Art Journal Every Day: Challenge Yourself in 2016

You guys, I goofed on the booth numbers for my CHA schedule yesterday.  Correct info below:

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If you're new to Art Journal Every Day, there is a short introduction here.  All of the previous posts can be found archived here.  There is a flickr group for sharing right here.  Remember, it's just ten minutes of nourishing your creative self every day!  No need to finish anything or even like it.  If you've done some art journaling this week and you've blogged about it, or put it on flickr, please leave a link in the linky list at the end of this post.  Thanks!

When the new year rolls around, the resolutions start rolling in.  But it's not just a resolution to put down the cookies and pick up a dumbbell.  Lots of us make art resolutions too.  This year I feel like I've seen a million different art projects people are starting -- some are daily challenges and others not so daily.  Some are participatory and some are personal.  I thought I'd put together a list of the challenges that might be interesting to you to explore this year -- all of them very compatible with your art journal.

Art Journal Every Day

So, pretty obviously, the first challenge I'm suggesting is to commit to Art Journal Every Day.  It's simply a ten minute per day commitment.  Open that art journal and write or draw or doodle or stencil or paint or stamp or whatever for just ten minutes every day.  That ten minute a day commitment has transformed my art, my career, and my outlook on life.  That's not hyperbole.  Art is therapeutic and making it a small part of every day is good for your mind and your soul.  If you don't believe that you can get that much done in ten minutes, take a peek at this video I posted back in 2013:

In the video I work in short bursts in my journal over the course of 7 days or one week.  It's amazing what you can accomplish!

Hand Lettered ABCs

This is a challenge to practice a different letter of the alphabet each day for 26 days.  

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You can follow the challenge on instagram and read more about it here.

AugustWren 30 Minute Painting a Day

Illustrator Jennifer Orkin Lewis is one of my favorite people to follow on instagram.  For the past few years she has been doing a 30 minute painting a day in her sketchbook.  

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She experimented with a larger book last year and it was too hard.  So keep that in mind when choosing a sketchbook to work in.  Set yourself up for success with a smaller book!  

12 Months of Paint

If a daily painting challenge is too much for you, Jennifer and three other painter/illustrators are hosting a monthly challenge on instagram.

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Once a month on the 1st they will post a theme and then on the 15th they will post their painting of the month. This month's theme is "blue."

Let's Make Patterns

Anika Starmer is hosting a year-long pattern challenge.  

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Each month she'll release a list of pattern prompts for each day.  You are welcome to join in every day or just once in a while!

Here's a quick list of things that I enjoy about taking on an art challenge:

So what do you think?  Do any of these challenges get you excited?  You could be a glutton for punishment and combine them all into some wacky art mega challenge....but for a more measured approach, keep in mind that doing any of these things every single day is really really hard.  I encourage you to use the challenges as a launching pad rather than a stick to beat yourself with.  If you manage to get a few more pages done in your art journal than you would have otherwise, good for you!  

Here is this week's linky list: 

An InLinkz Link-up

Thanks for stopping by!