Painting a flower a day - Lessons from a daily art challenge

watercolour botanical art — Watercolour florals from the art challenge

Participating in a 12 day art challenge with the Bloom Watercolour Club has taught me so much that I just couldn’t wait to share it with you today. Starting from December 1st we were tasked with drawing or painting a different named flower each day until December 12th. The challenge had some familiar favourites, such as the Camellia and Calla Lily, but there were also a few flowers that were completely new to me, such as a bachelor’s button and Bells of Ireland.

I had so much fun looking up each flower, finding a good reference photo and then playing around with compositions every day. I loved having a little routine and knowing what each day was going to bring. Sadly I didn’t have time to paint every single flower, some were sketches, but I’d love to go back and paint these at some point.

I couldn’t recommend participating in an art challenge more highly and this is what I learned over the course of the 12 days:-

Finding a supportive community of likeminded people who are there to cheer you on is super important. In this era of social media, where you often feel like no one sees the work you post, it has been so lovely to know that when I post a photo of my artwork to the club, there will be caring eyes to see it and honest feedback given. It has been so refreshing and uplifting.

Having a regular creative practice really does help to develop your skills, helps you discover where your artistic passions lie and is very freeing for the soul. During the challenge I further affirmed that I love to paint big “blousy” flowers and I really do have a passion for contemporary botanical painting which I can’t wait to pursue further. I also discovered the huge benefits of practicing mindfulness through art, and at one point even shed a few tears when I was painting my calla lily (clearly some emotions were released with that one).

I have loved seeing how everyone interprets the brief in a different way and this has brought me a kind of acceptance with my art. It is ok to be me and to paint how I want to paint. We are all unique people, with unique histories and that will come across in our artwork.

Finally, I learned that stepping out of my comfort zone can bring about new discoveries. I’m sure if it wasn’t for this challenge then I wouldn’t have painted many of these flowers, and so it was fantastic to explore something new.

Here are a selection of the paintings and sketches from this challenge:-

So what are you waiting for? Find an art challenge that resonates with you and go for it.