Quick answer: Van Gogh is the most popular artist in paint by numbers for a good reason: his paintings are built from bold, separate strokes of strong color, which is exactly what a numbered canvas is made of. The Starry Night is the best-known and a genuinely satisfying project; Sunflowers and Blossoming Almond Tree are the easiest starting points; Irises and Poppies suit anyone who loves flowers; The Mulberry Tree is the one to pick if you want a challenge. All of them come as 16 × 20 inch canvases with numbered paints and brushes, with or without a frame.
There is something particular about painting a Van Gogh yourself. You are not copying a photograph; you are following, stroke by stroke, the decisions of a painter who put every mark down separately, and you come away understanding the picture in a way that looking never gives you. This guide walks through the six Van Gogh designs in the shop, which one to choose, and how to get the best result.
What you will find in this guide
Why Van Gogh works so well as paint by numbers
Most painters blend. Van Gogh did not. He laid down thick, distinct strokes of color side by side and let the eye mix them, which means his paintings already look like they are made of sections. When a Van Gogh is converted into a numbered canvas, the sections follow his brushstrokes, and painting them one by one feels less like filling in shapes and more like retracing his hand.
His palette helps too: strong blues, yellows, greens and oranges that stay vivid when reduced to two dozen paints. And the subjects — night skies, flowers, trees, fields — are what most people want on their walls anyway.
The Starry Night
Painted in 1889 from the window of the asylum at Saint-Rémy, this is the most famous night sky in art and by far the most requested paint by numbers design. The swirling sky is a long, meditative project of blues and pale yellows in curved sections; the village below is quick and dark; the cypress in the foreground is a satisfying, dramatic finish.
Difficulty: medium. The sky has many sections but they are large and flow into each other, so the work is rhythmic rather than fiddly. Time: around 25 to 35 hours. Best for: anyone who wants the iconic picture, and painters who enjoy long, calm sessions on big areas. See The Starry Night kit.
Sunflowers
Van Gogh painted his sunflowers in Arles in 1888 to decorate the room he was preparing for Gauguin, and the yellow-on-yellow palette was a deliberate experiment. As a kit it is warm, cheerful and forgiving: the petals and the background are large sections in closely related shades, so a slip over a line is almost invisible.
Difficulty: easy to medium. The seed heads have the smallest sections; everything else is generous. Time: 15 to 25 hours. Best for: a first famous painting, and for kitchens and sunny rooms. See the Sunflowers kit.
Blossoming Almond Tree
Painted in 1890 as a gift for his newborn nephew, this is the gentlest picture Van Gogh ever made: white blossom against a clear turquoise sky. It is also one of the most popular designs in the shop, because it suits almost any room. The sky is a large, easy area; the branches are a satisfying dark network; the blossoms are the detailed part and reward patience.
Difficulty: easy to medium. Time: 15 to 25 hours. Best for: bedrooms and nurseries, a baby gift, and anyone who wants something calm. See the Blossoming Almond Tree kit.
Irises
The irises were painted in the asylum garden in 1889, the first week Van Gogh was there, and the picture is full of life: deep blue-violet flowers, green sword-shaped leaves, and a single white iris off to the left. It is a more detailed design than the almond blossom — the leaves cross and overlap — but the colors are bold and every section is clear.
Difficulty: medium. Time: 25 to 35 hours. Best for: gardeners and anyone who loves blues and greens. See the Irises kit.
Poppies
A vase of red poppies, painted in Paris around 1886, before the famous years. It is bolder and simpler than the later flower pictures: big red blooms, a dark background, quick to paint and striking on a wall. If you want a Van Gogh finished this month, this is the one.
Difficulty: easy. Time: 12 to 20 hours. Best for: beginners, and rooms that need a strong splash of red. See the Poppies kit.
The Mulberry Tree
Painted in the autumn of 1889, this is a single tree ablaze in orange and yellow against a blue sky, every leaf a separate stroke. It is the most demanding Van Gogh in the range — the foliage is hundreds of small, similar sections in a handful of close shades — and the most spectacular when finished.
Difficulty: hard. Time: 35 to 45 hours. Best for: painters who have finished a few canvases and want a project to lose themselves in. See The Mulberry Tree kit.
Which one to choose
| If you want… | Choose |
|---|---|
| The famous one | The Starry Night |
| The easiest start | Poppies or Sunflowers |
| Something calm for a bedroom | Blossoming Almond Tree |
| Flowers with real detail | Irises |
| A long, absorbing challenge | The Mulberry Tree |
| A gift for someone who loves art | The Starry Night or Almond Tree |
Tips for painting a Van Gogh
- Follow the stroke direction. Where a section is long and curved, brush along its length. The finished painting picks up the movement of the original.
- Do not thin the paint. Van Gogh's surfaces are thick. Slightly heavier coverage suits these designs better than most.
- Paint the sky first on The Starry Night, then the village, then the cypress. The tree's dark edges tidy everything they touch.
- Use two coats on the yellows. Sunflowers and the Mulberry Tree are full of light colors over printed numbers.
- Consider a gloss varnish at the end. It deepens the blues and yellows and gives the surface the sheen these pictures have in the gallery. See our sealing guide.
- Stretch it on bars. A Van Gogh on a gallery-style stretched canvas looks the part. Our framing guide shows how.
Frequently asked questions
Is The Starry Night paint by numbers hard?
Medium. The sky has many sections, but they are large and flow into one another, so it is calming rather than fiddly. Allow 25 to 35 hours.
Which Van Gogh paint by numbers is easiest?
Poppies, followed by Sunflowers and Blossoming Almond Tree. All three have large sections and forgiving colors.
What size are the Van Gogh kits?
16 × 20 inches (40 × 50 cm), with the option of a wooden frame. Each kit includes the numbered canvas, numbered acrylic paints and three brushes.
Do I need painting experience?
No. The canvas is numbered and the paints are matched. Van Gogh's style, with its separate strokes of color, suits the method better than almost any other artist.
Are there other famous artists available?
Yes: Monet, Klimt, Vermeer, Munch, Cézanne, Kandinsky, da Vinci and more. Browse the famous artists collection.
How should I finish and display a Van Gogh canvas?
Seal it with gloss varnish for depth, then stretch it on wooden bars for the gallery look. Both are covered in our sealing and framing guides linked above.
Paint the one you have always loved
Every Van Gogh in the shop is in the Van Gogh collection. If you would rather start somewhere else among the masters, the Monet and Klimt collections are the next most popular, and the full famous artists collection has them all. Whatever you choose, paint the sky first.
