This October, I jumped into the daily art challenge called Peachtober for the second time - a challenge to create artwork every single day of October based on a prompt list! Founded by Sha'an d'Anthes, a brilliant artist and Youtuber who goes by @furrylittlepeach all over the internet. Last year I failed miserably, this year, my second attempt. So, here's a peek into what 31 days of creativity has taught me and what I will take with me into any new art challenge — some insights, a few truths, and maybe even a cringe or two.
Tip 1: Know Your Goal—It Shapes Everything!
Before diving in, I asked myself, "What's the real point here?" Was I doing this to flex my creativity muscles every day? Find a bigger, supportive community? Or maybe I wanted to conquer the elusive art of consistent social media posting? Whatever the reason, clarifying my purpose was like having a map to guide my creative journey, making the destination (and daily prompts) way easier to tackle. When the prompt list came out a month early, I dived in and started planning ideas, sketched thumbnails and prepped my pages.
Tip 2: Practice and Habit Building Are the True Victories
While we all crave a masterpiece now and then, Peachtober made me realize that it's the doing, not the result, that counts. Showing up every day, whether I felt inspired or not, was the true achievement. Creating something every day, even if some pieces didn't exactly belong in a museum, taught me that consistency really is key.
Tip 3: Spoiler: Not Every Piece Will Be Amazing, and That's Okay
Confession time—some of my Peachtober creations were... "experimental." 🤣 And you know what? That’s totally fine! Actually, the pieces I disliked the most often got more engagement and interest. So weird...but I think it happens to many artists. Art challenges are as much about giving yourself permission to have a few "meh" days as they are about pushing for brilliance. Embracing imperfection was surprisingly freeing.
Tip 4: Find Your People
One of the best parts? Finding new artists, connecting, and learning from them. Following others' creative journeys, cheering them on, and sharing this challenge together was a huge part of the fun an motivation. The community vibe made the daily commitment feel less daunting and more like a group effort. I put a lot of energy into engaging, following the correct hashtags for each day, commenting, liking and sharing. I even have some future online meetups planned now after connecting with other individuals - to learn from and share with eachother.
Tip 5: Growth Happens on the Inside, Even in the Kitchen!
Peachtober wasn't just about artistic skills—it was personal growth. Every challenge, frustration, and minor triumph changed me, even in subtle ways. Just knowing what I'd set out to do, my husband would continually encourage and hype me up about sticking to it whenever he found me procrastinating in the kitchen with all the "other stuff" I needed to do. There’s a lot to be said about sticking with something that’s both fun and slightly tough for a whole month!
Tip 6: Constraints Can Be Surprisingly Liberating
To stay sane, I set a few limits for myself: specific size, medium, style as well as not having to "paint everyday" I explain further down. Weirdly, having these boundaries didn’t box me in—it actually sparked new ideas. I didn't waste time thinking about what to use or how to start. It helped me remember my main goal - find more people and artists to connect with online, have a painting ready to post every day even if that meant painting in advance for some of the prompts at a time so as to allow myself some days off if I really couldn't get the juices flowing.
So, ya. Peachtober wasn’t just about producing art this time around for me, I tried that last year and burnt out at the speed of light - I don't think I got past week 2! This time, it was about growing my community as well as challenging myself to paint conistently. Plus, it left me with a handful of pieces I’m proud of, a few I can cringe at, and a whole lot of inspo!
Follow Jess on Instagram @jessrushtonart
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