Northwoods Retreat
- Free shipping on orders over $40
- 30-day returns on unopened items
- A veteran-owned business
Northwoods Retreat is a paint by numbers kit for adults, taken from Abraham Hunter's painting of a bull moose below a lakeside cabin.
A bull moose stands chest-deep at the edge of the lake with his antlers pale against the far shore, feeding in the shallows and paying no attention to the cabin behind him. The cabin has its windows lit and sits back among birches that have gone gold. White trunks cross the foreground, the far hills run blue into the distance, and the cabin lights break up in the water as long red-gold streaks.
Hunter builds his color in thick strokes here rather than smooth ones, and the design keeps that texture. Ledgebay licenses the original artwork rather than copying a stock image, so what you finish is a real painting, not a generic design.
What's in the box
- Pre-printed cotton canvas, rolled in a tube rather than folded, so it arrives without creases to iron out
- Full set of acrylic paints, vacuum-sealed so they arrive moist
- Four brushes in different sizes, wooden handles
- Printed instructions and a full-color reference photo
- An 11" x 17" printout of the design, useful if you'd rather not lean over the canvas
- Framed sizes also include a wooden tabletop easel
Choosing a size
The framed 12x16 and framed 16x20 arrive pre-stretched on a wooden frame, ready to hang the moment you put the brush down. No mounting, no separate frame to buy. The unframed 16x20 gives you the same canvas and the same paints for less. It is trimmed close to the printed edge, so it suits taping or mounting to a board rather than stretching over your own frame.
Will I be able to see the numbers?
Reviewers describe the design and markings on this one as user friendly, which is the useful thing to know before you buy. The 16x20 is the easier of the two sizes on the eyes, and the 11" x 17" printout means you can check a section without leaning over the canvas. For the finest sections a magnifier helps.
Who it suits
This is the only kit in the range holding a perfect rating, and its reviewers split neatly: one calls it easy enough for a beginner to finish, another calls it definitely a challenge. The difference is how you count the birch leaves. The moose, the water and the hills are broad and quick; the gold foliage is hundreds of small sections and you can take as long over it as you like.
Common questions
Do I need any painting experience?
None. Every section is printed with a number that matches a numbered pot, so there is no drawing, no color mixing and nothing to work out in advance. Start with the biggest areas and work down.
How long does Northwoods Retreat take?
Most people spend 10 to 20 hours on a 16x20, a bit at a time over a few weeks. There is no rush and nothing spoils if you leave it a while.
How do I paint the antlers so they stand out?
Leave them until the hills behind are finished and properly dry. The antlers are a pale tone laid over a darker background, and painting them onto dry paint is the difference between a clean edge and a muddy one.
What if a color runs low or dries out?
There is a matching replacement paint set for this design, so a dried pot never ends the project. If a pot has only thickened, a drop of water and a stir usually brings it back.
- Work from the top down. Painting downward keeps your hand off sections you have just finished, which is the most common way a canvas gets smudged.
- Finish one color everywhere before moving to the next. Every section marked 4, then every 5. It uses less paint, means less brush cleaning, and the painting comes together faster than working area by area.
- Two thin coats beat one thick one. Pale colors in particular will let the printed number show through on the first pass. Let it dry and go over it again rather than loading the brush heavily.
- Keep the reference print beside you. Every kit includes a full-size 11 x 17 print. The numbers on the canvas are small, and the finest sections are much easier under a good lamp, with a magnifier if you use one for reading.
- If the paint thickens, add a single drop of water. Stir it in and close the pot firmly between sittings. Acrylic dries fast once it is open to the air.
- Stock designs. 12 x 16 framed, 16 x 20 framed, or 16 x 20 unframed.
- Custom kits from your own photo. 12 x 16, 16 x 20 or 18 x 24, framed or unframed.
- How long it takes. A few evenings if you paint steadily, or a few weeks treated as a relaxed hobby. The more detailed designs take considerably longer than the open ones, which is worth knowing before you pick.
- A pre-printed cotton canvas. It ships rolled in a tube rather than folded, so it arrives without a crease through the middle. Framed or unframed, depending on the option you choose above.
- A complete set of acrylic paints. Numbered to match the canvas and vacuum-sealed, so they arrive workable rather than dried out.
- Brushes in a range of sizes. Enough to cover the broad areas and pick out the finer sections without swapping tools constantly.
- An 11 x 17 reference print. A full-size copy of the numbered canvas, which is a good deal easier to read than the canvas itself.
- A color photograph of the finished painting. So you can see where the piece is heading before you start.
- An easel, with the framed sizes. The unframed option does not include one.
- Orders ship within 2 to 4 business days. Often sooner.
- Sent from a US warehouse. We ship from the fulfillment center closest to your address.
- Free shipping on orders over $40. A flat $5.95 below that.
- 30-day returns on unopened items. Returned unopened within 30 days of purchase and we refund in full.
