Acrylic painting is a favourite with both professionals and amateurs alike. However, deciding what to paint can be a stumbling block for many artists. You’ve got your canvas set up, acrylic paints and brushes are at the ready, and then it dawns on you that you can’t think of anything that you want to paint and your mind has gone blank.

Don’t worry, you’re not alone, this happens to many artists and that’s why we have decided to lend a hand! There are many talented creators on YouTube who have made video demonstrations and tutorials which are excellent for inspiring new ideas or learning new techniques. We have picked some of our favourites and split them into some popular subject matters so you don’t have to spend your painting time looking through them all! The skill levels range from basic to more advanced techniques. We hope you enjoy watching the videos and also discovering new artists to follow.

Blog post updated 28/05/2025

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Sunsets

Easy Sunset Acrylic Painting Tutorial For Beginners Step by Step by AhmadArt

This tutorial is great for beginners and shows you how to paint a sunset in three different ways. AhmadArt has lots of different sunset tutorials for beginners, so check out his channel for other ideas.

Painting a Realistic Sunset in Acrylics by Chuck Black Art

A full step by step tutorial in real time which includes a shot of the palette so you can see the colours being mixed. Chuck shows us how to paint clouds and recreate the glow from the sun.

Acrylic Painting of Beautiful Sunset Landscape step by step by Paint with Shiba

Another one for beginners, this is a step by step demonstration of a sunset over a lake painted in acrylic paint.

Simple Acrylic Sunset Painting For Beginners by Charvi Ashtekar

In this video tutorial artist Charvi Ashtekar shows how to blend acrylic paint to create this sunset with starry sky.

Sunset Over Ocean with Dock Step by Step Acrylic Painting by Colour By Feliks

This is a very detailed tutorial taking us through the whole painting process in real time with full instructions so you can paint along with it.

Acrylic Blending for Beginners Easy! “Sunset” How to Paint Landscape by PaintyKat

This tutorial not only teaches the basic acrylic techniques of wet blending, but also explains the basics of colour mixing.

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Beaches and Oceans

Painting Tuorial – Acrylic Ocean for Beginners by Katie Jobling Art

Katie is a self taught artist and takes us through her process for painting an acrylic seascape.

Easy Beach Acrylic Painting Tutorial for Beginners by JK Paint

This simple tutorial shows you how to mix the paint straight on the canvas to produce this beach scene.

DIY Beach Acrylic Pour Painting by Tamara Horne

This beautiful abstract beach is created using an Acrylic pouring technique. Watch this demonstration to see how it is created.

How to Paint a Tropical Beach Step by Step by Joni Young Art

Learn how to paint a sky, horizon and beautiful turquoise water along with lots of lovely palm trees.

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Trees

Painting Trees With A Fan Brush – Step By Step Acrylic Painting

This great tutorial shows you how to paint several different types of tree using a fan brush. It also demonstrates how to mix different greens for the foliage.

Deer Forest – Easy Acrylic Painting for Beginners Tutorial by Grace J Art

This demonstration uses acrylic paint on a mini canvas to create this beautiful forest scene.

Impressionist Landscape with Acrylic by Enrique Zaldivar

Watch artist Enrique Zaldivar take you though his process of creating this impressionist scene in this time lapse video.

How to Paint Palm Trees in Acrylics for Beginners by Debbie Avoux

This step by step tutorial shows us how to mix your own colours – the 3 primaries plus white and black, to paint these palm trees.

How to Paint Green Summer Trees with Acrylics by WilliampArtSchool

This is actually a very detailed 3 part lesson taking you through all the stages of painting this impressionist green Summer landscape of The Weir Gardens in Herefordshire.

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Mountain Landscapes

Painting a Misty Mountain Landscape with Acrylics in 10 Minutes! by Ryan O’Rourke

Ryan O’Rourke shows us how to paint this misty mountain in only 10 minutes!

How to Paint a Galaxy Sky Scenery with Acrylic Paint By Makoccino

Here we learn how to paint a galaxy sky sunset & lake scenery with acrylic paint step by step including how to blend your acrylic paint for the gradient effect in the background.

How to Paint a Winter Scene with Acrylic Paints

If you are a fan of Bob Ross, but don’t want to use oil paints, this acrylic tutorial shows you how to recreate a very similar style.

Beautiful Landscape Acrylic Painting Step by Step Tutorial by Chloe Art

This tutorial shows you the stages for painting a mountains with a lake and trees in the foreground. More basic than the previous one, it is great for beginners.

Northern Lights Aurora – Easy Acrylic Painting for Beginners – Grace J Art

This tutorial shows us how to paint this beautiful scene of mountains beneath the Northern Lights including colour mixes.

Painting Distant Mountain Landscape by Correa Art

Using simple techniques you can recreate this distant mountain landscape scene by following this video demonstration.

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Flowers

Easy Floral Impressionist Acrylic Painting Tutorial Beginner Step by Step Lesson

In this video Angela Anderson shows you how to paint this simple impressionist abstract floral vase. Easy to follow instructions will guide you step by step through creating your own beautiful canvas artwork.

Peony in Acrylic with Brush & Palette Knife Painting Tutorial

This demonstration talks us through the importance of tonal value and uses only four colours to create this peony in acrylic paint using a brush and a palette knife for more texture.

Red Poppies Step by Step Acrylic Painting by Colour By Feliks

Paint this beautiful field of poppies following the step by step instructions on this video.

How to Paint Flowers Acrylic Painting Tutorial by Createful Art

This step by step tutorial with artist Ashley Krieger is great for beginner artists and shows you how to paint this loose floral painting.

How to Paint a Peony Flower in Acrylic by Julie Marriott

In this full length tutorial artist Julie Marriott talks us through all the steps to paint this beautiful acrylic floral painting.

Heritage Acrylic Rose- Lost and Found Edges by David Jansen

A slightly more advanced technique here, artist David Jenson teaches us about mastering lost and found edges when painting roses.

How to Paint a Daisy Flower – MariArtHome

In this very relaxing video, we are taken through a demonstration on how to paint a field of daisies in acrylics. Suitable for beginners.

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People & Portraits

How to Paint People – Tim Gagnon

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Great tips on colour mixing skin complexions with only 4 colours of acrylic paint.

Portraits – How to Mix All Skin Tones and Blend – Gabby Wonka

A detailed explanation on skin tone and how to blend colours for portraiture. Well worth a watch for beginners struggling to mix colours suitable for faces.

Quick & Simple Figures – Bob Blast

Adding a figure into a landscape can provide interest and help give a sense of scale. This video shows you how to quickly add a figure using a carrot shape!

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Painting with acrylics can be challenging so remember to have fun whilst you’re painting. The final piece doesn’t need to look exactly the same as the ideas above, they are just here to help spark your imagination.

We hope you found the acrylic painting ideas useful and if you decide to paint one of them make sure you share it with us on social media.

If you’re looking help to decide which paints and products you need check out this blog post tips to get started with acrylic. We stock a wide range of art supplies on our website and our selection of acrylic paints suit every level of artist whether you are just starting out or at a more professional level.