Saguaro with no arms yet beside one with fiveOlive, green, pale blue. Paint a plain column, then a taller one and bend each arm out and up.
Hummingbird with its beak in a waxy white cactus bloomWhite, olive, teal, gray. Set the bird upright at one side and touch the tip of its beak into the bloom.
Long cactus shadows striping a pink desert floorPink, peach, violet, green. Pull every shadow the same way, three times the height of its plant.
Blue-gray rosette with a blush of pink at every leaf tipBlue gray, pink, white. Touch pink into each tip while the gray is still wet so the two blend.
Low sun on a rosette, a dark wedge under each leafMint, dark green, pale yellow. Put a dark wedge under every leaf on the side away from the light.
Nine little rosettes in a three-by-three grid of squaresSage green, teal, plum, cream. Rule nine squares and paint one rosette in each, changing the green each time.
Nursery tray of rosettes packed edge to edge, from aboveSage green, mint, olive, lilac. Fill the canvas with touching circles, then turn each one into a rosette.
One rosette filling the square, each ring of leaves widerSage green, mint, pink. Start with the tight bud in the middle and add rings of pointed leaves outward.
Pale green rosette centered on a flat terracotta groundTerracotta, sage green, cream. Paint the ground flat and let it dry before the pale leaves go on top.
Rosette as a pinwheel, every leaf leaning the same wayTeal, mint, white. Curve each leaf a little to the left so the whole plant seems to turn.
Rosette cropped at a corner, only a fan of big leavesSage green, cream, pink. Set the center on the corner of the canvas and fan the leaves out from it.
Rosette in purples only, palest on the outer leavesLilac, violet, plum, white. Mix a little more white into each ring as the leaves move outward.
Rosette sending up one short flower stalk from its leavesOlive, sage green, coral. Paint the rosette first and arch one slim stalk of small coral flowers out of it.
Three rosettes overlapping in mint, lilac and peachMint, lilac, peach, white. Paint the back rosette whole and let each nearer one cover part of it.
Water beads resting on the leaves of a jade rosetteJade green, dark green, white. Add each bead as a dark dot with a white speck on its upper edge.
Cacti by shape 12
Barrel cactus seen from the top, ribs meeting at the crownGreen, dark green, yellow, in watercolor. Draw the ribs as spokes and shade one side of each.
Cactus pad close up, each spine cluster on its own pale dotGreen, cream, brown. Dot the pad with cream first, then pull three fine spines from every dot.
Cluster cactus of nine slim stems, tallest in the middleOlive, dark green, sand, in watercolor. Fan the columns from a single point, tallest in the middle.
Globe cactus in a ring of pale gravel, seen from the sideGreen, dark green, cream, in watercolor. Paint the ball, then dot a band of cream gravel around its foot.
Lineup of six flat cactus shapes in six different greensGreen, teal, olive, lime, in watercolor. Paint six flat shapes in six greens and add no detail at all.
Old saguaro with arms that droop, lift and twistOlive, brown, pale orange. Bend each arm a different way and notch the trunk with a few brown marks.
Prickly pear pads climbing in a zigzag, each one smallerGreen, yellow green, white. Climb the pads in a zigzag and finish with a top pad the size of a coin.
Round cactus under a net of white spine starsDark green, white. Paint the ball dark, let it dry, and cross it with small white stars in rows.
Saguaro with no arms yet beside one with fiveOlive, green, pale blue. Paint a plain column, then a taller one and bend each arm out and up.
Tall cactus cropped at the top, ribs running off the canvasGreen, dark green, pale yellow. Paint upright stripes of light and dark green to turn the stem.
Tall column cactus with a round one tucked at its footGreen, olive, tan, in watercolor. Paint one tall cylinder and a ball a third of its height beside it.
Wide barrel beside a slim pole cactus, the same greenGreen, yellow, tan. Give the barrel yellow spines in hooks and leave the pole nearly bare.
Cute pots and windowsills 12
Cactus in a striped pot beside a pair of reading glassesRed, white, green, tan. Stripe the pot around its curve and lay the glasses as two slim tan rings beside it.
Glass bowl garden with layers of sand, pebbles and plantsSand, gray, green, white. Paint the layers as bands, then outline the bowl in fine white.
Heart-shaped cactus pad in a pink potPink, green, white. Paint one green heart standing in the pot and dot it with white.
Leaning tower of pastel pots, the top one planted tallestMint, peach, lilac, green. Tilt each pot a little as the stack climbs and plant the top one tallest.
Old teapot turned planter, rosettes crowding its lid holeGray, sage green, pink. Paint the teapot in side view and pile small rosettes where the lid would be.
One spiky potted succulent and its shadow on a yellow wallYellow, green, gray, white. Paint the wall flat, then the plant, then a gray copy leaning to one side.
Planter on three cords, succulent stems trailing below itWhite, green, tan. Suspend the pot from three cords and trail the stems to different lengths.
Seven potted succulents lined up from shortest to tallestTerracotta, green, cream. Line the pots along one shelf and make every plant a different height.
Sill at night, potted cacti dark against a moonlit paneNavy, black, pale yellow. Blend the pane first and paint the pots and plants as flat black shapes.
Small cactus in a big square pot, pebbles on the soilWhite, green, gray. Fill the top of the pot with gray dots for pebbles around the stem.
Smiling round pot with a spiky green haircutPink, green, black. Paint two dot eyes and a curve on the pot and let the cactus be its hair.
Sunny sill with a trio of thumb-sized succulent potsTerracotta, sage green, white, pale blue. Paint the sill as one band and stand three pots along it.
Desert cacti at sunset 12
Afterglow sky with the spines of one cactus lit like a haloMagenta, orange, black, white. Dry-brush short white strokes outward along one edge of the stem.
Cactus garden at dusk under the first few starsNavy, violet, pink, black. Dot the stars with a cotton swab once the sky has dried.
Dusty road running between cacti toward the setting sunYellow, orange, brown, black. Paint the road as a pale wedge and stand cacti along both sides, smaller each time.
Long cactus shadows striping a pink desert floorPink, peach, violet, green. Pull every shadow the same way, three times the height of its plant.
Low sun sitting in the fork of a saguaro armOrange, yellow, black. Paint the sun disc first and set the black fork of the cactus across it.
Prickly pear on a ridge, pads rimmed with orange lightPurple, orange, black. Paint the pads black and run a fine orange line along their sunward edges.
Saguaro arms holding the last light, trunk already darkOrange, plum, black. Paint the whole cactus plum and brush orange along the top of each arm only.
Saguaro, green on one side and sunset pink on the otherGreen, pink, peach, violet. Paint the whole cactus green, then lay pink down the half that faces the sun.
Saguaros on a hillside, each row paler with distancePeach, violet, plum. Paint the far row palest and darken the mix for each row nearer the front.
Sunset stripes behind a row of barrel cactus domesRed, orange, yellow, black. Lay the stripes with a flat brush and add black half circles along the base.
Tall cactus mirrored in a still pool after rainOrange, pink, black. Paint the cactus, then repeat it upside down below a level waterline.
Violet dusk hills behind one prickly pear still in greenViolet, plum, green, yellow green. Paint the far hills flat violet and keep the only green for the pads in front.
Cactus flowers 12
Bee landing in the yellow center of a pale pink bloomPale pink, yellow, black, in watercolor. Paint the bloom large and the bee as two small stripes.
Crown of magenta flowers ringing a globe cactusMagenta, green, white, in watercolor. Paint a wreath of small blooms around the top like a headband.
Flower bud pushing out of a tuft of white woolGreen, white, pink. Dab the woolly tuft with a nearly dry brush and set a pink bud in it.
Hummingbird with its beak in a waxy white cactus bloomWhite, olive, teal, gray. Set the bird upright at one side and touch the tip of its beak into the bloom.
Night-blooming flower wide open under a crescent moonWhite, pale yellow, navy, green. Paint the petals white on the navy so the bloom seems to glow.
Orange cactus flower filling the canvas, petals in layersOrange, yellow, red. Work from the outer petals inward and overlap every layer on the last.
Prickly pear fruit, red and egg-shaped, on a green padRed, purple, green, in watercolor. Stand the fruit along the top edge of the pad and dot each one.
Prickly pear in bloom, yellow cups along the pad edgesYellow, green, orange, in watercolor. Set each flower on the rim of a pad and deepen its center with orange.
Single pink bloom on top of a small round cactusPink, green, yellow, in watercolor. Paint the ball, then fan pointed petals out from a yellow center.
Tall white flower tube rising from a low green cactusWhite, green, pink, in watercolor. Paint a long funnel that opens into a star of petals at the top.
Three cactus flowers in a row: pink, yellow and redPink, yellow, red, green, in watercolor. Paint three open blooms the same size on three green domes.
White, waxy blooms clustered on the tip of every saguaro armWhite, yellow, olive, pale blue. Cluster the blooms at the very top of the trunk and of each arm.
How it works
A succulent stores water in thick, fleshy leaves or stems, which is why it paints as a few plump shapes. Every cactus is a succulent, though many succulents are not cacti.
Read the full guide
Cactus canvas painting ideas, by shape
Three shapes to start from: a column, a globe and a stack of flat pads. Tall column cactus with a round one tucked at its foot paints two of them. The ribs on a stem let it shrink in drought and swell after rain, so shade them as folds. A saguaro may wait 75 years or more for its first arm.
A rosette is rings of leaves
Seen from above, a rosette is a tight bud with rings of pointed leaves around it, each ring wider. On an echeveria the flowers rise on short stalks, as in Rosette sending up one short flower stalk from its leaves.
Questions and answers
What are some cute succulent painting ideas?
Cute pots and windowsills holds 12. Smiling round pot with a spiky green haircut gives the pot a face, and Heart-shaped cactus pad in a pink pot is one green heart with white dots.
Which cactus acrylic painting ideas suit a beginner?
Easy first succulents, under More filters, holds 22. Saguaro, green on one side and sunset pink on the other is one shape in two colors; acrylic is water-resistant once dry, so the pink goes over the green cleanly.
Can I paint a cactus in watercolor?
Yes. 12 cactus ideas name watercolor in their colors, such as Single pink bloom on top of a small round cactus. Watercolor is transparent, so the pale colors go down first.
Where do the flowers grow on a cactus?
From areoles, the small woolly spots that also carry the spines; only cacti have them. A saguaro flowers at the top of its trunk and arms: White, waxy blooms clustered on the tip of every saguaro arm. Those blooms open after sunset.