Winter Paint by Numbers: Snowy Forests, Cozy Cabins and Scenes for January and February

Quick answer: Winter is the best season on a numbered canvas, and not because of Christmas. Snow turns a picture into a few big, calm shapes with warm light inside them: a cabin window, a sunset between bare trees, the fur of a reindeer against white. Those are generous sections that paint quickly and look finished early. The kits that work best are snowy forests with one or two animals, cottages and cabins with a lit window, and quiet winter paths and mountains in the style of Mariia Sukalova. The one skill to learn is white: a shadow white and a sunlit white are different pots, white needs two coats, and it goes on last. Start in early January and a standard 16 × 20 inch winter canvas is on the wall before the snow outside melts.

Once the ornaments are back in their boxes, the long evenings are still here — January and February have more quiet hours at the table than any other months. A winter canvas without a single bauble on it fits that time exactly: snow, trees, a light in a window, and nothing that has to come down on the sixth of January. This guide covers which winter designs paint well, how to handle all that white, and which kits to pick for the weeks after the holidays. For ornaments, cards and the advent calendar, see our Christmas decorations guide; this one is about winter itself.

Why winter scenes paint so well

A summer landscape is hundreds of greens. A winter landscape is snow, sky, a few dark trunks and one warm accent. On the canvas that means fewer colors, bigger sections and far fewer tiny slivers along the edges. Most winter kits use a generous share of their pots on three or four whites and pale blues, so the biggest areas go on fast and the picture reads as snow almost immediately.

The second reason is contrast. Dark trees on white, a yellow window on blue dusk, a brown deer in a pale clearing: these edges are easy to see and easy to paint, and a slightly wobbly line between a trunk and the snow looks like bark, not like a mistake.

Snowy forests and winter animals

The classic winter canvas is a clearing with an animal in it. Reindeer in the Snowy Forest is the one to start with: the trees are simple vertical shapes, the snow is three or four large tones, and the reindeer itself is the only place with small sections, so you can give it your full attention at the end. Deer, foxes and owls follow the same pattern.

For a bolder, almost poster-like version, the Winter Penguin on a square 16 × 16 inch canvas has very few colors and large flat areas; it paints in a handful of evenings and suits a child's room or a kitchen. The Little Snow Family is similar in spirit: round shapes, clear edges, cheerful without being Christmassy.

For fur and feathers, our animal guide has the method; on a winter canvas, paint the fur sections before the white so the white can tidy the edge afterwards.

Cabins, cottages and the lit window

The lit window is the heart of almost every winter picture, and it is the easiest part to paint: one or two small yellow sections, usually the brightest color in the kit, surrounded by cool blues and grays. Save it for the final evening; painted after all the snow is in, it switches the whole scene on.

Kit	What makes it	Sections	Good for
Winter Cabin Glow	A cabin at dusk, warm light spilling onto the snow	Large, with a detailed cabin	A first winter canvas
Quiet Winter Night Cottage	Soft night blues, a single lit cottage, Sukalova's loose style	Large and forgiving	Painters who like calm, painterly edges
Cozy Mountain Cabin	A cabin below snowy peaks	Medium	Anyone who loves the mountains
Cabin by the Forest	Dark pines, pale clearing, one roof	Large	A quick, high-contrast project
Cozy Cabin Christmas Window	A window from inside, looking out at the snow	Medium, with small details	Those who want a hint of the holidays

Mariia Sukalova's cabins are drawn from loose brushwork, so the sections follow her strokes and nothing needs a perfectly straight edge. The whole range is in the Mariia Sukalova collection.

Winter paths, mountains and golden dusk

Some of the most restful canvases are just a path, a line of trees and the sky. Winter Path through the Mountains is a 16 × 20 inch canvas where the snow carries the picture and the mountains are soft bands of blue and violet. Winter Forest at Golden Dusk and Winter Tree at Sunset add an orange sky behind bare branches: the warm sky goes on in big sections, and the dark branches are painted over it last, like drawing.

These sunset scenes also suit a shared table, because one person can paint the big sky while the other does the branches — our painting together guide has more pairings. For landscapes without a season, browse the nature and landscapes collection.

How to paint snow: the three whites

Snow is never one white, and every good winter kit gives you several: a pure white for the sunlit tops, a bluish white for shadow, and often a warm cream where the window light falls. The numbers tell them apart on the canvas; the pots, side by side, can look almost identical. Three habits keep them straight.

1. Mark the lids. Before you start, dab a spot of each white on its own lid, next to the number. Under a daylight lamp the difference shows; under a yellow bulb it does not, which is one more reason for the lamp we recommend.
2. Paint the whites last. Do every dark and mid-tone first — trees, cabin, sky, animal. Then the shadow white, then the pure white. White is the most opaque color in the kit and covers any line you crossed earlier, so painting it last cleans up the whole picture.
3. Plan on two coats. Light colors cover less well than dark ones; a single coat of white over the printed numbers usually shows them faintly. Paint the whole white area once, let it dry fully (twenty minutes is enough), and go over it again. The second coat is quick because the brush does not have to find the edges anymore.

If a white pot runs low from the double coat, a matching extra pot is easy to order.

Cold light, warm light

What makes a winter canvas look like winter is the split between cold and warm: shadows lean blue, anything touched by sun or lamplight leans yellow. The numbers already do this; a few habits help:

• Keep blues clean. Rinse the brush properly between a blue-white and a yellow one, and change the water before you start the whites. A trace of yellow turns a shadow white green.
• Do not thin the whites. A damp brush is fine, but water in a white pot makes it transparent and streaky. If it feels stiff, stir it; do not dilute it.
• Edges between warm and cold are where the picture is won: smallest brush, hand resting on a sheet of paper. For melting a sunset band into violet, see our advanced techniques guide.

Small winter projects for short evenings

For evenings when forty minutes is all there is, three smaller winter kits fit the gap:

• Mini sets. Woodland Winter Friends and Snow Day Animal Friends are six round 20 cm pictures each; one animal per evening, and the six hang as a group afterward. Cozy Winter Mugs does the same with hexagons. Our mini guide explains how to hang six as one.
• Glowing panels. The Christmas Light kits are LED panels you paint; the snowy ones such as Girl at the Snowy Tree or Snowy Christmas Duck stay lit on a windowsill until March; how they work is in our LED kit guide.
• Wood and ornaments. The wood slice kits and the polar bear and penguin ornament set are single-evening projects, ready for a winter wreath now or next year's tree.

When to start, and a January plan

Order in the last week of December and set the canvas up on the second of January. A standard winter canvas with big snow sections takes most people 20 to 30 hours — see our time guide — which is three to four weeks of hour-long evenings. A plan that works:

• Week one: sky and the darkest colors — trunks, the cabin walls, the deep shadows. The picture looks like a sketch.
• Week two: mid-tones — the mountains, the distant trees, the animal's body. The picture looks like a picture.
• Week three: the whites, shadow first, two coats. The picture looks like winter.
• Week four: the window, the sunset, the smallest highlights, and a coat of varnish — our sealing guide shows how. Framed by the first of February, with the whole month still to enjoy it on the wall.

Frequently asked questions

Which winter paint by numbers is best for a beginner?

A snowy forest with one animal, such as Reindeer in the Snowy Forest, or a Sukalova cabin scene. Both have large snow sections, strong contrast and only one small area of detail.

How do I paint white snow so the numbers do not show through?

Paint all the darker colors first, then give the white areas two coats, letting the first dry completely. White is opaque enough to cover the printed numbers with a second coat.

Why are there several white pots in my kit?

Snow is painted with a pure white, a blue-gray shadow white and often a warm cream where light falls. Mark each lid with a dab of its color so you do not mix them up.

Can I paint a winter canvas that is not Christmassy?

Yes. Forest, cabin and mountain scenes without decorations stay on the wall all season. Kits with Christmas trees and gifts are better covered in our Christmas decorations guide.

How long does a winter landscape take?

Most 16 by 20 inch winter canvases take 20 to 30 hours because of the large snow areas, which is three to four weeks of evening sessions.

Do the Mariia Sukalova winter kits come with a frame?

Each is offered with or without a wooden frame. Without, the canvas arrives rolled and can be stretched or framed later; with, it arrives ready to hang when finished.

Snow on the table, snow outside

Pick a scene with a light in it, keep the whites for last, and give yourself January. The Christmas and winter collection has the forests, cabins and animals from this guide, the Mariia Sukalova collection has the softer painterly ones, and the mini sets are there for the short evenings in between. If this is your first canvas of any kind, our first evening guide takes you from the box to the first stroke.