valentine's day

Paint Someone a Painting for Valentine’s Day

Photo: Peremet/Getty Images

Uh-oh, it’s the day before Valentine’s Day. You need a gift for your sweetie that is personal, affectionate, and looks like you didn’t just buy it on your way home from work today. What can you do? Here’s what: You can paint them a painting and then put it in a frame.

“But what if I don’t have a canvas, any paint, or a frame?” you’re maybe wondering. I didn’t mean to imply that you wouldn’t have to go to a store after work today; you do, it’s just then you’ll take the “ingredients” home and make something with them, rather than put something you got in a bag and have your significant other think, “Did they get this on their way home from work yesterday?”

It’s okay if you’re not good at painting. Actually, it’s better if you’re not very good. One of the best things about giving someone a painting you made for them as a gift is that they will likely feel obligated to display the painting in their home. And isn’t that funny, that they have to display a bad painting you made, just because they love you? Ha-ha. It’s sort of a sweet little prank, in that way. Also, bad paintings made by people you know are better than good paintings made by strangers. And you may quote me on that. (Perhaps in your painting? It can be a cartoon of me saying that quote.)

But what do you paint, other than the idea in that last parenthetical? Well, what does your significant other like? Football? Beer? Maybe you can do a painting of a football in a beer glass. Turtles? Maybe you can do a painting of your significant other and a turtle smiling at each other. Rod Stewart? You can do a painting of Rod Stewart but he has a little speech bubble coming out of his mouth and he’s saying your significant other’s name. Their cat? Maybe do a painting of their cat. Some movie? Maybe something from that movie. A painting can be anything.

Plus, then you get to paint a painting, and painting a painting is fun. You get to put newspaper out, listen to a record, put on a TV show, paint, have a glass of wine. You can’t really worry about other stuff when you’re trying to paint a very good turtle. So in that way it’s a gift for you, too. This will be trickier if you live with your significant other, but maybe you can lock yourself in a room and tell them you’re working on a Valentine’s Day project. “The night before Valentine’s Day?” they’ll think, but Valentine’s Day really isn’t particularly important and I bet they won’t care once they see the painting.

It’s gonna be so fun, and nice. I think you should paint somebody a painting tonight. Do it!

Paint Someone a Painting for Valentine’s Day