There's a moment every summer when I look at my palette and think… okay, now is the time. The tubes of coral, turquoise, and golden yellow I've been hoarding all winter? Summer is basically begging me to use them.

If you've been wanting to build a more consistent painting practice but life keeps getting in the way, this watercolor challenge is for you. Not because 30 days will magically transform you into a master. But because a month of small, intentional paintings is genuinely one of the fastest ways to build momentum. One brushstroke at a time.

Earlier this year I shared a full year of painting prompts to keep your creative practice moving through every season. This summer watercolor challenge is its seasonal little sister. Same spirit, same low-pressure energy, but with a warm-weather focus and 30 days of prompts built specifically around the colors, textures, and subjects that make summer feel like summer.

Hey friend, I'm Jenna!

I'm a self-taught watercolor artist, best-selling author, and creative educator who has spent over a decade helping people find their inner creative voice. I've written four books with Penguin Random House, taught hundreds of thousands of students online, and I truly believe it's never too late to pick up a paintbrush. If you're new here and want a solid place to start, grab my free Complete Beginner's Guide to Watercolor. It covers supplies, basic techniques, and color theory, and it's totally free.

How to Use This Watercolor Challenge

No strict rules here. Think of these prompts as invitations, not assignments.

You can move through them in order, jump around by mood, or skip the ones that don't call to you this week. The goal is to paint, not to perform.

A few things that'll make this watercolor challenge actually stick:

• Dedicate a sketchbook to it. Label it your Summer of Watercolor. Flipping back through your first paintings at the end of the month is surprisingly motivating. You'll see real growth even when you didn't feel it happening. The Everyday Watercolor Sketchbook is perfect for this and comes with QR-linked video tutorials.
• Set a weekly painting date. A quiet morning, a slow afternoon. Whatever works. Consistency beats marathon sessions every time.
• Pair prompts with a technique you want to practice. Use wet-on-wet for skies and water. Use wet-on-dry when you want sharper edges and more control. I've added technique tips throughout each section to help guide you. (New to these terms? My Watercolor Techniques Cheat Sheet breaks down everything.)

The 30 Summer Prompts

Ocean & Beach Vibes (Days 1–6)

Summer and water go hand in hand. These prompts let watercolor do what it does best: flow. Let the paint move, trust the water, and don't fight the soft edges.

1. A crashing wave at the shore (my How to Paint Water in Watercolor tutorial walks through this beautifully)
2. Seashells collected on the sand (check out Everyday Watercolor Seashores for step-by-step inspiration on sea life and shells)
3. Ocean horizon at golden hour
4. A loose beach scene with figures in the distance 
5. Tide pool with rocks and sea creatures
6. Sunset reflected on wet sand

Technique tip: Wet-on-wet is your best friend for skies and open water. Pre-wet the paper, drop in color, and let it bloom. My full wet-on-wet tutorial covers pushing, pulling, and poking. Three moves that make water scenes sing.

Summer Florals (Days 7–12)

Summer means flowers at peak bloom. Loose, expressive florals are basically my watercolor love language, and these prompts give you a full week to explore them.

7. A bold, front-facing sunflower (follow along with my Paint Watercolor Sunflowers tutorial. I break it into simple shapes so it's totally beginner-friendly)
8. Zinnia or black-eyed susan up close (the 10 Easy Watercolor Flowers YouTube tutorial covers both)
9. A loose bouquet of wildflowers in a mason jar
10. Lavender field in the summer breeze
11. Dahlias or peonies in a summer palette (these are covered step by step in 10 More Watercolor Flowers)
12. A single tropical hibiscus bloom (I paint this in my Tropical Leaves, Flowers & Fruit tutorial alongside gouache detail work)

Technique tip: For loose florals, think about S-curve composition and leave intentional white space between petals so they don't blob together. My 5 Principles of Watercolor Flowers post covers exactly this. Shape, anchor point, white space, detail, and perspective. And it'll change how you see every flower you paint.

Summer Food & Still Life (Days 13–18)

Farmers markets. Backyard barbecues. Popsicles melting before you can finish them. Summer is genuinely full of still life gold and you don't have to go far to find it.

13. Sliced watermelon
14. A bowl of fresh summer berries — strawberries, blueberries, peaches
15. Fruit and vegetables from the farmers market (my How to Paint Fruits & Veggies tutorial covers composition balance with color and shape)
16. Lemonade glass with condensation and citrus slices
17. A popsicle or ice cream cone mid-melt
18. A picnic spread. Cheese, bread, grapes, a checkered cloth

Technique tip:Still life painting sharpens your observation more than almost anything else. For fruit with clean, defined edges, switch to wet-on-dry: lay down a light base wash, fully dry, then layer midtones and shadows. My Painting Watercolor Light to Dark post walks through exactly how to build those layers without muddying your colors.

Tropical & Landscape (Days 19–24)

Whether you're painting straight from a hammock or just dreaming of one, these prompts capture the lush, warm energy of summer landscapes. This is where I love reaching for white gouache. It lets you pull out light details on dark leaves that watercolor alone can't do.

19. Palm trees against a golden sky
20. A bird of paradise plant in full bloom
21. Lush tropical leaves with white gouache details (I show exactly how I do this in the Tropical Leaves, Flowers & Fruit tutorial)
22. A summer meadow with wildflowers and tall grass
23. Koi fish in a shimmering pond
24. Italian countryside or villa scene in summer light (my Favorite Scenery Watercolor Painting Tutorials roundup has a full step-by-step on this one)

Technique tip: For dark tropical leaves with light veining, paint the leaf shape first, let it dry, then use a small round brush loaded with white gouache to add the veins and highlights on top. The gouache sits on the watercolor layer rather than bleeding into it, which gives you crisp, clean detail work.

Summery Creative Challenges (Days 25–30)

These last six prompts are where you play. Stretch your skills, try something new, and let yourself make a mess. Not every experiment in this watercolor challenge will work, and that's genuinely the point. The goal is curiosity, not a polished result.

25. Paint using only 3 summer colors: coral, turquoise, and golden yellow (this is one of my favorite exercises! My Limited-Palette Painting Challenge post walks through exactly how to make the most of just 3 colors and what it teaches you about color mixing) 
26. A night sky full of stars over the ocean or trees (follow along with my Galaxy & Night Sky YouTube tutorial)
27. Abstract wash inspired by a summer memory or feeling
28. A summer scene painted entirely wet-on-wet, no pencil sketch beforehand (lean on my wet-on-wet tutorial here)
29. Repaint Day 1's prompt using everything you've learned
30. Your favorite thing about this summer. Anything goes!

These last prompts are an invitation to let go of the outcome. If you want to dig deeper into what it means to paint without pressure, my Permission to Play post is a good read alongside these.

And if you're just getting started with watercolor and want a library of beginner-friendly tutorials to pull from during this challenge, my Best Watercolor Tutorials for Beginners roundup is a solid companion.

Making It a 30-Day Habit

Here's what I've found after years of running and participating in watercolor challenges: the paintings you make matter less than the habit you build.

A few things that help:

• Keep or at least take a photo of every painting. Even the ones you don't love. Comparing Day 1 to Day 30 is one of the most satisfying parts of any painting challenge.
• Revisit early prompts at the end. Paint Day 1 again on Day 30 with fresh eyes. You'll be surprised what changes.
• Paint with people. Share your work, find an accountability buddy, or join my Patreon community where I post exclusive tutorials, live classes, and personalized art critiques. Seeing what other people create from the same prompt keeps you curious and coming back.

If you want to keep the momentum going past the 30 days, the Creativity Playbook is a great next step. It's packed with prompts and exercises designed to keep your creative practice alive through every season. And if you're ready to go deeper into technique, browse my full courses page for structured learning that goes well beyond individual tutorials.

See You on the Other Side of 30 Days

The long days, the golden light, the slower pace of summer… it's basically the universe handing you a studio residency. Use it.

Show up for 10 minutes or two hours. Paint something beautiful or paint something you want to throw away. Both count. Both teach you something. Create something every day even if it sucks. That's the motto around here.

When you finish a painting, share it and tag me. I genuinely love seeing what you make. This watercolor challenge is yours to interpret, and I can't wait to see where you take it.

Happy painting, friend!