Looking to add a personal touch to your garden? Dive into our latest DIY project and discover how to paint terracotta pots with acrylic paint for the best results! In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything from selecting the best paint and base coat to choosing vibrant paint colors (6 colorful ideas below!) that make your pots pop. You’ll also learn about how to properly seal your pots (and why!) so that your painted designs don’t wear over time.
Whether you’re a seasoned artist or a beginner, these tips and techniques will help you achieve stunning results every time. Let’s get creative and transform those plain terracotta pots with beautiful painting ideas that you can gift, display or give your plant babies a new home!
If you’re looking for more ideas to paint on flower pots or pottery in general then check out this 50+ flower pot painting ideas post or this 50+ pottery painting ideas post.
Supplies
Below are a list of basic supplies you’ll need to paint your terracotta clay pots.
- Terracotta pots (any size)
- Terracotta sealer by FolkArt (prep coat)
- Paper towel
- Foam Brush
- Titanium White Acrylic Paint (base coat)
- Acrylic Paints
- Spray sealer (top coat)
- Paint pens (optional)
How To Prep Your Pots
The first thing you’ll want to do is wipe down your pots with a paper towel or rag. If you use a damp rag, make sure your terracotta pot fully dries before sealing/painting on it.
If you’ll be putting real plants or flowers in your pots or your terracotta pots will be outdoors (basically if they’ll be exposed to water in any situation) you’ll want to seal them before painting them.
And here’s why: Terracotta is highly porous, absorbing moisture as quickly as a desert floor soaks up a drop of water. What could happen if you don’t seal your pots is that the water could seep through the walls and make its way to the painted designs on the front of the pot and cause the paint to chip and peel. If you want to protect your hard work, then sealing it before painting your designs could save you a lot of time and frustration.
But, if your pots will be mainly decorative, like on a shelf, indoors, with a fake plant for example, then you can skip this sealing step and jump right into painted your pots.
There plenty of sealers you can buy that are made for terracotta. I did a bit of research before buying mine and they all seemed to work well. This spray sealer got good reviews, the only thing that prevented me from buying it was that people complained about the intense and strong chemical smell that it gave off. You basically have to use in a well-ventilated area when applying it.
I wanted to seal my pots indoors so I decided to look for a non-toxic sealer.
I ended up finding this FolkArt all-purpose sealer in a satin finish that said it was made to seal porous surfaces like terra cotta before applying paint. It basically acts as a surface primer. It’s also water-based, non-toxic and made for indoor/outdoor use.
Check!
I picked some up at my local Michaels craft store and got to work.
The sealer went on really liquid-y so you need very little on your brush when applying it. It soaked up pretty fast on the terracotta so I didn’t need to wait too long for the layer to dry. The bottle says it needs 2 coats, then 24 hours to fully cure.
Also, I applied sealer on the inside of the pot and the outside of the pot.
Once dried, the terracotta pot looked a bit darker, smoother and had a nice satin sheen to it.
Base Coat Your Terra Cotta Pots
I like to base coat my pots with white paint, to give it a blank canvas start. I do this for my rock paintings too, since I find color paints “pops” more on a white base compared to a darker colored base.
Feel free to skip this step and paint your designs straight on the terracotta though, if you feel this step unnecessary.
I base coat my pots as a personal preference – just wanted to share why and how I base coat my pots just incase it helps you.
If you want to base coat your pots, one important tip is to pick the best paint for the job: the most opaquest white. The most opaque white is usually called “titanium white”, and most brands name it that. You can use any brand here just make sure it’s an opaque white paint (most brands have a “opacity” grading at the back of the paint tube).
I used a foam brush to brush on my first base layer of white, then let it dry. I also used up and down strokes to keep the paint flowing in 1 direction(to end up with a streak free finish). I noticed that the first layer didn’t give a smooth coverage and it looked a bit streaky.
On a side note if you’re looking for a cool rustic aged look, then 1 layer of white does the trick! It kinda gives a chalk paint look, without investing in chalk paint!
But, since I was aiming for opaque and even coverage I ended up needing 3 layers of white. I’m not going to lie, it took some time to get my pots covered with this base layer. But I felt that doing them in a big batch ( I did all 6 in one go) made it worth it since I wasn’t ever waiting for a pot to dry before the next layer. It was pretty continuous work.
Pot Painting Idea 1: Q-Tip Lavender Flowers
For these lavender flowers I used wooden skewers as stamps dipped into green paint to paint on my flower stems. Once the stems were dried to the touch, I used Q-tips with 2 different lavender purple paints(one dark, one light) to “dot” on the lavender flower shape. I used the same method here like in this this lavender flower painting tutorial. This idea works great on larger pots.
Pot Painting Idea 2: Cute Ice Cream Cone
I painted a drippy ice cream pattern at the top of the pot with pink paint. Then I whipped up some waffle cone coloured beige paint (using red, yellow. blue, 2:2:1 ratio, and white ) and painted the bottom half of the pot. Once the beige was dried I took some dark brown paint and painted the waffle cone “x” pattern with thinned down paint and a fine detailing brush ( a paint markers would work awesome for this step).
Then I painted on the sprinkles with a variety of paint marker colors, but you can also do this with good ol’ paints and a detailing brush. Finally I traced the outline of the drippy ice cream with a fine black paint marker to make the ice cream “pop” against the cone.
I also decided to paint the same design on the inside of the pot, but you can just leave that unpainted too as another option. This idea works great on medium size pots.
Pot Painting Idea 3: Mini Pot Graffiti Hearts
Painting mini pots can be challenging since there’s not too much surface to work with. The key is picking an easy design like these overlapping graffiti hearts. I used paint markers here to get crisp lines, but you can do the same thing with thinned down acrylic paint and a fine detailing brush. I used variety of colors like yellow, green, pink, red, turquoise and purple. I painted 1 color at a time and waited for each color to dry before the next, to avoid the paints from mixing.
I painted the hearts with different sizes and overlapped the hearts to give it the graffiti look. You can have fun and get creative with this method, by limiting your colors to 2-3, or creating a monochromatic look with different shades of the same color.
Pot Painting Idea 4: Buzzin’ Bumble Bees
Painting bumble bees on flower pots is a super popular idea to paint for a summer fresh look. These bees are super easy to make too, even kids can paint this design! I started with painting yellow ovals in different orientations, but kept the rough size similar for each bee. I then took a black paint marker and drew on 3 curved lines for the bees stripes, a black dot for the eye and an irregular heart shape for the wings. It’s that simple.
For the buzzin’ lines I used the same black paint marker and painted on dotted lines that extend from the bee’s back side to around the pot (basically to show the path of flight of each bee). I added some “heart” dotted lines as an extra detail.
Pot Painting Idea 5: Aesthetic Face With Pink Polka Dot Rim
Another mini pot painting idea! This one is even easier than the graffiti hearts too. I first used a pencil to trace a simple long eye-lashed “closed” eyes and a smile with pencil. I then used my black paint marker to trace over the design. I added in a couple of pink circles for rosy cheeks. I wanted to add some more color to this pot so I painted the top rim with pink acrylic paint. I let this pink layer dry then went over it with a white paint marker for a cute polka do pattern.
Pot Painting Idea 6: Abstract Loose Roses with Leaves
This design is easier than it looks to paint. While painting realistic looking roses can be challenging, painting these abstract loose ones are easy and fun for beginners. To start out with paint the rough rose shape with some dark red/pink acrylic paint. Start in the center of the rose and paint small”swish” marks (like the Nike swish!) that are smallest in the center then get bigger as your work your way outwards. Each swish mark slightly overlaps the one before it too. While the red paint is still wet, pick up some white an go over each swish letting the red and white paint mix on the pot.
While my roses dried, I used a few shades of green to paint on leaves all around the pot.
Varnish Your Painted Pots
Once you’re done painting your pots you might want to consider top-coating/sealing them. The reason : while acrylic paint is pretty durable it’s not indestructible. I’ve had many canvases where the acrylic paint scratches off if I don’t top coat it. And acrylic paint on terra cotta pots are no different. You don’t want your hard work to go down the drain.
Another benefit of top-coating your pots is that it protects the colors against fading when exposed to direct sunlight. This will especially be true if your pots will be outside.
I use Chalked by Rustoleum because I have it at home already and also I like the matte look it gives. If you prefer a glossy or high gloss finish, look for a top coat with a glossy finish. Also, you’ll want to use this in a super well ventilated area like outside.
How to paint terracotta flower pots
Learn how to paint terracotta flower pots with 6 easy designs. You'll also learn how to prep, seal and how to base coat your pots for the best results.
Materials
- Terracotta pots (any size)
- Terracotta sealer by FolkArt (prep coat)
- Paper towel
- Foam Brush
- Titanium White Acrylic Paint (base coat)
- Acrylic Paints
- Spray sealer (top coat)
- Paint pens (optional)
Instructions
- Watch the video for full tutorial.
- Wipe the outside and inside of the pot with a paper towel or rag. If your towel is damp, make sure your pot fully dries before the next step.
- Seal the entire pot with a Terracotta sealer (brush on or spray) if your pot will have a real plant in it or will be outside. You can use a foam brush or brush. Wait for sealer to dry and cure.
- Base coat your flower pot with titanium white, using a foam brush (optional). It took be 3 coats to get even coverage (see above). Wait for paint to dry.
- Choose a design and use acrylic paints or paint pens to fill it in (see above for 6 ideas). Let your paints dry.
- Seal your painted designs with a top coat, either a spray-on or brush-on variety to make it weatherproof.
Recommended Products
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Liquitex BASICS Acrylic Paint, 250ml (8.5-oz) Tube, Titanium White
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8 Posca Paint Markers, 3M Fine with Reversible Tips, Set of Acrylic Paint Pens for Art Supplies, Fabric Paint, Fabric Markers, Art Markers
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Rust-Oleum 302599 Chalked Ultra Spray Paint, 11 Ounce (Pack of 1), Matte Clear
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24 Pcs Foam Paint Brushes, Wood Handle Sponge Brushes for Painting, Staining, Varnishes, and DIY Craft Projects (1'', 2'' and 3'')
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FolkArt Paint Finishes, 8 fl oz Premium Acrylic Sealer, Perfect for Easy to Apply DIY Arts and Crafts, 49909, White