Life's Reward
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- 30-day returns on unopened items
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Life's Reward is a paint by numbers kit for adults, taken from Darrell Bush's painting of a lakeside cabin at dusk.
A log cabin with a stone chimney sits under the pines with every window lit, a red canoe turned over on the grass beside it and a dog standing out in the yard. Down at the shore a boat is tied at the dock and a second canoe is drawn up on the bank. In the near corner a fire is going with Adirondack chairs pulled around it. Across the bay another cabin has its lights on, and both sets of windows come back off the water in long orange columns under a blue evening sky.
Bush spent his career painting exactly this hour of the day. 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?
One reviewer of this design was glad the canvas is printed plain rather than tinted, and needed a magnifying glass for some of the smaller numbered pieces. That is a fair summary. Take the 16x20, work under a lamp, and keep the 11" x 17" printout to hand for the foliage.
Who it suits
For anyone who has spent an evening at a lake and would like it on the wall. Middling difficulty: the water, the sky and the cabin walls are broad, while the pine foliage and the lit windows are small work. The reward, as with all the dusk scenes, is that the painting comes alive only in the last hour when the window lights and their reflections go in.
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 Life's Reward 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.
Should I paint the lit windows early or late?
Late, and it is worth the wait. Do the cabin walls and the water first and leave every window and reflection until they are dry. The oranges are the brightest colors on the canvas and they read properly only against finished surroundings.
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.