If you have a friend or two who enjoy challenging themselves and expressing their creativity, consider getting together for a canvas swap, sometimes referred to as a “paint-and-pass.”

I recently got together with former Campus Life Editor Charlie Carberry to try it out for ourselves. We went to Michael’s and got a few blank canvases and basic painting supplies.

You don’t need to spend a lot of money to have a good time; use what you have on hand or choose whatever your cheapest option is. Carberry and I just bought store brand canvases on sale, picked up a few tubes of acrylic paint from the clearance section and purchased a value pack of brushes.

I recommend using a small canvas, since the larger the area you need to fill, the longer it will take to complete the painting. We used six inch by six inch square canvases, and they took just long enough to be fun all the way through without either of us feeling tired or bored by the end. I also recommend using acrylic or craft paint, since it dries fairly quickly.

I also recommend having a cup of water or two ready to clean your brushes as you go, especially if you’re sharing the brushes. This will help make sure any size brush you need will be available to use with any color and make cleanup a little bit shorter.

Once you have all your supplies ready to go, you can start painting. Set a timer for a comfortable length of time, just enough to get a few shapes down. We started with five minutes, but ended up increasing it to 10 after realizing we needed a few extra minutes to mix some paints and get our ideas started.

Then, once the timer is up, switch canvases without explaining your idea. You may also want to use a hair dryer to speed up the drying process and avoid smudging the work already on the canvas.

For ours, Carberry and I had gone in completely different directions. I created a few colorful and nonrepresentational shapes, while Carberry had painted what clearly seemed to be some grass. I added a sky to theirs, while they added some more thematic shapes to mine.

We continued this for about three rounds, making sure that each person ended with the painting they had started themselves, though you can choose how long you want to continue. Our stopping point was mostly decided based on the time we had left to hang out and how complete we believed our paintings to be.

Carberry and I both had a lot of fun trying this out, and plan to do it again in the future. It was really interesting to see each other’s interpretations of the previous person’s work, and how we each built upon what we saw. I’m also happy with how the paintings turned out in the end.

Another variation of this activity is something more long-term. Instead of sitting side-by-side and switching every few minutes, you could trade paintings each time you see someone and work on it little by little in the time you’re apart. Doing so could be a great way to feel connected to someone far away.

Doing a canvas swap is a great way to flex your creative muscles and try something new, since you never know what the other participants are planning. You don’t even need to know a lot about art—if your technique isn’t perfect, you can still have a great time! The process of creating and spending time with friends is meant to be lighthearted fun.