30 Day Painting Challenge

An exercise to develop skills (September 2020)

As a part of my routine, I picked up my phone before going to sleep, mindlessly scrolling through Instagram, watching funny cat videos. All of a sudden I became mindful of the content on my feed when I saw it flooded with people posting their beautiful art participating in the 100 days of art challenge. Upon going through tonnes of pages , I finally decided to take up the challenge myself. Now, knowing  myself and being a tad realistic about my commitment issues, I saw it more appropriate to try out the 30 days challenge. It was just enough of a challenge without having to commit 3 long months to it.

What did I get out of painting daily for 30 days?

• Skill Set
  Yes, any skill requires a lot of practice and I believe my drawing and composition improved by the end of it. Setting a different theme for each day, also helps. It pushes you to create something you normally wouldn’t. There are many drawing prompts available, like Inktober Challenge, Sketchbook Prompts, or you can make your own list.

• I copied art without shame
  Copying art is regarded as an unethical artist behaviour. It actually becomes unethical if you don’t credit the original artist. I always admired so many artists, but i would never recreate their work. With this challenge, I recreated paintings like Starry Night by Van Gogh (trust me it looks so easy but it is not). I believe it is completely okay to copy another artist’s work as long as you give the due credit. In fact, I learned so much when I copied artwork. I discovered the art of brushstrokes and how it can be used to express a certain emotion in your artwork.

• Productivity does not look the same everyday
  Let’s be honest here. Is it truly possible to be your best everyday? In this 30 day challenge, I did not just create 30 paintings, but many more. Some of them did not pass the threshold to be posted. It was getting almost impossible for me to do better everyday. One just cannot be equally productive everyday and it is completely okay. Bad Art days are welcome and they actually help. Sometimes all you need to do is just relax and watch a movie. And then make its fan art. :P

A challenge like this might be beneficial if you truly want to enhance your skills. You can even impose restrictions such as a limited colour palette or the use of only one medium. It will encourage you to be your most creative self.

Have a look at my 30 Day Painting Challenge:

Clockwise: a) Elephant b) Garden c) Lakeview d) Neon Expressions e) Ghibli f) Self-care

Clockwise: a) Campfire b) PopArt c) Co-existence d) Ferris wheel e) Cherry Blossom f) Forest

Clockwise: a) Relax Bench b) Journey c) Florals d) Sailing Dreams e) Forest Cabin f) Tangled

Clockwise: a) Strength b) Starry Night c) CatMan d) Floral Dog e) Botanicals f) Amsterdam

Clockwise: a) Japan Streetscape b) Bookshop c) Snow and Mountains d) Dramatic Sky e) Cappadocia f) Himachal Pradesh

You can also watch a video I made showcasing all these paintings.

I think I relate this challenge with an adventurous activity. I will remember it forever, I had fun, I was scared. If you ask me if I would do it again, my answer is no. Though I learned a lot, a challenge like this does not personally work for me. It did put me under a lot of stress and I usually work on larger paintings, but it was becoming increasingly difficult for me to do so. I do paint everyday, if you want to develop that practice then you should definitely go for it. Also, don’t forget to have fun while creating.

Happy Creating!