If you didn’t know already, I live in the desert, and it plays a HUGE roll in my art these days. As they say, paint what you know, and boy, do I know cactus. So I thought I would share with you how I create cute, simple DIY acrylic pouring cactus paintings like these!
These are not super realistic as with most things I paint (just not really my style or something easy to do with the acrylic pouring technique) but they are super cute modern, stylized cactus forms that could easily be adapted for succulents as well if you prefer.
If you’re pouring for the first time and would like more explanation on materials, processes, and terms, you can head on over to my Beginner’s Guide to Acrylic Pouring. You can also head over to my Comprehensive Guide to Acrylic Pouring Techniques for more information on all of the different techniques and my How to Thin Acrylic Paint for Acrylic Pouring post to learn all about pouring mediums!
So how do you paint a cactus painting with acrylic pouring? Well, the two techniques that I used were:
- Swipe Technique
- String Pull
What colors do you need to paint a cactus painting?
As most people are aware, cacti are usually a sage-type, earthy green, but there are also some purple ones out there that I really like, so that’s what I chose to go with, a few shades of green and a pearly purple color.
And full transparency, I’m not thrilled with the color on the ones from the video. I much prefer the ones I did before. I feel like the greens I used in the video were too yellow. But, they’re fine for technique demonstration purposes.
However, as with all art, you can totally do whatever you like and whatever suits the space or purpose of your art! Some other ideas for colors would be pastels, sunset colors, doing silhouette’s in black and white. You’re really only limited by your imagination.
(If you’re curious about colors and color theory as it relates to acrylic pouring, head on over to my post about Choosing Colors for Acrylic Pouring and grab your FREE printable Color Wheel and Color Scheme Guides below!)
Materials You Will Need to Paint a Cactus Painting with Acrylic Pouring
This post contains affiliate links, which I earn a small comission from. These are provided for your convenience, and the price isn’t increased at all.
Paints:
- Master’s Touch Phthalocyanine Blue
- Master’s Touch Titanium White
- Master’s Touch Crimson
- Master’s Touch Med Yellow
- Artist’s Loft Silver
Pouring Medium:
- Floetrol
- Water
For these cactus paintings, I thinned my paint with this “recipe”: 1 part paint to 2 parts Floetrol and a smidge of water as needed and mixed the colors from the paints mentioned above.
Tools:
Canvas:
Video Tutorial: How to Paint a Cactus Painting (3 Different Types)
Step-by-step Barrel Cactus Painting
- Lay down a base layer of paint for your background. I chose white in this instance.
- Cut a piece of string the length of the outside of your barrel cactus shape and add paint to the string. Be sure to really coat the string in paint.
- Lay the string on the canvas in an elongated semi-circle shape.
- Gently and slowly drag the string downward toward the bottom of the canvas.
- If you’d like to add flowers to your cactus, dip a balloon into some small puddles of paint that you have on your work surface. Then press the balloon onto the canvas. Repeat until you’re happy with your flowers.
- Add spines to the cactus with a pointed implement like a chopstick or a palette knife by pulling the paint from the cactus body outward.
Step-by-step Agave Cactus Painting
- Coat your canvas liberally in the background color of your choosing.
- Draw lines of your different colors of paint from the center of the bottom of the canvas upward in an arching motion (see photos).
- Using a palette knife swipe the paint on each arm of the plant up and out.
Step-by-step Prickly Pear Cactus Painting
- As with the other cactus paintings, lay down a layer of base paint.
- Prepare a dirty cup pour by pouring your different colors into the same cup.
- Pour into attached oval shapes on the canvas.
- Swipe the paint in a a rounded motion using a palette knife.
- You may also choose to add some balloon smash flowers onto this one as well. If you want to add flowers, be sure not to use too much paint in your background layer or cactus pads, or the flowers will get lost and look weird.
Go Forth and Pour!
If you’re interested in painting different types of plants with acrylics, check out my posts on string pull flowers, painting trees with acrylic pouring, and painting a cherry tree with acrylic pouring too!
As always, check out my updates on Facebook and Instagram and feel free to peruse Homebody Hall for more fluid art tips, tricks, and tutorials! Also head over to Youtube and subscribe to get my videos sent to you as soon as they come out!!
And now you can joing my Facebook Group, Flourishing Fluid Arts with Homebody Hall and get help, tips, inspiration and just hang out and have a great time!
As always, check out my updates on Facebook and Instagram and feel free to peruse Homebody Hall for more fluid art tips, tricks, and tutorials! Also head over to Youtube and subscribe to get my videos sent to you as soon as they come out!!
And now you can joing my Facebook Group, Flourishing Fluid Arts with Homebody Hall and get help, tips, inspiration and just hang out and have a great time!
Interior House Paint Flip-cup Pour – Acrylic Pouring
Acrylic Pouring Dustpan Pour Technique
Acrylic Pouring Puddle Pour Painting {simple + beautiful}
Want to remember these simple acrylic pouring diy cactus paintings? Pin this tutorial to your favorite Pinterest Board!
