Painting challenges are a great way to stay motivated as an artist, improve your technique, and perhaps even help develop your own unique style. In 2021, I was struggling to be consistent with my art practice. I had a cute little studio by the sea in Washington and wasn’t even using it to its full potential. I knew I wanted to grow as an artist and something had to change. So I went on a journey to create an art challenge that would help reignite my passion and art practice.

A 100-day challenge seemed too intense. At the same time, a 10-day challenge didn’t feel long enough. So I decided on a 30 day challenge. It was a daunting task for me at the time. But it also made me feel purposeful in my studio. I was taking action and felt really good about myself. So I’m sharing some helpful tips I learned during my first art challenge for other artists. Whether you’ve never done an art challenge or are just looking for a new perspective on how to approach it.

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Have A Plan

The first step before starting your art challenge is to lay out a plan for your 30 days. We want to make it as easy as possible to step into our studio space and start creating. If we have to find a reference photo, decide on art supplies, or anything else—it’s just more decisions slowing us down. We want to make this as easy as possible.

So before you start, create a “road map” for your art challenge.

I split my art challenge into three sections (mountain landscapes, coastal landscapes, and waterfall landscapes). I decided to paint using gouache and focus on creating tiny paintings for the whole series. I also made a folder on my computer and saved reference photos naming them (Mountain-1, Waterfall-3, etc). So every day, I could pull up a reference photo and get straight to painting.

see my reference photo collection

Prep Your Paintings

While I was backpacking in Sweden, I learned a common practice at backcountry campsites was to build and prepare a campfire for the next person before hiking onward. There were several times where we would come into camp exhausted from hiking 10+ miles and realize someone else already created our campfire for us. It was a huge relief! Which is a long winded example to say: prepare your studio after each challenge for the next day’s painting. Clean the space, have your paints ready, get fresh water, tape down your paper, etc. It’s a nice and positive start to each day when you realize, “Oh, yeah! I already prepped everything.” This helps you get in a flow and just feel like everything is going smoothly before you even begin.

Keep Your Medium Consistent

One thing that especially helped me was having the same medium and paper size every day. It helped me stay in my flow and not get caught up in adjusting my practice for any reason. So if this is your first challenge, I would decide on a set paper size and a certain medium (for example: watercolor on 4 in by 6 in). I love experimenting with different sizes and mediums in my art studio. But for a challenge, it’s incredibly helpful to embrace simplicity. This also makes it easier to prep if you need to cut down your paper or prepare any other supplies. Every day will require the same set up.

*The first 10 days of my 30 Day Art Challenge where I focused on mountain landscapes*

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It’s Okay to Miss A Few Days

Even if you do all of the tips above, there’s a chance you might miss a few days throughout the challenge. Life might get in the way or you simply might forget during a busy weekend. I encourage you to give yourself some grace and allow for a few missed days. I think what’s more important is to complete the 30 days in general. While it’s a great goal to aim for 30 consecutive days, don’t feel guilty if it takes you more than 30 days to create 30 pieces of art.

A few tips with that in mind:

If you are posting to social media to share your challenge, delay sharing by 1-3 days so that you have wiggle room behind the scenes.
Try to plan your challenge during a slower season in your life (perhaps in winter or when you have more free time in the mornings).
Have fun! If you find the challenge stressful or making your life feel too hectic, give yourself more days to complete the challenge. The goal is for this challenge to bring joy and self-care into your life—not be stressed or feel bad about missing a few days. Life happens. You deserve this time to yourself even if takes longer.

*Coastal paintings from days 11 - 20 when I was really getting into my flow*

Ask Friends to Join!

With any challenge or new habit, it always helps to have friends for support and accountability. While you might not be able to paint with them every day, you might be able to meet up for every Saturday in April for the challenge or otherwise encourage each other. It’s also really exciting to see and celebrate each other’s progress throughout the challenge. This can also be a friend who lives far away or a friend on social media. And if you post on social media your challenge, you might find others who want to join you in the future.

Ways to include art friends:

Meet up every Saturday for the month at a coffee shop
Share each other’s Instagram posts throughout the challenge to uplift and encourage each other
Do a “mini art show” at the end of the challenge together

Plan A Challenge Celebration

One way to stay motivated is to have a reward or “challenge celebration” at the end of your challenge. It can feel anti-climactic to just finish the challenge and go back to daily life. I think it’s important to celebrate this moment! Maybe you treat yourself to some new art supplies, go on a dinner date with your partner, or treat yourself to hot springs, a yoga session, or whatever form of self-care you enjoy. Doing this also helps us feel happier and more connected to the challenge by associating with a positive experience as your grand finale. Something that helps you feel like, “Wow, I did it! I finished!”

*The final 10 paintings from my 30 Day Challenge! I love waterfalls so this was an an exciting motivation for me to finish with!*

Document Any Ideas or Inspiration

Just by being in your studio and painting consistently, you might find yourself more inspired and creative than usual. You might find yourself coming up with future challenges, new ideas, or dreaming up other creative pursuits! I think it’s a great idea to journal or take notes whenever you get a spark of inspiration. This also helps for when your 30 day challenge is over. You might already have a few new ideas to start whenever you’re ready.

You’ll Improve Over Time

Painting the coastal and waterfall scenes were challenging for me at first. I was so much more experienced with painting mountain landscapes. So if you’re painting something new or using a new technique or medium than you’re used to—just know that you’ll improve over time. My coastal and waterfall scenes improved dramatically from Day 1 to Day 10. And keep in mind that an art challenge should feel like a challenge. It just means that you’re growing as an artist! Keep at it and enjoy seeing your progress.

Final Tip: Just Start

The best way to know what works best for you is to just get started. Over the course of the 30 days, you’ll learn your own tips and tricks! Create your road map for your art challenge and do enough prep work to get excited. But otherwise, just jump in! You can always change and adapt your challenge throughout the month. The most important part is to have fun, develop a consistent practice, and make time to celebrate your creativity!