I get asked a lot on social media “can you use watercolors on canvas?”, and the short answer is yes kinda. You can create the airy watercolor look on canvas, but you will need to prep and preserve the canvas carefully.
Unlike watercolor paper, a regular canvas isn’t absorbent enough for watercolors to flow and blend naturally. But with the right prep and a few easy techniques, you can absolutely create soft, dreamy watercolor effects on canvas.
Today, I’ll show you how I painted a heart mixed media canvas that looks delicate and textured—the perfect mix of art and craft.
What You’ll Need
- A blank stretched canvas or canvas panel
- Gesso (to prep the surface)
- Paintbrushes
- Watercolors or watercolor pencils
- Water and paper towels
- Optional: paper doilies, gel medium, Mod Podge, or embellishments
Step 1: Prepare the Canvas and create texture
If you paint directly on canvas with watercolors, the pigment will bead up or slide around. To fix that, first coat your canvas with several layers of gesso This creates a slightly rough surface that can absorb color.
For extra visual interest, try adding paper doilies or bits of collage before painting. I glued a few paper doilies using Mod Podge and let them dry. This is a easy paper doily craft!
Once dry, I lightly sanded the surface to soften the edges of the paper. This helps your paint flow more smoothly later.
Step 2: Paint with Watercolors
Now for the fun part! Load your brush with watery paint and let the color move freely across the canvas. Because of the textured surface, the pigments settle in unique ways creating soft gradients and abstract effects you can’t get on paper.
You can stop here or add embellishments—like a cutout heart, sequins, or stamped words—to make your piece truly personal.
Step 3: Seal and Finish
When your design is dry, seal it with a thin coat of Mod Podge or spray varnish. This protects the watercolor and gives your canvas a light sheen.
Tips for Success
- Avoid soaking the surface. Since canvas doesn’t absorb like paper, too much water can cause puddling.
- Use high quality watercolor ground. It makes a big difference in how the paint moves.
- Work in thin layers. Build color gradually for better control.
- Try watercolor pencils or crayons. They’re great for details on canvas.
Other Creative Ideas
If you enjoyed this watercolors on canvas experiment, you might also love these projects from my studio:
🎨 Heart canvas art – a mixed-media version using paint, paper, and collage.
💖 Stuffed felt hearts craft – soft and colorful sewing fun.
🌸 Heart flower painting – another beautiful way to play with watercolor textures.
Final Thoughts
So yes, you can absolutely use watercolors on canvas! With a bit of surface prep and patience, you’ll get gorgeous, flowing color that feels light and airy yet durable enough to hang as wall art.
It’s a creative twist on traditional watercolor painting, and once you try it, you might never look at a blank canvas the same way again.
Happy painting, friends! 💕
