RE: can you scorch paper/canvas if you shoot it at close range?
 

Couple of ideas...Use different containers for each color of paint, line them up and shoot them, should look pretty neat, as the colors will mingle in the air and make differents arrays and shades of color....

For a different effect, you could use different containers and shoot them one at a time, I would also expect you would have a different effect if you let each layer dry, or if you didn't...You could also experiment by hitting the containers in different areas, making the paint hit the canvas at different angles, and could also setup the container at different distances and change from left to right, lining up on the canvas...

And finally, try different sized containers, with different amounts of paint...Heck, you've got me thinking about trying, can you imagine getting Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts together and doing this type project, maybe offering the final product to a local auction (the NC Zoo is located here and we have these type fund raisers each year)...Good Luck....

RE: can you scorch paper/canvas if you shoot it at close range?
 

There are records of people having their clothes set o fire by being shot at close range with a black powder firearm..............