Morning Glory
- Free shipping on orders over $40
- 30-day returns on unopened items
- A veteran-owned business
Morning Glory is a paint by numbers kit for adults, taken from Abraham Hunter's painting of two egrets on a marsh at sunrise.
One white egret is coming in with its wings still open while a second stands waiting on a piece of bleached driftwood. A tidal creek winds out of the foreground toward the sea and carries the whole sunrise back up the canvas as a band of gold. Sea oats stand along the right bank, pink and blue wildflowers crowd the near edge, and the cloud above breaks from turquoise through orange to deep rose.
The light is the reason to paint this one, and it is the thing Hunter does better than most. 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?
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. Most people paint with a lamp pulled close and reading glasses on. For the finest sections a magnifier helps, and plenty of our customers keep one on the table.
Who it suits
One of the better-reviewed kits we sell and a reasonable choice for a second canvas. The sky takes up half the picture in wide bands and goes in quickly. The marsh grass and the wildflowers along the bottom edge are where the small sections are, and the two birds want a fine brush. One reviewer finished it in three days, another took considerably longer, which tells you it moves at whatever pace you set.
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 Morning Glory 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 keep the white birds from disappearing into the sky?
They will not. The whites on the egrets are separate numbered tones from anything in the cloud, and there is a gray shadow tone under each wing that lifts the bird off the background as soon as it goes in.
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.
