#30×30 Direct Watercolor: Free Online Event, the Entire Month of June!

I like to give people a heads up every year, even though it’s still a month away. Once again, the entire month of June is #30×30 Direct Watercolor – our thirty-day painting marathon! < Check this link for general info and images from all my previous years ]

This is going to be the ninth year of this event. I have a strange brain, both disorganized and quite rigid at the same time :) and things like hitting ten years of something is a really big deal for me – somehow a much bigger deal than it probably is.

This spring we completed the tenth year of #OneWeek100People – our much shorter street sketching challenge – and now, #30×30 is close on its heels. So exciting – one more year – and then it’s the big one!

Thirty days of painting *and posting* at least one painting a day.

It’s both a big commitment, and a big reward rolled into one.

There’s nothing like a public challenge. I don’t know about you, but it works like magic for me. It’s one of my most productive times of the year. To the point where I often wish I was doing it every month.

Sharing your work is key to the power of #30×30.

I love the feeling that I’m letting people down if I don’t get to work. People pay good money for personal coaches! For me, this marathon is exactly that. It’s a ticking clock in my head that I can’t ignore :) I *have* to paint something worth showing. I *have* to think about my annual project, so I’m not just doing a month of forgettable doodles.

It all combines to elevate my practice. Gets me producing work that I might enter into competitions in the future. It gives me the time I keep saying I need to set aside to invest in skills.

Either way – if it’s like that for you – or if it’s just a fun time painting with your friends – I hope you’ll join us for the ninth year of #30x30DirectWatercolor!

Thanks Everyone!

One more thing: Last year (2025) we made the move to our own site at Vivify.com – a collaborative web space created by co-founder Uma Kelkar.

Vivify allows sharing and commenting of images in a private online space, free of any ads, and without any algorithms controlling what you see.

You’ll be able to easily see everyone’s work in one place, and exchange comments and inspiration with everyone doing the marathon – everything we used to do in Facebook – but now it’s Uma’s own creation!

So please head over to the Vivify Pod; #30×30 Direct Watercolor 2026 whenever you have a chance.

PLEASE NOTE: You can use your existing google profile to join Vivify with “one click”, or if you prefer, create a new Vivify account and password. Just hit the big yellow button: [Sign up to Join Pod ].