#30x30DirectWatercolor 2021

Ah, 2021 – you beast of a year! Here we are, approaching the peak of summer. That means it’s time again for #30x30DirectWatercolor.

This is, of course, the annual event where I strive to make thirty paintings in thirty days – in an effort to inspire you to do the same!

I’ll be posting my work to the blog here, but of course, the real action is in the Facebook Group, where we invite you to post your own work – and to comment on the things other people are sharing.

So please – stop by and comment as often as possible! You’ll be helping yourself, by helping others!

Over the years, our team spirit has carried hundreds of participants across the finish line. But – even if you don’t produce thirty finished works – possibly you’re only making a little sketch each day, and that’s a win! No matter how small the sketches – the feeling of taking time for creativity ever day is the real reward.

Maybe you need to find a sneaky solution that fits your present reality – such as the time I wound down the clock by doing 15 tiny abstract paintings in a single day

Whatever it is you do, the real goal is to be thinking about art every day.

For many of us, art is a thing we do to bring joy into our lives. There hasn’t been very much joy in my last 441 days, since the first public health emergency here in Montreal to present day. We’re still in lockdown, still a red-zone, but with the end in sight! 73 days till my scheduled second vaccine!

But of course, just getting personally vaccinated doesn’t mean we’re out of the pandemic. There is still a lot of stress. We realize it may be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to reach the goal of daily painting this year.

I fully expect this year to be a smaller, quieter year than past #30×30’s. There may be fewer of us who have the energy to throw down for a marathon – and I think that’s fine!

I personally will be making much less of a ‘grand production’ this year. No video lectures, no demonstrations. Just painting and posting, and of course commenting every day on what you guys are sending to the group. That’s my main goal this year. To help everyone who has time and energy for the event to have a great experience painting together.

So we’ll see you soon – starting June first!

See you again in a couple of days!

~marc