Decided to take part in the Strada 30 Day Art Challenge to paint or draw ‘ From Life’ every day in September 2021. This challenge is held twice a year in January and September where nearly 1000 artists or more participate world wide in drawing & painting and posting them on social media for people to follow their progress. Through participating in this I wanted to challenge myself to set better routines in creating art through the pandemic since the days, evenings and nights seemed to be all rolled into one. Along with another dear art friend, planned ahead for approximate subjects to paint, materials required and how to go about it during 30 days.

And what a month of learning it turned out to be! Through morning online school schedule for the kids, through the daily cooking chores, through busy festival times of Ganesh Chaturthi and milestone birthday celebrations and family get togethers….paint and draw from life I did. Whether they be simple subjects like a small plum or capsicum to a few more detailed still life setups..or dashing to create & post in the last 30 min of an extremely busy day it felt great to be creating something every single day.

A Few Tips and Takeaways from the Challenge.

1. Know the reason why you are doing it. For me it was self improvement, to paint more often and get more brush miles. So I was clear, like many others on the challenge, that it was not to impress anyone or for the social media likes ( which is nice to have but not the main reason :). That takes a lot of the pressure away. For others it was to create small works to put up for sale. For still others it was a bit of both. It could be a totally different reason for you but do try be clear on why you are participating in the challenge.

2. Try to have at least one like minded art friend ,which ever part of the world they may be in, to participate with you in the challenge. You can bounce ideas off of each other, hold each other accountable on really tiring days and just have a good time discussing the joys of creating art :)

3. Plan ahead. Plan simple. Plan at least 10 days before the challenge. Have a rough idea about what you may want to paint. You can have one simple theme for the whole month ( eg. objects in the house, florals for 30 days, faces & features, plein-air on 30 days etc etc) or a few different themes. Or focus on specifics you want to get better at like values, colour ,edges etc. I painted a new theme every 4 days ( objects in the kitchen, kids play things, sport, portrait features, the view from my window etc etc) and towards the last week just painted whatever I felt like. That gave me the ability to experiment with different subject matters I had always wanted to but never got around too. But remember if has to be ‘From life’ only.

4. If this is your first time taking part in the challenge is easier to paint/draw small like 5x7in,6x8, 8x8 or 8x10 according to what your goal is. It is ok to paint the same subject over few days ( check out the Strada page for more info on this). For me it was easier to keep the subject matter super simple. A few veterans of the challenge tackled complex subjects with ease. Going through previous Strada challenge entries on social media can help give an idea.

5) Have the materials ready. But don’t go overboard with purchasing :). I wanted to use up many of the old canvases that I had rough work on so I repainted the works over them. Purchased a few paint colours I was running out of. Many veterans of the challenge cut / purchase the boards or paper well ahead and I would recommend that too.

6. Lastly… have fun! Enjoy the process! It is exhilarating some days to complete the work while tiring on some days where u just have to muster enough enthu to put down the last few brushstrokes…but all in all the end of the 30 days the growth that comes with the hard work is an amazing feeling! And you have some wonderful works to show for it.

Do check out my Instagram@aparajitagopal for detailed pictures and videos posted everyday during the month of September.