Ocean and beach scenes are some of the most rewarding paint by numbers kits you can hang at home: a band of blue, a line of white foam, warm sand, and the room feels lighter. Below are the scenes that work best on a numbered canvas, what each one asks of you, and the kits we would start with. If you are decorating, our guide to paint by numbers for the living room has placement ideas, and the tropical kits guide covers palms and parrots.
Want to paint this yourself?
Turn one of your own photos into a numbered canvas (from $19.95). We trace it, mix the paints to match, and ship the kit with brushes.
Or pick a ready-made beach scene:
- Beach Waves Paint by Numbers Kit (from $19.95)
- Dusky Ocean Rhythms Paint by Numbers Kit (from $19.95)
- Tropical Beach House Paint by Numbers Kit (from $19.95)
- Lighthouse and Sea Paint by Numbers Kit (from $19.95)
Five beach and ocean scenes that paint well
Breaking waves on the shore
The classic. Beach Waves is mostly open water and foam with a strip of wet sand at the bottom, so the areas are large and forgiving. It is a good first ocean kit: the hardest part is keeping the whites clean.
Sunset beach
Pinks, oranges and violets reflected in the wet sand. Dusky Ocean Rhythms puts a low sun behind palm silhouettes, and the reflection on the shoreline is where the painting comes alive. Warm palettes like this suit bedrooms and reading corners.
Dramatic seas and rocks
Fiery Ocean Dusk has heavy surf against dark rocks under a burning sky. More contrast, more small cells in the spray, and more satisfying when it is done. Better as a second or third kit.
Tropical paradise
Turquoise water, white sand, palm fronds. Tropical Beach House adds a painted cottage with a porch, which breaks up the blues and gives you some easy straight lines between the busier foliage.
Lighthouses
A lighthouse gives the eye somewhere to land. Lighthouse and Sea sits on a calm bay at dusk with sailboats on the horizon; Lighthouse at Sundown is wilder, with surf breaking on red rocks. Both look at home in a hallway or a coastal-themed room.
How to paint water that looks wet
Work from the horizon down. The sky and far water are usually the palest blues. Painting them first keeps darker paint from being dragged up into the light areas.
Save the foam for last. White over dry blue covers far better than blue over white. If a white cell still shows the printed line after one coat, give it a second once the first is dry.
Soften the shoreline. Where wet sand meets the water, blur the border between the two numbers with a barely damp brush while the paint is fresh. A hard line there makes the water look like a sticker.
Keep two whites. If your kit has a warm white and a pure white, use the pure one on the brightest foam and the warm one on sand highlights. Mixing them up is the quickest way to flatten a beach scene.
Where ocean paintings look best
Blues and sand tones are easy to live with, which is why ocean canvases are popular in bathrooms, bedrooms and beach houses. Two or three seascapes hung together make a simple coastal gallery wall. If you have a favourite beach from a holiday, a custom kit from your own photo turns it into a painting you made yourself.
Free shipping to the US, Canada, the UK, the EU, Australia and New Zealand, with no minimum order. Buy two kits and the third is free, applied automatically at checkout.
Three recent ones: the Sunlit Ocean Wave, the Two Dolphins Leaping at Sunset and the Red Lighthouse and Wildflowers at Sunset.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the easiest ocean paint by numbers kit for beginners?
A simple wave scene with large areas of water and foam, such as Beach Waves. Rocky seas and sunsets with palm silhouettes have more small cells and suit a second kit.
How do you paint foam and waves in paint by numbers?
Paint the blues first and the white foam last, over dry paint. Add a second coat of white where the printed lines still show, and soften the shoreline edge while the paint is wet.
Can I turn my own beach photo into a paint by numbers kit?
Yes. Upload the photo to our custom kit and we trace it, number it and match the paints, then ship the canvas with brushes.
Where should I hang an ocean painting?
Ocean scenes suit bathrooms, bedrooms and hallways, and several seascapes together make an easy coastal gallery wall.
