It’s that time of year again! Time to come up with some super easy fall painting ideas so we can celebrate the most wonderful time of the year in style!
As an artist, it’s hard to beat the beautifully vivid colors of fall leaves against a deep blue sky. It’s the one season where the motto is “the brighter the better!”
Having a gallery wall full of fall paintings that you created is such a personal way to decorate for the season and, if you happen to know a fall lover who was lucky enough to be born in the fall, what a beautiful gift a painting of Autumn in all of her glory would be!
There are so many fall painting ideas out there but we want to stick with easy beginner friendly tutorials so you can relax and have fun playing with all of the bright colors.
Be sure to check out all of the easy painting ideas listed below. Each one is different and equally stunning. So relax with a cozy blanket, grab a pumpkin spice latte, and start planning your seasonal gallery wall!
Let’s jump right in!!!
In This Article...
- Floating Fall Leaf – The Art Sherpa
- Vibrant Autumn Tree – Painting with Jane
- Easy Autumn Forest Landscape – Angela Anderson
- Autumn Waterfall – Colors by Feliks
- Painting an Autumn Pumpkin Patch – Stay Creative Painting
- How to Paint a Lamppost in Autumn – Joni Young Art
- Pumpkin Spice – Eevee Maria
- My final thoughts on these easy fall painting ideas
- Now, grab your Brushes and paint and get started on these fabulous and super easy Fall painting ideas!
Floating Fall Leaf – The Art Sherpa
This is an excellent tutorial that shows you how to paint a fall leaf up close and personal. It’s a re-creation of a popular image by Bernie Kasper (you can enjoy more of his amazing photographs on his Flickr account).
I thought this would be a pretty easy fall painting idea for you because it focuses on painting the fall leaf. In my experience, painting something on a larger scale helps to cement the process in your mind. You can easily see the different shapes that make up the actual subject, in this case the leaf, and it kind of connects the dots on how you go from a bunch of willy-nilly shapes to an actual thing (leaf). Plus, for some reason, I find painting the different shapes of leaves challenging. Anyone else?
Cinnamon Cooney has a ginormous YouTube playlist of what she calls “one hoot” paintings, and this tutorial is included in the list. One hoot tutorials are meant for absolute beginners so they’re easy and fun. In fact, this tutorial is just shy of 43 minutes so it’s the perfect length for a chilly autumn Sunday afternoon.
Vibrant Autumn Tree – Painting with Jane
Jane Font has a lovely way of making you feel relaxed while learning a new skill and this beginner fall painting tutorial is no exception to the rule.
“Vibrant Autumn Tree” is a classic fall painting of a tree in full autumn splendor, on a grassy hill, with blue skies in the background. As well as being an amazing fall painting for beginners, Jane does some experimenting with cadmium-free paint. So, in case you’ve wondered how well this type of paint works, make sure to check this video out.
Jane also has a playlist dedicated to beginners filled with level one paintings where you’re sure to find even more easy painting ideas for future artwork. Let me warn you now, your painting “todo” list is going to be huge!
Easy Autumn Forest Landscape – Angela Anderson
This fall painting idea by Angela Anderson is a long one but so, so worth it! One look at this gorgeous painting will have you imaging a long walk through the brightly colored forest, crisp air on your cheeks, and a hot drink in hand.
In this video, Angela teaches you how to paint a misty wooded landscape. This is a great video to practice creating the illusion of depth. I’ll give you a hint: the mist can help push objects back.
There’s nothing too defined in this tutorial so I think the hardest part might be painting the branches on the trees. Just remember these helpful tips:
- Use more pressure near the trunk of the tree and lighten it as your branch moves out from the trunk
- Don’t get too precise with your branches. You want them to have angles as opposed to gentle curves
- If you make a mistake, cover it with a clump of leaves! No one will know the difference 😉
Autumn Waterfall – Colors by Feliks
If you’ve been searching for some easy fall painting ideas, that have some type of water feature, Colors by Feliks has a beautiful one called “Autumn Waterfall”.
In this video, you’re going to see how Feliks blends his sky and clouds, giving it an almost mystical effect. Feliks uses soft blending brushes to make his clouds but you can use makeup brushes, as I’ve heard they shed less than actual mop brushes. Just look for a soft domed makeup brush and that should do the trick. Also, if you’re too intimidated to try the blending technique that he uses, just make sure that your background is well blended, even if you just use gentle horizontal brush strokes and muted colors. Blending is all about a gentle hand. Your mantra should be “ninja touch”, haha.
This easy autumn painting tutorial features a waterfall surrounded by fall foliage. Most people find water challenging but this is the perfect opportunity to learn how to add movement to water. Once you see how it’s done, future water paintings should be a bit easier.
Painting an Autumn Pumpkin Patch – Stay Creative Painting
Let’s be real, nothing screams fall more than a pumpkin patch, am I right?! Ryan O’Rourke has created this fun painting tutorial to really get you in the mood for fall.
Sometimes, easy painting ideas are great but there are times where you want a bit of a challenge. We’re not talking Mt. Everest sized challenge here. More of a gently rolling hill where you have a bit more creative freedom to make a painting unique.
This painting tutorial will require you to do a bit of sketching and some guesswork because it is a condensed version of an hour long tutorial, which is available, along with a gridded sketch, on Ryan’s Patreon.
Even without these perks, don’t be afraid to give this one a try. It’s really not that difficult but it does require that you take a leap of faith and trust your instincts. Just be prepared to make it your own when it comes to object placement and placement of highlights and shadows and you’ll be amazed at what you can create when you relax and have fun with it.
You might be wondering why I would include this particular tutorial in an article about easy painting ideas for fall and there are a few great reasons.
- Ryan is a fantastic teacher who is so good at explaining what he’s doing without wasting time about it
- This beginner fall tutorial has a limited palette of:
- Titanium White
- Mars Black
- Burnt Umber
- Primary Yellow
- Primary Red
- Primary Blue
- It is made up of really easy shapes and techniques that won’t take a lot of experience to perfect
This pumpkin patch tutorial is so moody and symbolic of the season. I could totally see this one on a larger canvas or even done on a piece of wood to put on your front step with a few pumpkins! Just don’t forget to seal it for the weather.
How to Paint a Lamppost in Autumn – Joni Young Art
You guys are going to love this one! It uses a really interesting perspective of a frosty lamppost with lots of colorful leaves in the background. Joni also loves to use some unexpected colors to create shadows, and other elements, which naturally gives the painting a lot of personality.
What I really like about this painting is that it has a very loose and blobby background. Literally, the entire background is covered in blobs of paint! Super fun and easy, right?!
Joni loves to use neons in her painting tutorials but if you don’t have any you can still do this easy painting with the substitutions that Joni provides.
When I was trying to think of easy fall painting ideas for you, I wanted to make sure that I included a lot of different elements for you to practice but still stay within the autumn painting theme.
This video has a lot of techniques for you to learn but in a way that’s really easy to understand. Because of the looseness of this painting, you can relax and enjoy the process. Some of the techniques that are covered in this step-by-step tutorial are:
- How to paint a loose background
- How to create a misty effect
- How to paint branches
- How to add a frosty effect to metal
- How to create lamp glow
Just as a side note, as I was watching the tutorial, I was thinking of how I could add my own artistic flair (which I typically do) and I’d love to see this done on a black canvas, where the colors melt into the background somewhat…… Sorry, got stuck in my imagination there. Back to our easy fall painting ideas!
Pumpkin Spice – Eevee Maria
Last, but certainly not least, we’ve got a whimsical pumpkin with a hot mug of pumpkin spice coffee/tea and a few leaves blowing around in the background. This fall tutorial is created by Eevee who made me laugh on a few occasions, so, bonus!
I love this easy painting tutorial because it’s loose, and painterly, and rustic. It also features all of the beautiful colors of fall with a bit of pale blue for contrast. Plus, it’s called “Pumpkin Spice”. With a name like that, it wouldn’t be right to leave it out of our fall list of easy painting ideas. I think there’s some kind of a rule about that type of thing.
This painting tutorial is great for learning how to blend but to also incorporate lots of brush strokes and stronger lines to give it that rustic look that is so perfect for this time of year. It also focuses on the pumpkin and how to add a ton of layers to give it a more realistic look.
The other thing that makes this painting idea so great is that it’s easily customizable. If you didn’t want to add the mug you could just make your pumpkin larger and centered. Or, change out the shape and color of the mug, if you like. I think it would look fabulous in a kitchen!
If you want to add a bit more whimsy to this painting, add a few vines, in the same color as the stem, that curl up and/or down from the base of the stem. You could even add some lettering, with a paint pen, to the mug.
My final thoughts on these easy fall painting ideas
This is just a small sampling of easy painting ideas for autumn but I think you’ve got a nice selection to start with that will teach you a ton of different skills you can use in your future paintings.
Whether you’ve decided you’d like to create a seasonal gallery wall, have a fall inspired piece of art for each room in your home, or give all of your fall-loving friends a little celebratory gift, you’ll be surrounded by all of the sights and colors of the most wonderful time of year!
If you give one of these fall painting tutorials a go, let me know how it went in the comments below.