Multiple day painting challenges are popular among PSWC Members. Here is the series of challenges for 2024.

February 1st – 10^th, 2024: Animal Instincts 10-day challenge– Participants created a portrait in a realistic or impressionist style of a pet or wildlife. We kept textures and personalities in mind as we created. Congratulations to drawing winners Pamela Fox, Jean Myers, and Susan Dunker!

April 1st – 10^th, 2024: Complementary Colors 10-day challenge – Delve into the use of complementary colors to create an interesting work. Use complements to create contrasts when values are compressed, or add vibrancy and visual interest to a painting. Using complementary pairs like blue and orange, or red and green, in strategic areas of your artwork can make elements pop and draw the viewer’s attention. Register for the April Challenge below:

July 1^st – 10^th, 2024: Sunshine and Shadows 10-day challenge- Summers days are filled with contrasts of bright sunshine and deep shadows, or dappled sunlight through the trees. Capture a bit of summer in this challenge.

October 1^st-21st, 2024: 21in21– The big challenge, 21 paintings in 21 days.  Great way to get some holiday gifts done or ready to sell. You may even create the painting you enter in MOOS in 2025!

Prizes: 3 $100 prizes chosen at random from pool of artists who entered every day.

Here are the rules:

• Members Only
• Any subject
• Any size – though we recommend 6”x6” to 9”x12” for the sake of speed
• Mostly pastels
• Must post every day to be entered into prize-drawing
• Quick studies are OK
• New work only

Posting Rules:

• Please post on our PSWC Facebook Page with a commentary about the painting (a paragraph is plenty) 
• Include Hashtag at end of post #PSWC10in10 or #PSWC21in21
• You may comment on other artists’ paintings, but this is not a critique. No negative comments.

Suggestions for process:

• Limit painting time- We suggest 30-45 minutes.
• Limit palette- Try a limited palette. Experiment with temperature and hue
• Try different pastels- Work with hard instead of soft or soft pastels instead of hard. Try pastel pencils.
• Change subject matter- If you paint plein air, try a still life or a portrait. Try Abstract.
• Experiment with underpainting- Try a wet underpainting with water or denatured alcohol. One artist in our society underpaints with splashes of ink.

Here is a recap of 2023’s Challenges and Winners:

February 19^th – 28^th, 2023: Portraits with a Twist! 10-day challenge- Create a portrait in a realistic or impressionist style, then twist it up in the abstract style. Congratulations to all who completed the challenge and our drawing winners: Tamra Sanchez, DuAnn Wright and Renee Carter!

April 16^th – 25^th, 2023: Palette Play 10-day challenge- Using an analogous or monochromatic color palette plus one pop of color, try painting subjects you don’t normally paint like a building, an old truck, a windowsill. Congratulations to everyone who stuck with the challenge and our winners Karen Glancy, Teresa Steinbach-Garcia and Francesca Droll!

July 16^th – 25^th, 2023: Lazy Nights of Summer 10-day challenge- Nocturns and deep shadows will be the challenge for this month. From neon signs to fireflies, lots of life happens when the sun sets. Winners of the random drawing from the pool of artists who completed the challenge were Judy Miller, Dug Waggoner and Barbara Archer! 

October 1^st-21st, 2023: 21N21– The big challenge, 21 paintings in 21 days.  Great way to get some holiday gifts done or ready to sell. You may even create the painting you enter in MOOS in 2024! Congratulations to everyone who participated in the October 21in21 Challenge and special kudos to those who completed the entire series! Of those who did, a random name picker generated our $100 winners: Rachel Silvers, Judy Miller and Jacklyn Jean American.