Easy Acrylic Painting Ideas: 12 Simple Subjects for a First Canvas

A blank canvas is easier to face when you already know what is going on it. The best first subjects have a few large shapes, forgiving edges and no need for accurate drawing, so the paint handling can have your full attention.

These twelve easy acrylic painting ideas all fit that description. Each one lists the main skill it practices and roughly how long it takes, not counting final drying. Pick the one that appeals to you most and start today.

How to choose a first subject

Look for a subject you could describe in one sentence: “an orange sky over dark hills” or “a pear on a table”. If the description needs three sentences, save it for later.

It also helps to choose by skill. If you want to practice blending, paint a sky. If you want to practice shapes and edges, paint a plant or a piece of fruit. Every idea here teaches something that carries over to the next painting.

Skies and water

1. A sunset with silhouetted hills

Blended bands of color from violet down to yellow, with dark hills painted over the dry sky. It practices smooth blending and takes about an hour. The dark shapes hide any unevenness along the bottom, which makes it one of the most forgiving first paintings. The full easy sunset painting tutorial walks through every step.

2. A night sky with a moon

A deep blue ground that lightens slightly around a pale disc, with a few stars dotted in last. It practices working from dark to light and takes about 45 minutes.

3. Clouds over water

A soft blue sky, loose white clouds and a calm strip of water that repeats the sky colors. It practices soft edges and takes about an hour.

4. Sky and waves

A simple seascape with nothing on the horizon: sky above, sea below, and a few lines of white foam. It practices horizontal brushstrokes and dry brush for the foam, and takes about an hour.

Land and trees

5. A misty row of pine trees

Pale gray-green trees in the distance and darker ones in front, on a light background. It practices value, since the mist is nothing more than lighter mixes for the trees farther away. Allow about an hour.

6. A field with a horizon

Sky, a distant line of hills and a wide field that grows warmer and brighter toward the bottom edge. It practices dividing the canvas into three clear areas and takes about an hour. The simple acrylic landscape tutorial builds this kind of scene in layers.

Plants and flowers

7. A single daisy

White petals around a yellow center on a plain colored background. It practices single, confident strokes with a round or filbert brush, and takes about 45 minutes. For a step-by-step version, see the tutorial on painting easy acrylic daisies.

8. A cactus in a pot

A rounded green shape in a terracotta pot against a flat background. It practices a light side and a shadow side on a simple form, and takes about an hour.

9. A leafy branch

One curving stem with leaves on either side, each leaf made with a press and lift of the brush. It practices brush control and mixing several greens, and takes 30 to 45 minutes.

Objects and shapes

10. A simple pear

One piece of fruit lit from the side, with a shadow on the table. It practices seeing light, middle and dark values, and takes about an hour to an hour and a half. The simple still life painting of one pear covers the setup and each stage.

11. A bowl of lemons

Three or four lemons in a plain bowl. It practices overlapping shapes and keeping yellow clean in the shadows, and takes about an hour and a half. Try it after the pear, since it uses the same idea several times over.

12. An abstract color-block piece

Divide the canvas into five to seven large shapes with light pencil lines and fill each with a flat, opaque color. It practices mixing, even coverage and neat edges, with no drawing at all. Allow about an hour, including a second coat where the first looks thin.

All twelve ideas at a glance

The times are rough guides for a small canvas. Thin layers are touch-dry in roughly 10 to 20 minutes, so most of these can be finished in one sitting.

Keep the first canvas small

A canvas panel of about 8 x 10 in (20 x 25 cm) is large enough to move a brush freely and small enough to cover before the paint dries on you. A large canvas takes more paint, more time and more nerve, none of which helps on a first attempt.

Limit your colors as well. White plus three or four tubes is enough for any subject on this list, and fewer colors means fewer decisions.

Paint from your own reference or imagination

All twelve subjects are things you can observe yourself. Put a real pear or lemon on the table. Look out of the window at the evening sky. Take your own photo of a houseplant or a line of trees and work from that.

Skies, moons and color blocks can come entirely from imagination. Your version does not need to match anything, which removes the pressure of getting a likeness and leaves you free to concentrate on the paint.