Need Watercolor Inspiration? Look No Further Than These Daily Art Challenges

Creativity thrives on consistency, and for watercolor artists, daily practice can be the key to artistic growth. With the help of daily watercolor challenges, you can build essential skills, stay motivated and explore new techniques. Whether it’s a week or a month long, committing to a daily painting challenge will foster discipline and encourage creative breakthroughs.

Ready to see what daily art challenges can do for you? We'll explain the science behind daily habits and why they work, and go over five daily challenges you can embark on to start growing your watercolor skills today.

Why Daily Art Challenges Can Help You Grow

Twenty-one small watercolor paintings laid out on a gray surface in a 7 by 3 grid. They all make use of saturated colors like purple, orange, blue and red, and include subjects like palm trees, sailboats, mountains and beaches. — In the Skillshare class “SUNSETS AND SILHOUETTES - A 30 Day Watercolor Challenge for Beginners,” teacher Zaneena Nabeel guides students through a month-long painting challenge.

We hate to reinforce a cliché, but practice does in fact make perfect (hey, sometimes clichés stick around for a reason).

That's the idea behind daily watercolor challenges: By using a structured challenge to practice every day instead of just whenever you feel like it, you can improve your skills quickly.

And no matter your skill level, daily practice can also help you:

Build discipline by forcing yourself to stick to a schedule.
Inspire new watercolor ideas by pushing you to paint things you might otherwise not.
Improve your confidence with watercolors and painting in general.

That isn't just speculation, either—there are plenty of scientific studies that confirm the value of daily practice.

For instance, one study published in The Journal of Neuroscience highlights how repeated practice can help people retain motor skills for long periods of time. Better yet, the study's authors found that remained true even if practice was minimal and spread out over several days.

Daily challenges also provide a structured way to overcome creative blocks. That's because setting constraints can actually enhance creativity, according to research published in Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. So if you give yourself a creative constraint by participating in a watercolor challenge that forces you to focus on just one subject or theme, you can step out of your comfort zone and boost your creativity while you're at it.

And if you keep practicing beyond the initial art challenge, you can even become a master artist. Studies on deliberate practice, like one from Swedish psychologist Karl Ercisson, found that regular practice is responsible for expert performance, perhaps even more so than inherent talent. So if you're not a naturally gifted artist, don't sweat it—with a little practice each day, you can build truly impressive skills over time.

Zaneena Nabeel’s World of Watercolor

Three photos arranged side by side. The one on the left shows a smiling Zaneena Nabeel sitting in her studio. The middle one shows a paintbrush painting blue watercolor paint on white paper. The one on the right shows various watercolor painting supplies like brushes and paint palettes. — Zaneena, a Dubai-based artist with a background in architecture, uses Skillshare to share her love of watercolor with students all over the world.

Zaneena Nabeel is originally from India, and is now living in Dubai and working as a professional architect. But while she may be an architect by profession, her true passion lies in art.

Zaneena's love of art began in early childhood, but she didn't pursue it seriously until after finishing her architectural studies. Then, she started an Instagram page dedicated to her creations, and soon after began teaching on Skillshare.

Today, she's a Top Teacher who helps tens of thousands of students learn how to paint with watercolor and gouache, whether they're complete beginners or experienced painters looking for a fresh challenge.

Some of Zaneena's most popular classes feature a multi-day challenge that students can use to improve their skills over the course of weeks or months. But if you're looking to focus on a single skill instead—like how to draw pine trees or the basics of urban sketching—she's got a class for that too.

5 Fun Daily Challenges to Try

Ready to see your watercolor painting skills skyrocket? Try one of these inspiring challenges from Zaneena.

Colorful Watercolor Skies

Two photos arranged side by side. Both show watercolor sunset and sky paintings laid out on a brown wooden surface. The paintings use vibrant colors like orange, purple, blue and red, and several contain mountains in the foreground. — In the Skillshare class “30 Day Watercolor Challenge - Learn to Paint Quick and Easy Watercolor Skies,” Zaneena helps beginners learn the basics of watercolor painting.

With this 30-day challenge, you won't just learn to paint skies—you'll also discover how to paint foreground and background elements like mountains, meadows and dunes.

Along the way, you'll create gorgeous paintings of a fiery sunset, pink clouds, a stormy sky and much, much more.

Just take a look at these skies painted by one of the class's students, Charlotte Mathias:

Six square watercolor paintings laid out in a 3 x 2 grid. They depict scenes like desert rocks under a setting sun, a snowy mountain in front of a pink and purple sky and silhouetted palm trees under pink and blue clouds. — Class project by Charlotte Mathias.

Student review: "Yet another wonderful class from Zaneena! This class helped me get out of a long creative block." - Minerva Panigrahi

Monochrome Winter Landscapes

Two photos arranged side by side. The one on the left shows a person’s hand holding a square watercolor painting of a winding road cutting through a snowy winter forest. The one on the right shows four similar winter-themed paintings laid out on a wooden tabletop. All the paintings are painted in shades of gray. — In the class “Monochrome Winter Landscapes with Watercolors - Learn to Paint using a Single Color,” Zaneena uses just one color of watercolor paint to create a variety of stunning landscapes.

This class is perfect for experienced painters looking to try a new watercolor technique, as well as beginners who want to start with just one color.

In it, you'll learn how to create moody and monochromatic winter landscapes with a single paint color. Best of all, it can be any color you choose—you don't have to use the same one Zaneena does.

Take for example these paintings by student Lia A., who opted for a shade of blue rather than gray:

Two watercolor paintings laying next to each other on a wooden surface. One depicts a bare tree in the middle of a stark snowy landscape, and the other depicts snowy mountains under a cloudy sky. Both are painted in shades of blue. — Class project by Lia A.

Student review: "Such a wonderful class and wonderful projects. This class indeed shows us the magic of monochrome." - September Fleur

Mini Watercolor Landscapes

Alt: Three square watercolor paintings laying on a wooden tabletop, with a person’s hand actively painting one of them. One depicts a red farmhouse in a green field, one is an aerial view of blue waves meeting a sandy shore and one shows trees in a misty forest. — In the class “30 Days of Mini Watercolor Landscapes - An Art Challenge for Busy Creatives,” Zaneena explores an array of landscapes with her watercolor palette.

Ready to tackle all different kinds of landscapes? This is the daily art challenge for you.

You'll start the month by painting a serene golden wheat field at sunset. And by the end of the month, you'll have painted a misty lake, foggy forest, hillside cabin, beach sunset, and so much more.

Take a look at just five of the paintings created by student Julie Day over the course of this challenge:

Five square watercolor paintings arranged on a wooden surface. They are painted in various shades of green, pink, blue and apricot, and depict scenes like wheat fields under a sunset, a fence in the middle of a green field and pine trees silhouetted against the sky. — Class project by Julie Day.

Student review: "I was a complete watercolor landscapes beginner when I started this class! It really quickly built both my confidence and skills, and I’ve since recommended this class to several other beginners. It’s been so lovely, thank you!" - Amanda Sternklar

Spring Watercolor Landscapes

Ten watercolor paintings arranged in a 5 x 2 grid on a brown wooden tabletop. Most depict scenes of flowery meadows under beautiful skies, and some contain ocean scenes. — In the class “30 Day Watercolor Challenge : Learn to Paint 30 Spring Landscapes with Watercolors,” Zaneena brings a dose of blue skies and blooming flowers to students’ daily painting practice.

From towering mountains to blooming meadows, Zaneena truly captures the essence of spring in this 30-day watercolor challenge.

With many of the paintings including 40 minutes or more of in-depth instruction, this class is perfect if you're looking for detailed guidance.

Check out how charming just one of the paintings from this challenge can be, courtesy of student Lauren Emily French:

A watercolor painting and paint supplies laying on a lilac purple surface. The painting depicts a brown wooden swing hanging from a tree branch in a green, grassy meadow under a blue sky with white clouds. — Class project by Lauren Emily French.

"Love this class, and actually anything that Zaneena posts! Very detailed steps that make the class available to any level. Highly recommend this little gem!" - Anthi Zafeiri

Beachy Watercolor Seascapes

Two photos arranged side by side. The one on the left is a close-up of a watercolor painting that depicts white seashells resting on brown sand in front of a bright blue ocean. The one on the right shows four similar watercolor paintings, each of which shares the theme of a bright blue ocean. — In the class “Seascapes for Beginners : Learn to Paint 10 Easy Watercolor Seascapes,” Zaneena ventures from the shore and teaches students how to paint seascapes with ease.

Feel like painting something a little different than skies and landscapes? This class will be right up your alley.

Here, you'll break out your blue paints and learn to create ten tranquil seascapes. From beaches and speedboats to seashells and tropical islands, you'll learn to bring just about every type of seascape to life in watercolor.

Remember you can always put your own spin on things, too—student Naemi Widemay cut out her seascapes so they look like photos printed on Instax Mini film:

Five small watercolor paintings arranged on a black tabletop. Each one depicts an ocean-themed scene involving bright blue water. They have all been cut out so they resemble the size and shape of Fujifilm Instax Mini instant film. — Class project by Naemi Widemay.

Student review: "This was a fun and engaging class. It is super beginner friendly. Great instruction and clear steps. Absolutely beautiful projects upon completion. Would highly recommend [it] to anyone who loves ocean painting!!" - Laura Storch

Embrace Daily Art Challenges, Get Lasting Artistic Growth

Daily watercolor challenges can give you more than just an opportunity to refine your technical skills—they can also help you build a mindset of continuous learning and artistic resilience. By committing to a consistent practice, even if it's just for a few days, you'll be able to develop muscle memory, improve your creative problem-solving skills and become more confident in your abilities.

That sort of steady progression is sure to lead to noticeable improvement over time. By learning to paint with different colors, experiment with new techniques and tackle unfamiliar subjects, adopting a daily painting practice will help you become a better watercolor artist.

Written By

Carrie Buchholz

Carrie Buchholz is a freelance writer who lives in Northern Colorado with her husband and dog.