If you’re new to acrylic painting, landscapes are a great place to start. First of all, there’s inspiration literally right outside your window, and you don’t have to be immensely skilled with a paintbrush to create an interesting abstract landscape! In this article, I’ve chosen ten acrylic painting landscape ideas that are not only beautiful but achievable by most beginners or intermediary painters.
From serene sunsets to majestic mountains, these projects are perfect for beginners looking to have fun and make beautiful art without any pressure to be perfect or too realistic.
What to Look for in a Beginner-Friendly Landscape
In order to prevent massive frustration when starting your painting journey, it’s important to choose the right inspiration. Many beginners choose to replicate the work of other artists as they learn the ropes. It’s important to choose inspiration pieces that you can succeed in reproducing. Your work doesn’t need to be an exact copy, but it should be something that offers a challenge within the parameters of your ability as a newbie.
Thankfully, the popularity of the Impressionist movement and the abstract creations of modern art have given us a plethora of landscape ideas to choose from that don’t require precise and realistic depictions of nature. Here are a few things to look for when choosing your first acrylic landscape painting.
Choosing Your Acrylic Painting Landscape Inspiration:
Look for paintings that require a small color palette. Learning to mix paint (without muddying) and choosing colors that complement one another is a skill that takes some practice.
Work on a small scale. Start with a 16×20 canvas or slightly larger. Don’t try to create a mural or a large piece that takes more understanding of scale to master.
Choose an abstract piece to mimic. Realistic landscapes are a skill that’s acquired with years of practice for most. Start with something that is more whimsical in form and vibe.
10 Beginner-Friendly Acrylic Painting Landscape Ideas
With these precepts in mind, I’ve chosen ten awesome landscape options for you to try. These paintings allow you to work with color mixing, proportion and composition, perspective, and texture, while not requiring too much precision.
1. Serene Mountain Reflections

The mountains reflect beautifully on the calm water, in this painting, but it’s not an exact reflection. There’s leeway in it…room for error. The brushwork is a bit messy on purpose. While the overall image is that of a beautiful mountain range under a fiery sunset, when you look closely, it’s anything but perfect. There’s plenty of room for play and experimentation in this option!
Pro Tip: While you will find your own workflow, when I paint a reflection like this, I sketch a pencil line for my horizon. I then turn my canvas vertically and begin at the now top of the (canvas which will be the left of the painting when turned back around) and I paint one side. Then, I immediately paint the mirror image on the other side of my line. This keeps things organized and helps create a more realistic reflection.
2. Rustic Autumn Forest Pathway

I love this option for a beginner because it allows you to experiment with perspective in creating the walking path and play with texture a lot. While it may look difficult, most of this painting can actually be done in smears with a palette knife. The key is to work in layers and be patient! Let it dry. Then, come back, and add some more, working from light to dark in the background, and from dark to light in the foreground.
Pro Tip: For a painting like this, you will need to work with a texture medium to get that chunky look. You can buy an artist-grade medium at any art store, or you can make your own by mixing paint with silicone caulk.
3. Starry Night Over a Quiet Village

The night sky sparkles above a peaceful village, casting a serene glow on the homes below. Peak close though, the windows aren’t square. The homes aren’t precise. It’s an illusion and one that you can definitely create!
The night sky is merely a few shades of blue, swiped across the canvas and lightly blended with a dry brush. The stars can be added with a flick of a paintbrush (seriously, just load a small flat brush with white paint and flick it with your thumb at the canvas). Don’t take this one too seriously. Have fun with it!
4. Lush Green Meadows Under a Blue Sky

The meadows stretch wide and green, inviting everyone to take a closer look. When you look closer though, you’ll see that his medley of happy flowers is a madhouse of brushstrokes. While the forefront is more precise, the background is a mirage of color blocking with no real form. The freeform grove on the back left gives the impression of a distant treeline, but there’s not a formed tree in site.
I love this option for a beginner because it allows you to really play with color and form. There’s room for error. The layering effect and textured nature of the painting allow you to cover up errant brushstrokes with another easily, letting you use trial and error to find the brush movement that works for you.
5. Calm Beach Scene with Gentle Waves

Another perfectly imperfect acrylic painting landscape idea, this beach scene captures the beauty of nature with its soft waves and vibrant colors. The footprints in the sand tell a story of tranquility and relaxation, but on closer inspection, it’s a swirling pattern of organized chaos.
The overall effect is fun and whimsical, and this painting allows you to work with shading and highlighting, as well as color blending, in a way that doesn’t feel intimidating.
6. Golden Sunset Over Rolling Hills

The golden sunset casts a warm glow over the rolling hills in this gorgeous Tuscan landscape. It’s probably one of the more advanced paintings on the list, as there are a myriad of colors and shading. However, just remember to work from dark to light, laying your base colors and adding highlights above. Take your time, again working in layers here. You got this!
Pro Tip: Start with the forms. Sketch out your mountains, and get the shading correct. Come back in at the end and add the trees, the cloud highlights, and the shimmer of the water. Start getting your colors blended out correctly from dark to light to build that foundation of depth.
7. Lavender Fields in Full Bloom

Perspective, perspective, perspective! This beginner-friendly acrylic painting landscape is all about learning the art of converging lines. Paintings like this help beginners to wrap their minds around creating perspective and depth. This is done by mastering the convergence of the line, as well as the skill of color gradation.
Remember that dark colors cause the object to recede, while highlights bring it forward. The artist plays with the traditional technique here, ignoring some of those shading rules, but the overall effect is still lovely.
Pro Tip: If I had one critique, it would be that the center line of green is slightly off in perspective. Ideally, the darker shade of the green should be higher up on the painting, and the lighter shade should be at the base. This would help to create the illusion of depth. The same goes for the lavender rows. I probably would have made the plants at the top of the painting, near the convergence of the lines, a bit deeper purple to give them the illusion of being farther away.
8. Snow-Capped Peaks in Winter

The snow-capped peaks look stunning against the vibrant sky. The mix of blues and whites creates a peaceful scene that invites you to pause and take it all in. A painting like this takes more time and skill than you might think at first. Since the artist is using so many colors and tints, if they aren’t placed correctly, it can become a muddy mess.
In this kind of work, you don’t want to play with the brushstrokes too much. Think about your placement, and then try to lay it down with one or two strokes of the brush, not overblending.
Pro Tip: The play of shadow and light is also important in mountain scenes, especially those with snow. Pay close attention to where your light source is in the painting and keep it consistent—highlights where the light hits and shadows where it wouldn’t!
9. Dreamy River Scene with Blossoming Trees

This river scene feels like a sweet escape into nature. I’d like to be under one of those blossoms with a good book. I can hear the babbling stream now!
Anyway, this beauty is right up your alley as a beginner. It features easy-to-moderate color blending, and can most be done by a dabbing technique. This involves using a dry, stiff brush and applying paint by briskly dabbing it against the canvas. You can see this technique, especially in the pink blossoms.
10. Vibrant Tropical Island Paradise

Now this one has some flair. It reminds me of one of those old Lisa Frank posters from my childhood—explosion of color! This is by far the most advanced of the paintings on the list. The dabbing of the waves, the highlighting of the still water, the shading detail in the boats, and the precisely imprecise placing of color are done by someone who really knows their way around a canvas.
However, if you take this one on as a challenge and a learning experience, it could be amazing. You’ll work with blending, color theory, shading and highlighting, dabbing, and precise brushwork in the small details. You won’t know this one out in a day, and you’ll probably make a lot of mistakes, but keep at it. Take your time, and view it as a chance to hone your skills.
Acrylic Painting Landscape Ideas-Final Words
I hope you enjoyed this list of incredible acrylic painting landscape ideas. If you’re new to the world of acrylic painting, one of these options is a great place to start. As with anything worth doing, your painting journey will be a series of ups and downs and trial by error, but some of the absolute best works of art were stumbled upon by error. So, don’t be afraid to put brush to canvas.
Start with inexpensive paints and canvases, and hobby-level brushes. Hone your technique and find your style, then move along from there. If you love it, then advance to some more quality products. We’ll be here every step of the way to guide you and introduce you to new techniques and inspiration each week!