Paint a Simple Lighthouse
From Scratch 🏡

Using your pencil, draw a horizontal sea line about one-third from the bottom of the canvas. In the center, draw a tall trapezoid for the lighthouse tower — slightly wider at the base and narrower at the top. On top of the tower, draw a smaller trapezoid for the lantern room, and a thin horizontal line above it for the roof. Below the sea line, draw a smooth half-circle for the green island. Keep all lines light and loose.

Mix Cobalt Blue with a generous amount of Titanium White to create a light sky blue. Paint the sky area above the sea line with smooth horizontal strokes. Add a little more Titanium White toward the horizon to create a subtle gradient — slightly deeper blue at the top, lighter near the water. Let dry for 1–2 minutes.

Load your brush with Cobalt Blue and fill in the ocean area below the sea line with smooth horizontal strokes. Then switch to Hooker's Green and fill in the rounded island shape with smooth strokes, keeping the edges clean and rounded.

Fill the entire lighthouse tower with Titanium White. Let it dry completely before adding the stripes. Then load your brush with Crimson Red and paint 2 bold horizontal stripes across the tower. Keep the stripes even in width and spacing. For cleaner edges, you can use a piece of masking tape as a guide — just press it along the stripe edge, paint, and peel off while still wet.

Fill the small trapezoid lantern room at the top of the lighthouse with Lemon Yellow. Then use a fine brush and Lamp Black to paint a thin horizontal rectangle across the very top of the lantern room for the roof. Keep it simple — just a clean dark line.

Using a fine brush and Titanium White, paint 2 loose, slightly wavy horizontal strokes across the ocean to suggest light reflecting on the water. Step back and look at your painting. Touch up any areas where colors bled into each other. Your lighthouse painting is complete! 🏡