73 Easy Acrylic Painting Ideas for Beginners (2024)

Fantastic canvas painting tutorials for beginners

Acrylic paint is perfect for beginners because it’s easy to apply, you can layer colors, and correct or cover mistakes. It is affordable and comes in a wide variety of colors that stay vibrant even after drying.

In this blog post, I collected many beautiful, easy canvas paintings for beginners in video format or step-by-step tutorials. Painting has therapeutic effects, it’s a great way to relax and unwind after a hard and busy day.

The great thing, you don’t need to be a professional artist, grab a blank canvas, some acrylic paint, and a brush or palette knife and start painting!

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Abstract acrylic paintings

If you are a beginner, I suggest you try abstract paintings first. They are the easiest to do, they are a lot of fun, and you can experiment with the brush and other tools.

Most abstract paintings use bold colors. They also work with neutrals. but they look the best with high contrast, bold accents, or a metallic touch. If unsure about the colors, use online color-picking software or hop into Colorpalettes and choose an image you like.

This type of art suits all skill levels, however, learning different techniques can take your art to the next level.

1. DIY layered abstract wall art

I love this canvas painting by Sarah Hearts. The palette is gorgeous, and you can create this fantastic art in a couple of hours max with a large flat brush.

2. Easy large abstract art

This beautiful large canvas painting by A Beautiful Mess is the perfect example of using bold colors that turns a simple piece into something fantastic.

3. Two-minute canvas art

Watch this tutorial by Love Create Celebrate if you want a fast and easy canvas painting. This artwork looks fantastic! The best part, anyone can do it, the materials you need are minimal, and you can finish it in a couple of minutes. Grab a black canvas and white paint and start painting!

4. Beautiful abstract acrylic painting tutorial

I love how she uses different blending techniques and tools to achieve fun textures, lines, and shapes. It’s a fun project where you can experiment and create unique paintings.

5. DIY abstract artwork with a palette knife and gold foil

Gold foil is a fantastic craft material that you can use in many projects. It is also perfect when creating art. This tutorial by Cuckoo 4 Design will show you how to incorporate it into an abstract painting.

6. Scrape painting art

This fantastic tutorial by Moms and Crafters will show you how to create art with a scraper. I love the texture and overall look, and it also made me realize that a nice frame changes the whole look of your artwork. So, you might want to consider framing your canvas paintings.

7. DIY large abstract wall art

These canvas paintings by Dans Le Lakehouse are playful and fun. It’s the perfect example of layering and ‘fixing’ acrylic paintings. She redid her artwork until she was satisfied. I love the bright colors, these easy paintings would light up any room.

8. Easy abstract acrylic painting with blending technique

You can learn easy blending techniques from this video. It’s perfect for improving your painting skills as a beginner.

9. Beautiful abstract canvas painting

This tutorial by Love Create Celebrate will show you how to create a wonderful abstract painting with neutral colors and lots of vertical brush strokes.

10. DIY brushstroke art

If you’re looking for a modern wall art idea, check out this tutorial by Cuckoo 4 Design. Pick a color palette that fits your style and add metallic paint for a sophisticated look. Simple and gorgeous, I love it!

11. Easy DIY wall art by Birds Party

This tutorial by Birds Party shows you how layering acrylic paint and short brush strokes, vertically and horizontally, can create fantastic statement art for your living or dining room. Don’t forget, the key is the paint, the beautiful bright colors!

12. Abstract painting with modeling paste

Mixing acrylic paint with other materials or applying it with unusual tools results in fantastic artwork. She uses modeling paste, a rug, and oil paints (it’s suitable for acrylics too) to achieve this fantastic artwork in this video tutorial.

13. Fun acrylic painting

Learn lots of fun ways to add patterns to your paintings from this tutorial by At Charlotte’s House. I encourage you to experiment with other tools and household items around your home, for example, metal scrubs, q-tips, chains, felt or foam sheet scraps, pom poms, fruits, vegetables, cutlery, etc.

14. Simple upcycled canvas painting

This artwork by Savvy Apron shows you how to revamp an old painting to suit your home. Large canvases are not cheap by any means, so going to a thrift store and searching for treasures. It will cost you only a few bucks.

Easy geometric canvas art

Geometric paintings are sort of abstract paintings too. You can create them by two simple methods, drawing the sections with a pencil and ruler, or the faster method, by applying painter’s tape or washi tape for thinner lines.

They are easy and fun to make, whether you use one or multiple colors, only a few sections, or layering shapes.

The only thing that can ruin it is when the color bleeds under the tape. Even though you can cover them, it is best to avoid them. Try not to drag the paint toward the tape, it will get under it more easily. You may also try only to dab it, as you would do when using a stencil.

15. DIY geometric painting

This tutorial by A Beautiful Mess perfectly exemplifies simple and modern geometric art with fantastic colors. It’s an easy painting idea that you can knock off in half an hour.

16. Layered geometric painting tutorial

This triangle artwork is stunning. Even though acrylic is a fast-drying paint, ensure that the first layers are 100% dry before applying the tape. Wet acrylic paint comes off easily, leaving ugly marks.

17. Simple geometric canvas painting

Using a pencil and a ruler to create geometric art is more time-consuming. However, it’s best for certain types of art. For example, this painting by Young House Love would need a ton of tape for all those lines, so picking the ‘old-school’ method was clever.

18. Easy geometric abstract painting

You can create fantastic dimensional artwork with the right lines and color shades. This video tutorial is a perfect example, it looks almost like an origami canvas art.

19. Geometric DIY art with tape

Tape is also suitable for creating fun patterns, for example, herringbone or the example below. Sum of Their Stories tutorial shows a clever way to use tape above an upcycled canvas. but the herringbone design looks fantastic too.

20. Cool geometric painting tutorial

I love this tutorial! It looks like a stained glass window, I will try this cool painting idea soon.

21. Pinwheel painting

This fun pinwheel painting by Elise Blaha looks so simple. I would pick a more harmonious color palette. Metallic paint would be a great addition.

22. Modern geometric painting with acrylic paint

This abstract geometric art is perfect for guys or people who love modern and stylish designs. The perfect painting for an office.

23. Simple geometric art

As you can see, you can create simple and complex acrylic paintings using masking tape. Christine’s Crafts tutorial shows how fantastic this type of art looks using a single color.

24. DIY geometric painting

In this tutorial by Dans Le Lakehouse, you can learn how to create a fun geometric design using a pencil and a ruler. You can also draw a silhouette, divide it into geometric sections, mostly triangles, and fill it in with vibrant colors. This geometric deer wall art is the perfect example.

Landscape painting ideas for beginners

Landscape painting is very soothing, especially if you do it in the open air. They are a bit more complicated than abstract paintings. However, you can find many step-by-step painting tutorials on Youtube that will teach you how to do them.

In this section, I tried to collect a few super simple painting ideas that you can try out.

Youtube channels I recommend for landscape painting: Easypeasy Art and AhmadArt.

25. Easy DIY beach painting

If you’re looking for an easy beach painting, this tutorial by Artsy Chicks Rule is for you. She created a fun and simple textured acrylic painting that perfectly fits a coastal living room.

26. Palm tree and beach painting

If you liked the previous idea, you should try this beach scene painting.

27. Acrylic mountain painting

I love this mountain painting by Feeling Nifty. If you like her style, check out her blog, she has other fantastic painting tutorials.

28. Northern lights canvas painting

I never thought that painting the northern lights was so easy.

29. DIY birch tree wall art

This birch tree painting by Persia Lou is easy and makes the perfect gift for your boyfriend, girlfriend, or as an anniversary gift.

30. Forest canvas painting tutorial

Fall is my favorite season. I love how he builds up this forest layer by layer on a black background that accentuates the yellow paint. It’s so soothing to watch!

Seasonal canvas paintings

31. DIY watermelon art

Are you looking for easy and fun summer decor? Make this watermelon canvas art by Spot of Tea Designs.

32. DIY holiday canvas chalk art

I love this DIY canvas wall art by The Merrythought. The best part is that with this easy idea, you can create customizable art suitable for all seasons.

33. Step-by-step snowman painting tutorial

This snowman painting is so lovely, and you can easily recreate it. I love how the lights are done with colored circles.

34. DIY Christmas wall painting by Making Manzanita

Stencils are your new best friend! If you’re not a skillful painter, this tutorial by Making Manzanita is for you! Stencils are a wonderful tool that can significantly ease your work and reduce the creation time.

37. Spooky tree canvas painting by Crafts by Amanda

This simple spooky tree painting by Crafts by Amanda is perfect for Halloween!

36. Jack-o lantern canvas painting tutorial

Paint your own Jack-o lanterns with this easy step-by-step tutorial.

37. Stenciled Christmas canvas art

This tutorial by Albion Gould is a perfect example of how to mix and match different stencils to achieve a fun holiday design.

38. Pumpkin canvas painting for beginners

Paint lovely pumpkins for Thanksgiving with this simple acrylic painting tutorial by Felling Nifty.

39. American flag painting for 4th of July by Step by Step Painting

Make this cool American flag painting for the 4th of July by following this awesome tutorial by Step-by-step Painting.

Animal canvas painting ideas

Painting animals is not as challenging as might first think. Here are a couple of easy painting ideas to get you started.

40. DIY giant pet canvas art

Paint your pet with this tutorial by Pillar Box Blue. She uses a photo filtering app, but you can also try a paint by number online tool, for example, PBNify. This project is a perfect gift for a pet lover!

41. Cool octopus painting

This octopus painting is fantastic! I need to try the glue gun method she uses in the video. It’s perfect to create textured art.

42. Butterfly acrylic painting

Paint beautiful butterflies with my semi-stenciled method. If you like it, check out my easy butterfly painting tutorial.

43. Easy colorful bird tutorial

This Youtube video will show you how to paint simple abstract birds.

44. LLama painting tutorial by Step by Step Painting

This llama painting by Step-by-step Painting is lovely. She also has a cute sloth, monkey, koala, giraffe, horse, eagle, cow, fox, zebra, panda, rooster, and pig other fun animal painting tutorials.

45. Abstract cat painting tutorial

This abstract cat art is a fun silhouette painting that you can apply to other shapes and projects.

Easy canvas art with quotes

You create custom quote art in three different ways:

• hand-lettering that you apply above the painted background,
• sticky, precut letters you paint over it, it’s reverse stenciling,
• quote stencils (for example, this plastic motivational quote stencil set).

46. Thriftstore painting upcycle

This quote canvas art by Julie Measures looks fantastic! It’s a great idea to upcycle an old or thrifted canvas.

47. Brush-lettered canvas painting

This fantastic tutorial is for you if you’re into large quote wall art or brush lettering. It’s a chic, minimalist large wall decor that fits any home decor style.

48. Funny bathroom sign

I love funny signs, and this canvas art by Drugstore Divas is the perfect bathroom decor.

49. Easy rustic canvas painting idea

You can create this rustic canvas art by Sustain my Craft Habit in half an hour. If you don’t want to buy a basketweave stencil, you can recreate this effect with a DIY sponge stamp.

50. Tumblr-inspired quote canvas painting

I love the bright ombre background of this painting. If you have neat handwriting, you can draw the design freehand or use a stencil or transfer paper.

51. Reverse stencil art

This lovely sign by B4 and Afters is made with the reverse stencil technique. If you have a Cricut Machine, you can create your own stencils or use precut letters or quotes.

52. Quote painting tutorial on canvas

This stunning quote wall art is perfect for kids’ rooms. I love how she has done the lettering.

53. Pretty painted wall art

I love this sign by A Side of Sweet! It’s so simple to make, and the vibrant colors would brighten any room. The only thing I would change is adding more or darker paint around the letters, making the text more legible.

Plants and flower acrylic paintings

Flower paintings are super popular too. You can paint realistic or abstract plants too.

I’ve found this awesome Youtube channel, Designer Gemma77. The creator experiments with fun tools to paint simple, beautiful flowers and other fun paintings.

54. Palette knife modern flower canvas painting

These abstract flowers are my favorite and the ones I want to try. I need to buy some modeling paste and palette knives.

55. DIY floral canvas art by Persia Lou

I love this bouquet painting by Persia Lou. She created a modern and colorful artwork that you can follow step-by-step.

56. Lavender field painting tutorial

Acrylic paint is perfect to be applied with a palette knife. You smooth and blend all the different colors and create a nice texture simultaneously.

57. Embroidered plant painting

If you want to spice up your artwork, check out this tutorial by Pillar Box Blue. The embroidered outline and small tassel make this plant painting stand out.

58. Succulent painting tutorial

This lovely succulent painting is the perfect example of building up an acrylic painting layer by layer.

59. Wildflower meadow acrylic painting

If you like modern flowers, try out my wildflower meadow canvas painting. It’s easy and fun to make.

60. Balloon flower painting technique

This floral painting is a must-try! A fun experiment that you can do with kids too.

Other fun acrylic painting tutorials

I wasn’t sure how to categorize these acrylic painting ideas, so I just dumped them here. All of them look fantastic!

61. Heart canvas acrylics painting by The Creativity Exchange

If you want an easy heart painting, check out this tutorial by The Creativity Exchange. The post has several color variations to help you pick your color palette.

62. DIY hamsa palm mandala wall art

Do you need a fast boho wall decor? Try this hamsa palm painting by Made in a Day. I love the black and white design, I will try it with my homemade mandala stencil.

TIP: You can also use spray paint for even faster results

63. Torn paper mountain painting tutorial

Torn a piece of paper, grab a sponge and some acrylic paint, and create this gorgeous abstract mountain view.

64. Polka dot canvas art

I love this polka dot canvas art by Burlap and Blue. You can randomly place the colored dots or hide signs, symbols, or images within the design (like a mosaic).

65. Clouds canvas art

Learn how to paint clouds with this tutorial by Feeling Nifty. She uses q-tips, but small pom poms or round sponge brushes are also perfect for creating bigger fluffy clouds.

66. Girl double exposure acrylic painting

This is another acrylic painting that caught my attention. I want to make my own double-exposure painting but couldn’t decide on the silhouette.

67. Galaxy acrylic painting

Galaxy paintings are perfect for beginners. They look awesome, and you can simply make them using a sponge and dabbing on colors. Here is my galaxy painting tutorial.

68. Step-by-step rainbow sky acrylic painting

This soft rainbow sky acrylic painting is perfect for a teen’s room.

Acrylic pouring tutorials

69. Budget-friendly acrylic pouring tutorial

This video tutorial only uses water, no pouring medium or other additives. I have to try it. Note: I’ve seen other artists saying that with this technique, you may have a dull or cracked piece. We’ll see!

Check out this channel for more acrylic pouring techniques

70. Poured paint art

If you are looking for an acrylic pouring artwork, check out this step-by-step tutorial by Moms and Crafters.

71. Beach acrylic pour painting tutorial

This acrylic pour beach painting is stunning! You can learn a lot from her about how she controls and adjust the paint to achieve the waves.

72. Acrylic pour butterfly painting

I could put this painting in the animal art section, but I already had butterfly art, so I thought I would show you a fun acrylic pour technique that’s not abstract art. check out the tutorial by Birdz of a Feather.

73. Coral reef acrylic pour tutorial

If you are looking for beautiful abstract acrylic pour art, try this coral reef art. The perfect accent piece for a coastal room.

Final thoughts about the easy acrylic painting ideas

You don’t need to buy expensive artwork from professional artists, you can create your own art and decorate your blank walls for a couple of dollars.

As you can see, there are tons of simple techniques, methods, and fun tools that you can try as a beginner to create fantastic art. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Stenciling is a great way to create art if you don’t feel confident painting with a brush.

Most of these simple ideas are ready in a couple of hours. I encourage you to learn from others, try new tools you can find around your home, and most importantly, HAVE FUN!

I hope you liked these fun painting ideas. Which one was your favorite? Leave a comment!