if you can’t get your edges thick enough, scoop some modelling paste into the corner of a ziplock bag, snip the end, and pipe it on like icing. Yes, like cake. It gives you extra height and control before you go in and shape it with your knife.

Now… walk away. Seriously. Let it dry properly. This can take a full day or two depending on how thick you’ve gone, and if you try to rush it, you’ll just end up dragging everything around and flattening all the texture we’ve just created. 

Once it’s completely dry, go in with a soft sky blue and paint the entire surface. Let the paint catch on the raised areas naturally, don’t overwork it. This is where all that texture starts doing the heavy lifting for you.

Next, grab a pen and lightly sketch in your tiny surfers. Keep them small, spaced out, and a little bit random so they feel scattered across the “water.”

When it comes to painting them, keep it simple. You only need three tones: a base, a shadow, and a highlight. Mix your base using white, a medium yellow, and burnt umber. Add more burnt umber for shadows, and lean into white and yellow for highlights.

And don’t stress the details. These guys are tiny. From afar, they’ll look perfect even if up close they’re missing a foot, a hand, or any real sense of anatomy. It’s fine. It adds character. We’re not submitting this to a medical textbook.

Finishing Touch

Once everything is fully dry, seal your piece with an acrylic varnish to protect it and give it that clean, finished look. This step really pulls everything together and makes it feel like a proper, hang-it-on-your-wall piece.

Materials Used

• Mont Marte Signature Acrylic Paint Set 48 × 36ml Tubes – for your ocean base and surfer details
• Mont Marte Premium Canvas Double Thick 30" x 30" – big, bold, and made to be hung straight on the wall (no frame, no worries)
• Mont Marte Palette – Easy Clean 30 x 40cm – for mixing your tones without chaos
• Mont Marte Studio Series Palette Knife Set 5pc – for those chunky, textured strokes
• Mont Marte Signature Paint Brush Set (Taklon Bristle 11pc) – for detailing your tiny surfers
• Mont Marte Modelling Paste 500ml – the main character, honestly

Choosing Colours Made Easy BANNER 

Choosing Colours Made Easy 

Understanding colour doesn’t need to feel intimidating or overly technical, but having a basic grasp of how it works will completely change the way your artwork looks and feels. At its core, colour theory is about how colours interact with each other through temperature, value, and saturation, and learning to control these three elements is what takes a piece from flat or disconnected to cohesive and intentional.

One of the first things to understand is warm vs cool colour temperature. Warm colours sit on the red, orange, and yellow side of the spectrum and tend to feel closer, richer, and more energetic. Cool colours, like blues and greens, feel calmer and more distant. This matters because temperature can create depth. A warm subject on a cooler background will naturally stand forward, while cooler shadows on a warm base can push areas back and create dimension without needing to add extra detail.

Next is value, which refers to how light or dark a colour is. This is one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of painting. Every colour you use should be able to shift across a range of values. You can lighten a colour by adding white, which softens and tints it, or darken it by adding black or a darker earth tone like burnt umber. Many artists prefer using brown to darken instead of black, as it keeps the colour feeling richer and less harsh. Building a painting with a mix of light, mid, and dark values creates contrast and structure, which is what makes an artwork feel balanced and visually interesting.

Then there’s saturation, which describes how intense or muted a colour is. Straight-from-the-tube colours are often highly saturated, meaning they’re bright and pure. While this can be useful, it can also make a painting feel flat or overly bold if everything is competing for attention. To create a more refined, cohesive look, colours are often slightly desaturated. This can be done by mixing in a small amount of a complementary colour (for example, adding a touch of red into green) or by introducing neutrals like brown, grey, or even a bit of another colour already used in the piece. This reduces intensity and helps everything sit more naturally together.

Another important concept is colour harmony, which is essentially how well your colours relate to each other. One of the easiest ways to achieve this is by mixing your colours from a shared base. Instead of using completely separate colours across your painting, adjust one or two core colours by lightening, darkening, or shifting their temperature. This keeps everything visually connected. Repeating these colours in different areas of your work, even subtly, also reinforces that cohesion and helps guide the viewer’s eye across the piece.

When you’re starting out, limit your palette. This is one of the easiest ways to instantly improve your results.

A good structure to follow:

• 1 dominant colour (your main base or background)
• 1–2 secondary colours (supporting tones)
• 1 highlight colour (usually lighter)
• 1 shadow tone (usually darker or more muted)

This keeps your painting visually connected and stops it from feeling chaotic. You can still create depth and variation by mixing within those colours rather than constantly introducing new ones.

Finally, it’s worth noting that using paint straight from the tube isn’t wrong, but it should be intentional. Pure colours can be great for highlights or contrast, but when overused, they can make a piece feel less considered. Even small adjustments, like adding a touch of white to soften or a hint of brown to ground the colour, can elevate the overall finish significantly.

When you start thinking about colour in terms of temperature, value, and saturation, rather than just “what looks nice,” you gain a lot more control over the final result. And the best part is, you don’t need to get it perfect. Even small, conscious adjustments to your colours will make a noticeable difference in how cohesive and polished your artwork feels.

FAQS BANNER

FAQs: Easy Painting Ideas, Materials & Beginner Tips

What are the easiest painting ideas for beginners?

The easiest painting ideas focus on simple shapes, limited colour palettes, and loose, expressive styles rather than detailed realism. Abstract art, textured canvas pieces, and minimal line-based paintings are perfect starting points because they rely more on colour and composition than technical skill.

What paint is best for beginners?

Acrylic paint is the best option for beginners. It dries quickly, is easy to layer, and works on a wide range of surfaces like canvas, paper, and wood. It’s also very forgiving, which makes it ideal for experimenting and building confidence.

One of the best ranges for beginners through to intermediate artists is Mont Marte Signature Acrylic Paint. It’s a trusted Australian brand known for its affordability, ease of use, and wide colour selection, making it perfect for learning, mixing, and creating without feeling precious about your materials.

What is gesso?

Gesso is a primer used to prepare your surface before painting. It creates a slightly textured layer that helps paint stick properly, prevents it from soaking in, and improves the overall finish of your artwork.

Difference between regular gesso and texture gesso?

Regular gesso creates a smooth, primed surface, while texture gesso has a gritty finish that adds extra tooth and subtle texture. Texture gesso is great for modern, matte-style paintings and helps create that slightly raw, elevated look.

Do I still need to gesso when using modelling paste?

Yes, it’s still recommended. Gesso helps seal and prep the surface so your modelling paste adheres better and more evenly. It also improves durability and prevents the surface from absorbing moisture.

What is modelling paste?

Modelling paste is a thick, acrylic-based medium used to build texture on a surface. It holds its shape as it dries, allowing you to create raised areas, sculptural strokes, and layered effects that add depth to your artwork.

How long does modelling paste take to dry?

Drying time depends on how thick it’s applied. Thin layers can dry within a few hours, but thicker applications can take 24–48 hours to fully cure. It’s important to let it dry completely before painting over it to avoid cracking or dragging the surface.

What is the best way to add texture to a painting?

Using modelling paste with a palette knife is one of the easiest and most effective ways to add texture. You can apply it in thick, expressive strokes and paint over it once dry for a layered, high-end finish.

How do I mix skin tones for painting?

A simple way to mix skin tones is to start with white, add a medium yellow, and then slowly introduce burnt umber. Adjust the mix depending on the tone you want:

• More burnt umber for deeper tones
• More white and yellow for lighter tones
• A tiny touch of red can help add warmth

Building a base, highlight, and shadow from the same mix keeps everything cohesive.

How do I choose colours that go well together?

Start with a limited palette of 3–5 colours and build variations by mixing. Keeping your colours within a similar tone or mood (warm, cool, or neutral) helps everything feel cohesive and intentional.

Why do my colours look muddy?

Colours usually turn muddy when too many are mixed together or over-blended, especially complementary colours like red and green. Mix on your palette first and avoid overworking the paint on your canvas.

How do I seal oil pastel artwork?

Oil pastels don’t fully dry, so they need a fixative or varnish specifically designed for oil pastels. Apply light layers of spray fixative and allow drying time between coats to protect the surface without smudging.

Can I seal artwork on a paper pad?

Yes, but you need to be gentle. Use a spray varnish or fixative rather than a brush-on varnish to avoid warping the paper. Heavier paper (like 300gsm mixed media) handles sealing much better.

Do I need to seal my painting?

Sealing your artwork with varnish is recommended, especially for canvas pieces. It protects the surface, enhances colours, and gives your painting a more finished, professional look.

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Final Thoughts 

Jokes and sarcasm aside for a second… we all need something that pulls us out of the scroll.

Life’s busy, everything’s online, and it’s very easy to spend hours consuming things instead of actually making something. That’s why little creative resets like this matter more than we give them credit for. Sitting down, putting your phone away, and focusing on something with your hands is one of the easiest ways to clear your head and feel a bit more grounded again.

These kinds of paintings aren’t just “cute DIYs” either. They’re genuinely affordable ways to decorate your space with something that actually means something to you. In a world full of mass-produced prints and copy-paste home décor, there’s something really special about creating your own pieces, even if they’re a bit wonky, a bit messy, or completely unexpected.

There’s no pressure for it to be perfect. No expectation for it to be “good enough.” It’s just a stress-free way to switch off, try something new, and maybe even surprise yourself a little along the way.

So whether you’re painting solo with a coffee, having a wine night with friends, or just looking for something to break up the routine… this is your sign to make something.

Not for anyone else. Just for you.

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