(Please put the paintings you make in 30 brush strokes under this post. ❤️) Ready to loosen up, paint more confidently, and stop overthinking every brushstroke? Welcome to the 30 Brush Strokes Challenge! For the next 30 days, you’ll create small paintings using no more than 30 brush strokes. That’s it. No perfect paintings. No endless tweaking. No pressure. Just 30 intentional marks. Why this challenge? Many artists improve by painting more. But you’ll often improve even faster by painting with limitations. When you only have 30 brush strokes, you can’t overwork your painting. You learn to: - paint with confidence instead of hesitation - simplify what you see - make stronger decisions - let go of perfectionism - trust your instincts - finish what you start You’ll probably be surprised by how much your paintings improve after just a few weeks. The rules 🖌️ Maximum 30 brush strokes per painting. 📏 Keep it small (A6, A5, postcard size… whatever feels easy.) ⏱️ Spend around 5–15 minutes on each painting. 🎨 Use any medium you like. 📸 Share your paintings in the group whenever you’d like. Need ideas? Paint whatever inspires you! For example: - fruit - flowers - birds - pets - landscapes - your morning coffee - your favorite mug - vegetables - mushrooms - trees - people - houses - clouds - seashells - a toy - your paint brushes - something from your garden - something completely from your imagination Missed a day? No worries. This isn’t about having a perfect streak. Life happens. Skip a day if you need to, then simply continue the next day. Progress is built over time—not by being perfect. One more thing… This is not a competition. There are no winners. No prizes. No judging. The only person you’re challenging is yourself. At the end of the month, you’ll have a collection of small paintings that show your growth—and that’s the real reward. Who’s joining? 🎉 For inspiration a link: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DaQo8uaRsYW/

I want to take a moment to highlight someone who has been consistently shaping the energy of this space in a really meaningful way. @Jenny Warden has been showing up with presence, generosity, and momentum in this community. She’s one of the people who quietly makes things move forward here — through sharing, engaging, and contributing consistently. She’s been one of the top 1% contributors in terms of activity and support, and I really want to acknowledge that properly. So: thank you Janny ❤️ Your presence genuinely matters here. At the same time, I also want to acknowledge everyone who supports this space financially through Ko-fi. Those contributions help keep this group running, ad-free, and open for everyone. It directly sustains the work and energy that goes into maintaining it. Both types of support matter. Different forms, same impact. Going forward, I’ll be introducing a monthly (or more) a Community Spotlight — a simple way to highlight the people who help shape this space through their energy, ideas, and consistency. More of this soon. @Jenny Warden

Hello everyone! I hope you're all finding a way to be creative today! I started this last night (and stayed up way too late working on it) and it's the first self portrait that I've ever made. It's not finished but I am very happy with it so far. If anyone has made one of themselves, whether realism or abstract, please post below. I would love to see them. If you've never made one, give it a try! Who knows you better than you?

I've got an actually great problem that I can't wait to solve! I have signed up for a market stall for a month starting April 25th, and ideally....I'm hoping to stretch it past three or four months! I've seen a lot of content recently about shedding past selves to become the real version of you, and it'll feel uncomfortable, but maybe I am stepping into something. My original art prints probably won't be ready in the first month, but in the meantime and also enjoyment for me, I make trading card alters. Border extensions on existing artwork on cards. It's really fun for me. I also put together a small (large in exercises) course the other night, with the help of ChatGPT, to teach myself and others through colour theory with the Munsell Colour System (specifically in a trading card alterist relevant way). I'm at a great place, but it's a problem for the market stall because I don't have a lot of inventory (the art prints issue, and slow painting sometimes). BUT I also make and sell beaded pens which is a pen with fancy beads on it and they're super cute and I make them when I need mindless stuff to do with my hands. I'm really hoping to participate in and enjoy this community too! Oftentimes what interrupts me from my creative work is the fact that I go looking online for something social....social media, content for noise or to keep me moving forward instead of stuck on loops in my head, small conversations with anyone who basically will just randomly chat with someone else these days online...that sort of thing. I need to focus at this time, but I don't want to give up whimsy or life humour either. Anyway, I really just wanted to say all that and I'm super happy to be here that I was able to find my way!

Nice to be here🥳 in this group of inspirational people! Hope it brings us al lot off that creative inspiration.