I did art for 30 days and this happened...

Art can be a way to find clarity and gain inspiration and I am appreciating how a 30-day art challenge can help to shape the rest of the year - and beyond.

Here's how 30 days of art - just 10 minutes of drawing per day - has set the year off to a great start!:

Keeping space for ‘good enough’

It’s been many, many years since I last picked up a pencil to draw anything, but in pen (no rubbing out!), takes things to an entirely different level. It has been a great exercise in working with what is available and accepting the result.

Seeing differently

During the challenge, we were encouraged to look at shapes from unusual perspectives, for example, to look for and work with the shapes around and between the subject of an image (the negative space). Not only was it liberating, but it also opened up a new way of working with shape and colour.

Working more efficiently

Having only 10 minutes to dedicate to that day’s drawing, really did help focus the mind/creative muscle. It helped with concentration and was a great way to help ‘right-size’ the creation: what to work on in the moment, what to do next or overall – or randomly go wherever the pen led.

Embracing imperfection

Oooh this was a big one! Working – and then sharing a piece of art that hadn’t quite worked out, was a big step. I am recalling one particularly wonky drawing of a teacup – and that it took me more than 10 days to share my art for the first time with the group. My drawing of the teacup, with all of its on-paper-only quirks, was still a teacup.

Shushing the ‘I haven’t got the time’ voice

As someone who did A-level art and still remembers the 14-hour exam, and the countless hours spent on preparatory drawings, I’ve always told myself that while I’d like to do more art, I simply don’t have that kind of time. Myth. Blown. Out. Of . The. Water!

Welcoming fun

Squiggles, big shapes, background shading, textures, people, objects, drawing from memory (with eyes closed) and discovering what was up next for the drawing/colouring/painting daily activity has been pure, unadulterated fun. Like unwrapping a new gift each day.

A BIG shoutout to Wendy MacNaughton for running the 30-day art-o-thon and for creating something that has gone far beyond the art itself.

I have learnt so much and connected with so many other artists and talents across the globe, and we're only a month into 2025.

What will you be taking forward into the rest of the year?

Debbie