80+ Painting Ideas That Will Inspire You To Pick Up a Brush Right Now

Person Painting on a Canvas

Photo: Stock Photos from RossHelen/Shutterstock

When it comes to painting, everyone starts out on an even playing field—those that paint well have built their skills over time. Doing so, however, requires patience, and for you to put brush to canvas (or paper) and increase your aptitude stroke by stroke. We’ve seen this happen in a drawing; just a few years of drawing practice can mean the difference between a sketch that’s just okay and one that shows extraordinary talent.

Table of Contents hide
3 Easy painting ideas inspired by real life:
4 Good painting ideas inspired by the imagination:

We've put together a list of painting ideas that anyone can try.

Person Painting on a Canvas

Photo: Stock Photos from Photographee.eu/Shutterstock

 

What type of paint should you choose?

Choosing a type of paint for your work can be quite overwhelming at times given all the varieties out there. Some paint types can be more durable than others or can completely change the look of your final work of art. The right paint choice can be very important in accomplishing your artistic goal, depending on what you are creating. The different paint types vary in style and properties making a big impact on your next painting quest. Some popular types of paint are watercolor, acrylic, oil, and gouache. Read our comprehensive list of types of paint to get a better idea of which one is right for you and your project.

 

What supplies will you need?

Once you choose the paint type you want to work with, you can focus on other supplies. Outside of your paint set, you will need brushes, possibly a canvas or painting paper, and maybe even an easel if you're feeling fancy. We have recommendations for three of the most popular types of paint. Check out our guides for the best watercolor paint sets, top acrylic paint, and best oil paints that beginners and pros will love. Although these paints are the most popular, you can go beyond a brush and pick up a paint marker. We even have a guide for the best paint markers, too.

Once you’ve got your watercolor, acrylic, or even oil paint, you can get started right away on honing your craft. But even having all the right supplies can’t save you from the dreaded creative block; sometimes, you just can’t think of anything to paint! Luckily, we’ve compiled a list of prompts that are jumping-off points for your work. The easy painting ideas are divided into two lists—one is inspired by life while the other challenges you to use your imagination.

When looking through the list, consider the following: what sounds like fun to paint? What will challenge you to get better? Are there certain techniques you’d like to try? A leafy tree, for instance, gives you the opportunity to experiment with texture, while imagining these subjects in monochrome is a great exercise in understanding tonality, light, and shadow.

 

Painting Palette

Photo: Stock Photos from Kuznetcov_Konstantin/Shutterstock

 

Easy painting ideas inspired by real life:

 

Your favorite coffee mug

Painting Ideas

Photo: olies/Depositphotos

 

A prickly pear cactus

Painting Ideas

Photo: AndreYanush/Depositphotos

 

Your furry friend

Painting Ideas

Photo: yakimenko/Depositphotos

 

A tranquil lake scene

Painting Ideas

Photo: Max5799/Depositphotos

 

Your eye and eyebrow (try observing from real life)

Painting Ideas

Photo: Nataliass/Depositphotos

 

A leafy tree

Painting Ideas

Photo: borojoint/Depositphotos

 

Your childhood home

Painting Ideas

Photo: Max5799/Depositphotos

 

Someone sitting on a chair

Painting Ideas

Photo: vad_1/Depositphotos

 

Fluffy clouds

Painting Ideas

Photo: cat_arch_angel/Depositphotos

 

A bouquet of flowers in a vase

Painting Ideas

Photo: Marinka/Depositphotos

 

A small bird on a branch

Painting Ideas

Photo: borojoint/Depositphotos

 

A wise owl

 

A curling ocean wave (check out Ray Collins’ wave photographs for inspiration!)

Painting Ideas

Photo: balaikin/Depositphotos

 

Copy a masterpiece painting of an artist you admire

Painting Ideas

Photo: Rawpixel/Depositphotos

 

A bowl of fruit

Painting Ideas

Photo: natalia88/Depositphotos

 

Fish under water

Painting Ideas

Photo: VitalikRadko/Depositphotos

 

A portrait of yourself when you were a kid

Painting Ideas

Photo: re_bekka/Depositphotos

 

Your hand or foot

Painting Ideas

Photo: vad_1/Depositphotos

 

Your favorite collection of things

Painting Ideas

Photo: Alexis84/Depositphotos

 

A building façade you’ve always admired

Painting Ideas

Photo: segun007/Depositphotos

 

Someone standing under an umbrella while it’s raining

Painting Ideas

Photo: Max5799/Depositphotos

 

A streetlamp illuminating a dark street

Painting Ideas

Photo: Marsea/Depositphotos

 

A peacock’s colorful plumage

Painting Ideas

Photo: DeepGreen/Depositphotos

 

The Eiffel tower, or any other memorable landmark

Painting Ideas

Photo: martinm303/Depositphotos

 

An avocado cut in half

Painting Ideas

Photo: AntonMatyukha/Depositphotos

 

Your mode of transportation (car, bike, scooter, skateboard…)

Painting Ideas

Photo: samot/Depositphotos

 

A reflective object such as a vase or glass

Painting Ideas

Photo: Wirestock/Depositphotos

 

Your favorite insect

Painting Ideas

Photo: DeepGreen/Depositphotos

 

A collection of seashells

Painting Ideas

Photo: Viktoria_Karpunina/Depositphotos

 

A pair of shoes

Painting Ideas

Photo: vad_1/Depositphotos

 

Take your art supplies outdoors and paint a park en plein air

Painting Ideas

Photo: Afonskaya/Depositphotos

 

Different athletes

Painting Ideas

Photo: 7slonov/Depositphotos

 

The night sky

Painting Ideas

Photo: KostyaKlimenko/Depositphotos

 

Mountain landscape

Painting Ideas

Photo: Elinacious/Depositphotos

 

The moon

Painting Ideas

Photo: svetas/Depositphotos

 

The beach

Painting Ideas

Photo: itmuryn/Depositphotos

 

A butterfly

Painting Ideas

Photo: sun_tiger/Depositphotos

 

A cherry blossom tree (with q-tips instead of a brush)

Painting Ideas

Photo: Marinka/Depositphotos

 

A pumpkin

Painting Ideas

Photo: shoshina/Depositphotos

 

The sunset sky

Painting Ideas

Photo: samillustration/Depositphotos

 

Paint on rocks instead of on canvas

Painting Ideas

Photo: Wirestock/Depositphotos

 

What did you have for lunch or dinner?

Painting Ideas

Photo: suslik83/Depositphotos

 

A shiny balloon

Painting Ideas

Photo: OlhaArt/Depositphotos

 

Someone who is doing an everyday activity such as sleeping, cooking, putting on makeup

Painting Ideas

Photo: Leonid_Eremeychuk/Depositphotos

 

Go big: show peonies blooming on a giant canvas or piece of paper

Painting Ideas

Photo: Valenty/Depositphotos

 

A snowy landscape

Painting Ideas

Photo: vad_1/Depositphotos

 

Good painting ideas inspired by the imagination:

 

A person with flowers growing from their head

Painting Ideas

Photo:Nongkran_ch/Depositphotos

 

An image inspired by your favorite song

Painting Ideas

Photo: agsandrew/Depositphotos

 

A majestic unicorn with a rainbow-colored mane

 

A self-portrait in a Cubist style (try using a limited color palette)

Cubist Portrait

Juan Gris, “Portrait of Pablo Picasso,” 1912. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)

 

Reimagine a scene from your favorite Disney film

Painting Ideas

Photo: Liuzishan/Depositphotos

 

Imagine a dog could walk and talk like a human. What would they say and do?

Painting Ideas

Photo: Gastello/Depositphotos

 

A repeat pattern

Easy Painting Ideas

Photo: Molesko/Depositphotos

 

A mandala-inspired design

Painting Ideas

Photo: outsiderzone/Depositphotos

 

A cat in a fancy hat

Painting Ideas

Photo: rm211171/123RF

 

Your dream home

Painting Ideas

Photo: luzaazure/123RF

 

Try painting with your fingers

Painting Ideas

Photo: golubovy/Depositphotos

 

The sky imagined in colorful swirls like in Van Gogh’s Starry Night

Easy Painting Ideas

Photo: whatawin/Depositphotos

 

A scuba diver swimming through a galaxy instead of the ocean

 

A person made out of balloons

Painting Ideas

Photo: kamenuka/Depositphotos

 

Tiny people moving throughout a regular-sized world

 

Hide a face in a repeating pattern (like Lee Wagstaff)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Lee Wagstaff (@lee_wagstaff)

 

A spooky scene in the woods (try painting it on a wood slice)

 

Animals in the place of humans

 

Salvador Dali-inspired interior

The Persistence of Memory - Salvador Dalí 1931

 

Living underwater

"come è profondo il mare"

 

Paint a fantastical garden of imaginative plants

Painting Ideas

Photo: nikahgeh/123RF

 

Merge two of your favorite animals into one

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Sujay Sanan (@sujaysanan)

 

Try painting in an Art Deco style (like Tamara de Lempicka)

Painting Ideas

Photo: mayaartworks/Depositphotos

 

Hide a person's face in an unusual way

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Amy (@amyjuddart)

 

Imagine that you're a giant

Painting Ideas

Photo: PHOTOGRAPHER NAME/123RF

 

A person whose skin cracks like porcelain

Painting Ideas

Photo: KseniyaOmega/Depositphotos

 

Create your own fairytale

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Thanh Nhàn (@xnhan00)

 

Fuse day and night into a single scene

Painting Ideas

Photo: maxfilitov/123RF

 

An easy quote

Painting Ideas

Photo: rawpixel/123RF

 

Metallic abstract

Painting Ideas

Photo: denisined/123RF

 

Geometric art

Easy Painting Ideas

Photo: theromb/Depositphotos

 

Splatter art

Painting Ideas

Photo: tsyew/123RF

 

Animals outside of their natural habitat (look to Marina Kusraeva for inspiration)

 

A landscape inspired by an enchanted forest

Painting Ideas

Photo: altitudevisual/123RF

 

Life in the future

Painting Ideas

Photo: alfazetchronicles/123RF

 

Combine a realistic subject with abstract elements

Day 2 Still Life

 

Create a painting just of loops. What designs can you make with that?

Painting Ideas

Photo: braindamage/123RF

 

Something that slithers (doesn't have to be a snake or a slug!)

n105_w1150

 

Personal self-portrait inspired by Frida Kahlo

 

Painting Tutorials

If you don't have a vast knowledge of painting, any one of these ideas can be daunting to start putting pigment to canvas. Here are some painting tutorials to try which will teach you how to paint a particular subject while giving you confidence for future works of art.

Dream Your Own Abstract Floral Paintings — In this online course on My Modern Met Academy, artist Nitika Ale will walk you through painting techniques to create luscious acrylic blooms.

Dappled Light: Learn Abstract Paintings With Acrylics — Have you always admired the light as it shines through the trees? In another on-demand class on My Modern Met Academy, artist Megan Elizabeth shows you all you need to know about painting these beautiful scenes.

This Step-by-Step Tutorial Shows You How to “Grow” Watercolor Flowers on Paper — Get a supplies list and a look at all the steps involved in bringing flowers to life on the page.

Learn How to Paint a Colorful Sunset in Easy to Follow Steps — Want to recreate the beauty of the setting sun? Here's another step-by-step painting tutorial that will give you the foundation for it.

Fluid Art: How to Start Acrylic Pouring & Create Psychedelic Abstract Paintings — Pour your way into a masterpiece when you get the proper tools and practice the techniques of fluid art.

15+ YouTube Channels to Teach You How to Paint for Free — As expected, YouTube is chock-full of videos by artists who want to help you learn to paint. Here are 15 of our favorites.

 

Related Articles:

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Learn to Paint with 403 Free Episodes of Bob Ross’ “The Joy of Painting” on YouTube

15 Famous Watercolor Artists Who Continue to Influence Painting Today

25+ Mind-Blowing Hyperrealistic Paintings

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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