Rainy day painting gets a bad reputation for looking gloomy, but it does not have to. Pale grey skies, dusty blue puddles and one bright umbrella can carry more warmth than a sunny picture ever will, and that contrast is exactly what makes these scenes so satisfying to paint.
Below you will find 34 rainy moments, from a child jumping in yellow boots to a quiet farmhouse porch, each one built to finish in a single sitting with acrylics. Scroll at your own pace, pick whichever scene makes you want to pick up a brush right now, and let the rain do the rest.
Using these images: free for personal projects such as printing, coloring, cards, journals and gifts. Handmade items that include them may be sold up to 30 pieces per design. More than that is commercial use and is not permitted, and neither is selling or sharing the images themselves or passing them off as your own. Please ask before any other use.
Start simple with a girl with a clear umbrella on a crosswalk, since the see-through dome lets you practice rain without hiding your subject behind it. Block in a pale grey-cream sky and a dusty blue street first, then paint her coat and boots as two or three flat shapes before you touch the umbrella.
Paint the umbrella last, as a pale oval with faint white lines for its ribs, so the street colors show through it just slightly. This is where beginners usually overwork it, so if your clear dome looks heavy, scrape a damp flat brush across it to lift paint back off and let more grey show through.
Keep the crosswalk stripes loose and a little wet-blended rather than ruler-straight, that softness reads as rain-slicked pavement. If you do not have a fine liner brush for the white stripes, the edge of an old credit card dipped in paint drags a clean enough stripe.
Finish with a few white gel pen dots for raindrops near her feet to ground the whole scene today.
You Will Need
- white gel pen
Palette: Payne’s Grey,Dusty Blue,Cream,Warm Yellow
Move from the crosswalk to something with more motion: a child jumping in a puddle in yellow boots. Measure the figure first with loose pencil marks, the boots should take up about a third of the total height so the jump reads as joyful rather than tiny and lost in the page.
Paint the puddle as a flat cream-grey oval before the boots go in, then add the splash in white and pale blue with a dry, almost scrubby brushstroke radiating outward. Block the raincoat in pink or yellow next, and save the yellow boots for last so they stay the brightest note in the painting.
If the splash looks too neat, flick a loaded brush toward the puddle with a snap of the wrist instead of painting each droplet by hand. No fan brush on hand, an old toothbrush flicked with your thumb gives the same scatter.
Keep the background soft and undetailed so the jump stays the whole story.
You Will Need
- toothbrush for splatter
Palette: Butter Yellow,Soft Pink,Pale Grey,Cream White
After all that splashing, slow down with a dog in a raincoat standing calmly on a wet pavement. Begin with the body as a simple rounded shape, then fit the little raincoat over it like a tube, leaving the head, legs and tail poking out.
Build the fur in two values only, a warm mid-brown or grey base and a slightly darker shadow underneath the coat and along the legs, this keeps a beginner from getting lost in individual hairs. Paint the raincoat in a bright, cheerful color so it pops against the muted street, then come back with a dry brush loaded with a lighter shade to flick a few texture strokes over the fur for warmth.
If the fur edges look too hard, soften them immediately with a clean damp brush while the paint is still wet rather than trying to fix it once dry. Swap a bristle brush for a dry flat one if you do not own a fan brush, both scrub texture well.
Finish with a wet-look puddle under the paws to ground the pose.
Palette: Warm Umber,Dusty Blue,Red,Pale Grey
Shift indoors for a cafe window with rain streaks and a latte sitting on the sill. Paint the glass first as one soft grey-blue rectangle, then add the blurred shapes of umbrellas and figures outside with loose, unfocused dabs so they read as reflections rather than people.
Once that background is dry, paint the rain streaks on top using a dry brush dragged straight down in thin, uneven lines, this layering is what sells the glass. Add the latte cup in cream and warm brown in the foreground, slightly sharper and more detailed than anything behind the glass, since that contrast in focus is what perspective does for a still scene like this.
If the streaks look too uniform, vary their length and spacing rather than dragging the brush the same way each time. A damp cotton swab dragged through wet paint works as a streak tool if you do not have a very dry brush handy.
Keep the cafe interior around the cup soft and warm-toned.
Palette: Dusty Blue,Cream,Warm Brown,Soft Grey
Look at a real rain-streaked window or photo for reference, the streaks rarely run perfectly straight, they wobble slightly where dust or dirt interrupts the glass.
Build on that cozy mood with a couple sharing one umbrella, walking close together down a quiet street. Sketch both figures first as simple leaning shapes, tilted slightly toward each other, since that small lean is what makes two people read as a couple rather than two strangers.
Paint the umbrella as one large dome covering both heads, then work the coats in two different but complementary colors so each figure stays readable against the grey street. Keep their legs and feet loose and slightly blurred into the wet pavement below, that softness pulls focus back up to the umbrella and the gesture of closeness.
If the figures end up too stiff, angle their shoulders unevenly rather than painting them front-on and identical. For an easier version today, paint them from behind so you can skip faces entirely and focus on silhouette and color.
Finish with warm streetlight reflections in the puddles at their feet.
Palette: Dusty Rose,Navy Grey,Cream,Warm Yellow
Take a breather from figures and paint a row of colorful umbrellas outside a shop, lined up and leaning against a wall or stand. Block in the pale cream shopfront first, then paint each umbrella as a simple triangle or dome shape, varying the colors across yellow, pink, red and soft blue so the row reads as a cheerful little collection.
Work left to right so wet edges can blend slightly where umbrellas overlap, that soft overlap is more believable than hard outlines around each one. Keep the wall and pavement behind them quiet and underpainted so the umbrellas stay the star of the piece.
If the row looks flat, make the umbrellas slightly different sizes and angles rather than lining them up identically, real umbrella displays are never perfectly even. No umbrella reference handy, a child’s toy pinwheel or even a closed fan gives you the same fan-folded shape to study.
Add small cream highlights along each umbrella’s ribs to finish.
Palette: Butter Yellow,Soft Pink,Red,Dusty Blue
Add more life to the street with people waiting at a bus stop in the rain, a small group huddled under a shelter roof. Place the shelter’s roofline first as a simple diagonal, since that one line sets your eye level and tells the viewer whether they are looking at the scene straight on or slightly from below.
Paint the figures as simplified silhouettes of different heights and umbrella colors, keeping faces loose or turned away to keep the focus on the gesture of waiting rather than individual expressions. Light the scene from a pale sky behind the shelter so the rain falls as soft grey streaks catching that light at an angle, rather than falling perfectly vertical.
If the group looks like a wall of people, stagger them with gaps and overlaps instead of a straight line. For a quicker version today, paint just two figures rather than a crowd and let the composition breathe.
Finish with a warm bus headlight glow approaching from the edge of the canvas.
Palette: Pale Grey,Dusty Blue,Warm Yellow,Soft Pink
Give yourself a calmer subject with rain ripples on a lake, painted mostly in soft horizontal bands of grey and blue. Lay the water in first as three or four blended bands from light at the horizon to slightly darker toward the foreground, then let that layer dry before adding any ripples.
Paint the ripples as small pale ovals and dots scattered unevenly across the surface, heavier near the foreground and sparser toward the misty horizon, since objects and marks naturally shrink and fade as they recede into distance. A kneaded eraser will not help you here since this is paint, but a damp brush dabbed gently into wet ripple marks softens any that look too sharp or cartoonish.
If the water looks static, vary the size and spacing of your ripple dots rather than repeating the same mark across the whole lake. Try this one on a small canvas first if you are nervous about covering a big empty water surface.
A single pale heron shape at the water’s edge finishes the scene nicely.
Palette: Dusty Blue,Pale Grey,Cream,Soft Green
Bring the mood indoors again with a cat watching rain from a windowsill, curled or sitting upright in silhouette against the wet glass. Paint the window and rain-streaked glass first using the same dry-brush streak trick as the cafe scene, then let it dry fully before placing the cat on top.
Build the cat as a simple dark silhouette shape rather than a detailed portrait, this keeps the contrast strong against the pale window and avoids a fiddly face at this stage. Add just enough warm interior light along one edge of the cat’s back to separate it gently from the cool grey glass behind it.
If the silhouette looks flat, lighten one edge with a dry brush of warm cream to suggest a lamp glowing somewhere in the room. Readers who enjoy painting cats in cozy corners will find more ideas in this cat sketchbook collection worth exploring.
Finish with one or two raindrop trails on the glass near the cat’s silhouette.
Palette: Charcoal Grey,Dusty Blue,Cream,Warm Yellow
Lighten the mood further with a summer garden in rain with a snail making its way along a leaf, a small and gentle subject for a single sitting. Paint the greenery first as loose overlapping leaf shapes in soft sage and olive, keeping edges soft rather than cutting each leaf out sharply.
Place the snail last on the most prominent leaf, its shell painted as a simple spiral built from one continuous curved line rather than many short strokes. Rain here should feel gentle, so use soft diagonal grey streaks only in the upper half of the canvas, leaving the leaves and snail mostly untouched by visible drops.
If the leaves look too uniform, vary their green by mixing a touch of yellow into some and a touch of blue into others before they are applied. No reference snail to hand, a garden spiral shell or even a cinnamon roll photo gives you the same coiled shape to study.
Add tiny white dew highlights along the leaf edges to finish.
Palette: Sage Green,Olive,Dusty Blue,Cream
Try a still life next with rain boots and an umbrella stand by the door, a quiet corner scene with no figures at all. Arrange the composition with the boots at a slight angle to each other rather than paired perfectly straight, and lean the umbrella against the stand rather than placing it dead center.
Paint the boots first in one bold color, blocking the shape before adding a darker shadow value where they meet the floor. Build the umbrella stand and floor in muted creams and greys so the boots and umbrella colors carry all the warmth in the piece.
If the objects look like they are floating, paint a soft contact shadow directly beneath each one before you move on to details, that single shadow is what grounds everything to the floor. This is an easy one to practice basic acrylic blocking if you are newer to the medium, and pairs well with ideas from these easy acrylic painting ideas for more beginner-friendly still life practice.
Finish with one small puddle shape forming near the door mat.
Palette: Warm Yellow,Red,Cream,Pale Grey
Build real drama into a quiet palette with a red umbrella in a crowd of grey ones, your one chance in this list to really let color do all the talking. Paint every umbrella in the crowd first using muted greys and soft blues, varied slightly in tone so the crowd does not look flat, then let that entire layer dry completely.
Add the red umbrella last, placed slightly off-center rather than dead in the middle of the canvas, since an asymmetrical placement keeps the eye moving rather than landing and stopping. Keep its red bold and a little more saturated than anything else in the painting, that single jump in intensity is what makes it sing against all the grey.
If the red umbrella gets lost, surround it with a touch more negative space between it and its neighbors rather than packing the crowd tight around it. For a bolder version, paint the crowd walking slightly uphill or on a diagonal street to add movement to the whole scene.
One tip for today: paint this layer-by-layer rather than wet-into-wet so the red stays crisp.
Palette: Red,Pale Grey,Dusty Blue,Cream
Bring some quick motion back in with a man running with a newspaper over his head, caught mid-stride as he dashes for shelter. Sketch the pose first with a simple gesture line for the spine, leaning forward, before building any of the clothing or paper shape on top of it, this keeps the running feel honest from the very first mark.
Paint the coat and trousers in loose, slightly smeared strokes to suggest motion blur, then add the newspaper as a few quick white-grey shapes held above the head. Keep the background soft and undetailed, maybe just a blurred streetlamp or shopfront, so nothing competes with the sense of hurry.
If the pose looks stiff, exaggerate the forward lean and the back leg’s kick more than feels natural, running figures always look more dynamic pushed slightly past real life. Ten minutes gets you the silhouette and motion blur alone, forty minutes lets you add puddle splashes at his feet and a second blurred figure behind him.
Finish with a scribbled rain line pattern angled the same direction as his lean.
Palette: Navy Grey,Cream,Dusty Blue,Pale Grey
Return to water with ducks enjoying the rain on a pond, a cheerful contrast to the hurried figure before it. Paint the pond surface first in soft blended greys and blues, then add two or three duck shapes as simple rounded bodies with a slightly pointed tail and a small raised head.
Build the feathers with just two values, a base color and one shadow tone along the underside, rather than painting individual feathers, this keeps the ducks reading as relaxed rather than overworked. Scatter a few rain ripples around them using the same dot technique from the lake scene, keeping the water near the ducks calmer than the water farther away.
If the ducks look too stiff or symmetrical, vary their head angles so one looks left, one looks down, and one looks straight ahead. No duck reference handy, a rubber bath duck toy gives you the same basic proportions to study from any angle.
Finish with soft reflections of the ducks painted directly beneath them in the water.
Palette: Warm Brown,Cream,Dusty Blue,Soft Green
Slow right down with a blanket and tea while rain falls outside, painted from an interior point of view looking out through a window. Set your eye level low, as if you are seated on the sofa yourself, this changes how much window and sky you show and keeps the whole feeling intimate rather than distant.
Paint the window and rain first as a soft blurred background, then bring the blanket and teacup forward in warmer, sharper colors and more texture, since warmth and detail both pull an eye toward the foreground over a cool blurred background. Use a dry brush loaded lightly with cream to add a few fuzzy highlight strokes across the blanket’s folds.
If the blanket looks flat, paint its folds as simple light and dark bands rather than outlining each wrinkle individually. This cozy indoor mood pairs naturally with ideas from this winter oil painting guide if you enjoy painting warm interiors against cold weather.
Add steam rising from the teacup with two or three soft curved white lines.
Palette: Cream,Dusty Rose,Dusty Blue,Warm Brown
Celebrate the end of the storm with a rainbow over fields after the rain, your brightest subject in this whole list. Paint the sky first as a soft gradient from pale grey on one side to warm cream and pale blue on the other, this split sky is what sells the idea that the storm has just passed.
Add the rainbow next using a very light touch, thinned paint and a soft round brush, keeping the bands pale and slightly translucent rather than solid and cartoonish, a believable rainbow almost glows rather than sits flat on the sky. Build the fields below in soft greens with a few darker strokes for hedgerows or distant trees, keeping everything soft-focus to let the rainbow remain the star.
If the rainbow looks too solid, go back over it with a clean damp brush to lift a little paint and soften it further. For a varied version next time, paint the same rainbow reflected faintly in a puddle or wet field below.
Finish with a few scattered white birds for scale in the open sky.
Palette: Pale Grey,Soft Green,Dusty Rose,Warm Yellow
Add some bustle back with a market under tarps in the rain, stalls and awnings catching the light while shoppers move between them. Begin with the tarp shapes as large simple triangles and rectangles in pale cream and dusty blue, since getting this scaffolding right first keeps the whole busy scene from feeling chaotic later.
Paint the stalls beneath in muted tones, then scatter a few small figures with umbrellas moving between them, keeping each figure loose and unfinished at this scale rather than detailed. Light the whole scene evenly from the pale sky above so shadows stay soft and the mood stays gentle rather than dramatic.
If the composition feels crowded, leave more open negative space between stalls rather than filling every inch of the canvas with activity. If tarps feel tricky to paint, reference a simple triangle tent shape and flatten its peak slightly for a more realistic sag.
Finish with warm little lantern glows tucked under a few of the awnings.
Palette: Dusty Blue,Cream,Warm Yellow,Pale Grey
Return to pure joy with a girl dancing in the rain, arms outstretched and skirt mid-twirl. Sketch the pose first as a simple curved spine with the arms flung wide, checking that her head, hands and hem roughly fit inside a loose diamond shape, that comparison keeps a dancing figure balanced rather than toppling off the canvas.
Paint her dress in one bright flowing color, using sweeping curved strokes that follow the direction of the twirl rather than short choppy marks, this is what makes fabric read as moving rather than stiff. Keep the background soft and misty, maybe just a wash of pale grey-blue, so her movement stays the clear focus of the piece.
If the twirl looks frozen, add a few thin trailing lines off the hem and sleeves to suggest motion blur following her spin. No umbrella needed here, letting her dance bare-headed in the rain keeps the pose freer and easier to paint.
Finish with scattered raindrops painted as small white flicks around her entire figure.
Palette: Soft Pink,Dusty Blue,Cream,Warm Yellow
Bring the scale back down small with a child floating a paper boat in a gutter, a quiet low-to-the-ground moment. Set your eye level very low here, almost at gutter height, since this changes the whole composition, you will show more of the water stream and less of the child’s face and body, which keeps attention on the little boat itself.
Paint the gutter stream first as a thin curving band of grey-blue water, then add the paper boat as a few simple triangular folds in bright white or cream sitting right on the water’s surface. Build the child’s legs and crouched posture behind and above the stream, kept loose and slightly out of focus compared to the sharper boat.
If the water stream looks static, add a few small ripple lines trailing behind the boat to suggest it drifting with the current. No reference for folding a paper boat, a quick search for the classic paper boat fold shows the same triangular silhouette you need to paint.
Finish with a single raindrop splash just ahead of the boat’s path.
Palette: Dusty Blue,Cream,Soft Pink,Pale Grey
Add a little gentle comedy with a picnic interrupted by rain, a blanket and basket caught just as the first drops start to fall. Paint the picnic blanket and food items first while the scene is still calm in your mind, bright checked fabric, fruit, a thermos, since these warm colors need to read clearly before any rain effects go on top.
Once that base layer is dry, add the first raindrops as scattered white dots and short diagonal streaks falling across the whole scene, heavier toward one corner to suggest the rain is just beginning rather than already a downpour. Keep a figure or two gathering items quickly at the edge of the composition, loose and slightly blurred to suggest the sudden rush.
If the rain looks like it was added as an afterthought, carry a few drops down onto the blanket and food itself, not just through empty sky, that continuity sells the whole moment. For an easier version today, skip the figures entirely and paint just the abandoned blanket and basket getting rained on.
Finish with one umbrella being hastily opened at the scene’s edge.
Palette: Red,Cream,Soft Green,Dusty Blue
Step into a quieter landscape with rain and mist in a forest, tall tree trunks fading softly into a pale grey distance. Paint the background trees first, lightest and most blurred, then work forward with each row of trunks slightly darker and more defined, since that layering of value and sharpness from back to front is exactly what builds the feeling of depth and mist in a forest scene.
Keep rain here barely visible, just a few soft diagonal streaks in the lightest areas of mist, since a forest’s own haze does most of the atmospheric work for you. Add a little undergrowth and fallen leaves in muted greens and browns at the very front of the canvas to anchor the eye before it travels back into the mist.
If the depth is not reading, check that your front trees are noticeably darker and sharper than anything behind them, a common mistake is making all the trunks too similar in value. Try this one on a taller canvas format if you have one, forests suit a vertical composition well.
Finish with one small warm light, a lantern or distant window, deep in the mist.
Palette: Pale Grey,Soft Green,Warm Brown,Dusty Blue
Bring warmth back with two kids under one big umbrella, huddled close and clearly enjoying the rain together. Measure the umbrella first against the children’s combined width, it should overlap both their shoulders generously, a slightly oversized umbrella reads as more charming and protective than one that barely covers them.
Paint the umbrella’s underside in a warm color, since light bouncing up from wet pavement often tints the inside of an umbrella warmer than its outer shell, a small detail that adds believable atmosphere. Build both children in simple rounded shapes with different colored boots or coats so they stay distinct from each other at a glance.
If the pair look too posed, have one child glance toward the other or point at something outside the frame rather than both facing forward identically. This gentle duo pairs nicely with character-driven ideas from this sketchbook drawings collection if you enjoy painting small figures with personality.
Finish with a shared puddle beneath their four feet to tie the pair together.
Palette: Warm Yellow,Soft Pink,Dusty Blue,Cream
Change the setting entirely with a rainy beach with an empty lifeguard tower, a quiet off-season mood rather than a sunny postcard. Paint the sky and sea first as two close-toned bands of pale grey and dusty blue, keeping the horizon line soft rather than a hard edge, since rain blurs that line naturally.
Add the lifeguard tower next as a simple geometric structure on stilts, kept pale and slightly desaturated so it blends into the misty mood rather than standing out too sharply. Scatter a few soft diagonal rain streaks across the whole scene last, heavier near the top of the canvas and fading as they near the sand.
If the beach looks empty in a sad way rather than a peaceful way, add one small warm detail, a bright towel left behind, or a single gull on the sand, to give the eye somewhere gentle to land. No reference tower in mind, most seaside lifeguard stands share the same simple raised platform and ladder shape.
Finish with wet sand reflections painted as a few horizontal streaks beneath the tower.
Palette: Dusty Blue,Pale Grey,Cream,Soft Pink
Add a little celebration with a wedding with guests under umbrellas, a cheerful crowd scene with one clear focal point. Place the bride and groom first, slightly larger or more central than the surrounding guests, since scale comparison is what tells a viewer’s eye who matters most in a crowd like this.
Paint the guests’ umbrellas in a mix of soft pastels, pink, cream, dusty blue, with maybe one or two white ones near the couple to keep that area visually lighter and more important. Keep faces simple or turned, focusing instead on the colorful cluster of umbrellas as the real subject of the painting.
If the crowd looks chaotic, group the umbrellas into two or three clusters with small gaps between them rather than scattering them evenly across the whole canvas. For a simpler version today, paint just the couple under their own umbrella with only a hint of a crowd blurred behind them.
Finish with a few scattered white confetti-like dots caught in the rain.
Palette: Soft Pink,Cream,Dusty Blue,Warm Yellow
Try an unusual viewpoint with raindrops on a windshield with wipers, painted from inside a car looking out. Paint the blurred outside world first, soft smudges of grey road, cream sky and maybe a hint of color from a distant umbrella, since everything beyond the glass should look deliberately out of focus.
Add the windshield’s raindrops on top once that background is dry, using a small round brush loaded with white or pale grey to dab circular drops of varying sizes, heavier where a wiper has not yet passed. Paint one wiper blade as a simple dark curved arc cutting a clear, drop-free path through the glass, that one crisp line against all the soft blur is the whole trick of this composition.
If the drops look flat, add one tiny bright highlight dot to a few of the larger ones to suggest they are catching light and sitting proud of the glass surface. Ten minutes covers the blurred background and basic drops, forty minutes adds the wiper arc and individual highlight dots throughout.
Finish with a warm little dashboard glow in the very bottom corner.
Palette: Dusty Blue,Pale Grey,Cream,Warm Yellow
Bring the story back to the street with a girl in a trench coat with groceries, walking briskly with a paper bag under one arm. Sketch her pose leaning slightly forward with a bent elbow holding the bag, checking that the bag sits roughly level with her hip rather than floating too high or low against her body.
Paint the trench coat as one warm flowing shape with simple fold lines rather than many small wrinkles, then add the paper grocery bag with a loaf or a few vegetable tops peeking out in warm contrasting color. Keep the wet street beneath her reflecting her coat color faintly, a soft smudge of the same hue mirrored below her feet.
If the coat looks stiff, angle the hem slightly with the direction of her stride rather than keeping it perfectly straight down. No trench coat reference on hand, any belted raincoat photo or even a bathrobe tied at the waist shows the same basic silhouette and fold pattern.
Finish with her umbrella tucked under her free arm rather than open, for a change of pace.
Palette: Warm Brown,Cream,Dusty Blue,Soft Green
Slow down again with a rainy farmhouse porch with a rocking chair, empty but clearly waiting for someone to sit a while. Paint the porch structure first, the railing, roofline and floorboards, in soft weathered creams and greys, keeping the perspective lines of the floorboards converging gently toward one point to suggest the porch stretching back into the scene.
Add the rocking chair next as a simple curved silhouette, painted slightly darker than the porch around it so it reads clearly as the focal object. Build the rain and fields beyond the porch railing as soft, loose and undetailed, letting that contrast in detail keep the porch itself feeling like the cozy foreground retreat.
If the porch feels empty rather than inviting, add one small warm detail, a folded blanket over the chair’s arm or a mug on the railing, to suggest someone was just there. This quiet rural mood pairs well with scenes from this autumn oil painting collection if you enjoy painting cozy countryside corners.
Finish with rain dripping gently from the porch roofline into view.
Palette: Cream,Warm Brown,Soft Green,Dusty Blue
Bring motion back with a cyclist in a poncho, pedaling through the rain with the poncho billowing slightly behind. Sketch the bicycle and rider together as one connected gesture first, checking that the wheels sit level and the same size, uneven wheel sizes are the most common mistake that makes a bike look off-balance.
Paint the poncho as one large flowing shape covering both rider and much of the bike frame, using sweeping diagonal strokes to suggest it catching the wind as they move. Keep the wheels and visible bike frame simple dark lines added last, once the poncho shape is confidently blocked in beneath them.
If the bike looks like it is standing still, tilt the whole composition slightly or blur the background streetlights into horizontal streaks to suggest forward motion. No bike reference handy, most road bicycles share the same basic diamond-shaped frame between the two wheels, which is all you need to suggest here.
Finish with a scatter of rain streaks flying past at an angle matching the ride’s direction.
Palette: Warm Yellow,Dusty Blue,Pale Grey,Cream
Build a livelier scene with a festival crowd in raincoats, a cheerful cluster of colorful figures enjoying the weather rather than hiding from it. Start with a loose crowd shape sketched as simple overlapping ovals for heads and shoulders, keeping the group denser in the middle and thinning out toward the edges of the canvas.
Paint raincoats in a mix of bright pastels across the crowd, varying the color and angle of each hood so no two figures read identically, then add a distant stage or string of lights in the background kept soft and blurred behind the crowd. Light the whole scene with a warm glow coming from that distant stage, which should tint the nearest raincoat tops slightly warmer than those further back.
If the crowd looks too uniform, vary the heights and head tilts more than feels natural, real crowds are wonderfully uneven. For an easier version today, paint just four or five figures clustered together rather than a large sprawling crowd.
Finish with a few raised hands or phone lights scattered through the group.
Palette: Soft Pink,Warm Yellow,Dusty Blue,Pale Grey
Take the clear umbrella idea further with a Japanese street full of clear umbrellas, a scene built around repeated glassy domes and glowing shop signs. Paint the street and shopfronts first with soft vertical reflections of neon and warm light bleeding into the wet pavement, since that reflected glow is what defines this particular kind of rainy street.
Add the crowd of clear umbrellas next, each one a simple transparent dome through which a hint of hair color or coat shows faintly, varying their heights and spacing so the street feels believably busy rather than a repeated pattern. Keep the shop signs behind them colorful but blurred, soft rectangles of pink, red and warm yellow light rather than any readable detail.
If the umbrellas blend into each other too much, vary their size slightly and overlap a few at different depths to build a sense of a real crowd moving through the frame. Try this one with a slightly taller canvas to really let those glowing signs stack up behind the crowd.
Finish with a few scattered reflections of the signs caught on the wet pavement below.
Palette: Dusty Blue,Soft Pink,Warm Yellow,Red
Return to a single figure with a postman delivering letters in the rain, caught mid-step as they tuck an envelope into a mailbox. Build the pose with the bag strap crossing the body first, that diagonal line through the torso is what makes the figure read clearly as a postal worker at a glance before any other detail is added.
Paint the uniform in a muted, slightly warm tone so it stands out gently against the cooler grey street, then add the mailbox or letterbox as a simple geometric shape beside them, painted in a contrasting bright color if the scene needs one more pop. Keep the rain light and atmospheric around them rather than heavy, a few soft diagonal streaks are enough to set the mood without obscuring the figure.
If the figure looks too static, bend the front knee slightly more and angle the back foot up on its toe to suggest mid-step movement. No mailbox reference in mind, most post boxes share a simple rounded or rectangular shape with a narrow horizontal slot, easy enough to invent convincingly.
Finish with a single wet footprint trailing behind on the pavement.
Palette: Warm Red,Dusty Blue,Cream,Pale Grey
Bring back some color with a flower stall covered in plastic sheets, bright blooms glowing softly through a translucent rain cover. Paint the flowers first in bold, saturated colors, since they need to read clearly through the muting layer you will add on top of them next.
Once that base layer is dry, glaze a very thin, slightly cloudy white or pale grey wash over just the covered sections, letting the bright flower colors show through softened and slightly blurred, the same effect as the clear umbrella but applied to a whole stall of color at once. Keep the stall’s frame and any exposed edges, a corner of wood or a price sign, crisp and detailed for contrast against that soft plastic haze.
If the glazed effect looks too opaque, thin your white paint further with water or glazing medium and build it up in thin layers rather than one heavy coat. No glazing medium on hand, a very watery mix of white acrylic does a similar softening job in a pinch.
Finish with a few raindrops beaded visibly on the plastic sheet’s surface.
Palette: Soft Pink,Warm Yellow,Soft Green,Pale Grey
Move to the countryside with a horse in a rain sheet in a paddock, standing calmly with its head low against the weather. Build the horse’s body first as one large simple barrel shape with four slim legs, checking that the legs are roughly as long as the body is tall, that comparison keeps the proportions believable before you add the rain sheet on top.
Paint the rain sheet as a smooth draped shape covering the back and sides, leaving the head, lower legs and tail exposed, in a muted practical color like dusty blue or soft green rather than anything too bright. Add the misty paddock and fence behind in soft, loose strokes, keeping the horse as the only sharply defined shape in the whole scene.
If the horse looks stiff, drop the head a little lower and let one back leg rest at a slight angle rather than painting it standing perfectly square. No horse reference in mind, a basic saddle-shaped side silhouette with a long neck and gently curved back captures the pose well enough at this level.
Finish with rain streaking visibly down the horse’s exposed legs.
Palette: Warm Brown,Dusty Blue,Soft Green,Pale Grey
If horses feel tricky, these ideas from the farm animal collection linked below break proportions down further and are worth a look before you start.
End the list on pure energy with a dog shaking off water after a walk, caught mid-shake with droplets flying in every direction. Sketch the body first as a simple twisted shape, the back half turning one way and the front half the other, that opposing twist is the core gesture of a shake and needs to be right before anything else goes on top.
Paint the fur in loose, quick strokes that follow the direction of the twist, then add the flying water droplets last using the same flick-and-snap brush technique from the puddle-jumping scene earlier in this list. Keep the background simple and soft, a quiet grey path or garden, so all the energy stays with the dog and its spray of water.
If the shake looks too tidy, make the droplets uneven in size and scatter them asymmetrically rather than in a neat circular halo. For a quicker version today, paint just the head mid-shake with ears flying, skipping the full body for an equally lively result.
Finish with a few scattered white droplets caught mid-air using a loaded flick of the brush.
You Will Need
- toothbrush for splatter
Palette: Warm Brown,Pale Grey,Dusty Blue,Cream
What to Do Next
Pick whichever rainy moment caught your eye first, set up a canvas board and your usual acrylics, and work from the sky backward the way each idea describes. Keep that palette pale and let one bright umbrella or raincoat carry all the color, that is really the whole secret to this cozy, never-gloomy look.
Frequently Asked Questions
What paint works best for rainy day painting scenes like these?
Acrylic works best since it dries fast and layers well for rain streaks and soft backgrounds. Build light washes first, then add crisp details like umbrellas and droplets on top once the base layer is dry.
How do you paint rain without making the whole picture look dark or gloomy?
Keep the sky and background in pale greys, creams and dusty blues rather than black or deep navy. Save bold saturated color for one small element, like a bright umbrella, so the mood stays cozy rather than heavy.
What is the easiest way to paint realistic raindrops on glass or pavement?
Drag a very dry brush straight down in short uneven strokes for streaks on glass, and dab small white dots of varying size for puddle drops. A damp cotton swab works well for softening streaks that look too harsh.
Do I need special supplies for these rainy scenes?
Mostly just your usual acrylic kit, canvas, brushes and paint. A few ideas benefit from a toothbrush for splatter or a white gel pen for crisp highlight dots, both cheap and easy to find.
How long does one of these rainy day paintings usually take?
Most of these scenes finish in a single sitting of thirty to sixty minutes once you know the steps. Simpler subjects like a still life or a single figure go faster, while crowd or landscape scenes take a little longer.