30 Day Painting Challenge

In January of 2021 I decided I wanted to try my hand at a painting challenge. 100 days seemed too daunting and 10 days seemed more like a warmup, so 30 days it was. I am a planner, so I planned out my first 10 days of mountain landscapes. I had photos I had taken over the past few years and compiled them in a folder on my laptop ready to go. It worked out great! Then I started thinking about the rest of the 30 days and froze…hmm…do I have enough mountain photos to paint off of? Ooh, what if I started painting seascapes or desert or waterfalls? Then the wheels started turning and I came up with my own 30 day challenge. I started sharing on my Instagram and people seemed super interested in both the paintings and the challenge. I figured I would share it all with you here if you want to do your own version of the 30 day painting challenge!

30 Day Painting Challenge Layout:

• Days 1-10: Mountain Landscapes

• Days 11-20: Coastal Landscapes

• Days 21-30: Waterfall Landscapes

Supplies I used: (check out fav art supplies here)

Holbein acrylic gouache paints

2” x 1.25” paper from Peg & Awl

Tool protectors from Peg & Awl (I used this to tape down my paper)

Princeton Velvetouch brush size 5/0 spotter

Raphael Precision brush size 6 angular

Artist tape in black because that’s what my local art store had :)

10 Mountains

1. Mt Baker, WA

2. Mt Shuksan, WA

3. Mt Rainier, WA

4. Mt Larrabee, WA

5. North Cascades, WA

6. Table Mountain, WA

7. Grand Tetons, WY

8. Mt. Rainer, WA

9. Moraine Lake, Banff Canada

10. Tunnel View, Yosemite, CA

10 Seascapes

1. Ruby Beach, WA

2. La Push 2nd Beach, WA

3. Secret Beach, OR

4. Natural Bridges, OR

5. Ecola State Park, OR

6. Heceta Head Lighthouse , OR

7. Rialto Beach, WA

8. Cannon Beach, OR

9. Cape Kiwanda, OR

10. God’s Thumb, OR

10 Waterfalls

1. Marymere Falls, WA

2. Multnomah Falls, OR

3. South Falls, OR

4. Lower Falls, OR

5. Snoqualmie Falls, WA

6. Abiqua Falls, OR

7. Salt Creek Falls, OR

8. Diamond Creek Falls, OR

9. Falls Creek Falls, WA

10. Marion Falls, OR

Things I learned by doing a 30 day painting challenge:

• Setting aside the time to paint everyday (I did miss a few days, but always got right back on track) taught me to get in the creative mode and accomplish something every day.

• Trying out different landscapes pushed me to learn new techniques. Waterfalls + ocean waves were a challenge at first, but I got better with each one.

• Mixing my paints I learned that I don’t need as many colors as I thought. This has definitely helped me make my backpacking art kit minimal with paint tubes.

• Knowing I wanted to sell all of these paintings at the end of it I knew I had to make a website and figure out all the details. :P

• As I was nearing the end of the challenge, I have come up with a lot of ideas for more paintings both keeping with the small paper and with a little bit bigger. It’s made me very excited to paint all the time!

If you end up doing this 30 day challenge or painting any of these locations, I’d love to see them! Tag me or DM me over on Instagram I love connecting with fellow artists!