At the end of 2023, I realized my lack of consistency was ruining my life. The year had passed doing mundane chores and obligatory activities. I decided I was not going to let that happen again. My days were flying and I could not remember the last time I had felt a burst of motivation or inspiration. I was sporadically creating art but never consistent enough that I could confidently say that I was getting better. Or learning from my mistakes.

I searched long and hard on the internet for an art challenge easy enough that I could be consistent. But the more I looked, the more it became apparent that I needed to create my own challenge. One that was tailored for me. I challenged myself to create one finished piece of art every week throughout the year. The medium? Well, that’s the beauty of creating your own challenge — it’s open to interpretation. From traditional canvas paintings to digital illustrations, from mixed media experiments to unconventional forms of expression, each week allowed me leniency.

JANUARY & FEBRUARY

The challenge started off great, I was sitting down in my designated art area multiple times a week. I played around with different mediums and tried new techniques. It was going so good that I was able to blog about each piece I did weekly. Until I took a vacation. A month long trip to go see family.

To be fair, I did technically create two pieces, two handmade painted signages for my sister’s wedding but that was it. I mean it was expected, right? Between spending time with family, shopping, and doing diy projects for the wedding, I barely had any time for myself.

And then I came home and still didn’t continue my challenge. I was still painting here and there but I wasn’t intentionally trying to participate in the challenge I created. One month turned into five.

Where Did I Go Wrong?

I had attempted to create the challenge according to the 4 laws in Atomic Habits. I had made sure that my work area was in a prominent place in the house, I kept my ink pens in my bag to make sure that they were always within reach. The challenge was flexible, easy enough to not take too much time or energy. The feeling at the end of each week when I hit publish on my blog was so satisfying. Yet, I was not able to keep up.

BEGIN AGAIN

It is the first week of June. I have a little more than half a year left to push myself to finish out the challenge strong. You can follow along the journey here: artbyfari.com