All you need is a paint marker and a window to create a lush plant paradise at home

Hello, I'm Vivian Rosas! I'm a Toronto-based illustrator and muralist, and I've been working with paint markers on windows for the last while. Today, I am going to show you how to do your very own window paintings.

This is a really fun and accessible project that will warm up your home and bring a smile to your neighbours by transforming your windows into a lush plant paradise!

If you mess up, you can immediately use a cloth or paper towel to wipe off the marker. Also, these markers are water-based, so once you're done, clean-up is a cinch — you can just wipe it all off with a damp cloth.

What you'll need

Age range: All ages

Time commitment: 30 minutes to an hour per window

Materials:

• window(s)

• paint marker (e.g. Posca brand)

• glass cleaner

• paper towel or kitchen cloth

• wax tailor's chalk or wax crayon (optional)

Step-by-step instructions

1. Clean your window. Make sure you don't skip this step because the paint markers won't go on as nicely if you're working on a dirty surface. (Note: the paint marker can be wiped or scraped off of glass windows or other nonporous surfaces, but it's always a good idea to test the marker on a small, inconspicuous part of your window first.)

2. Find inspiration from your houseplants, flowers, or arrangements to fill your window with lush plant shapes and/or flowers.

3. Optional: sketch your design on paper or mark it out on the window with wax tailor's chalk or a wax crayon.

4. Using the paint marker, draw your design. Here are some classic plant shapes you can include:

• Monstera
• Rubber leaf
• Fiddle leaf fig
• Cactus
• ZZ 
• Parlor palm
• Snake
• Crispy wave
• Aloe
• Pothos

Composition tips

Have big, tall plants fill the space upwards; keep smaller plants closer to the bottom as if they were sitting on the window ledge. Feel free to include hanging plants and have fun with adding fun patterns to the pots. If you'd like to include flowers as well, play around with shapes, like star, cross, bell and trumpet. Have them fill up negative space as a decorative element or peeking out from behind one of the plants.

Bask in your lush window garden

And there you have it! A beautiful plant paradise for you and your neighbours. I love this project because you still get so much light through the windows and it's so fun seeing light and the outdoor scenery interact with what you created. 

If you try this activity at home, we'd love to see it! Share your work with us on social by tagging @CBCArts, @vivianrosas and #CBCArtsMakes.