2024 #30×30 Day 30! Crossing the Finish Line!

By Marc Taro Holmes on June 30, 2024

10x10" Oil on Panel.

Crossing the finish line! Sad that it's the end, but also kind of ready for a break:)

Uma Kelkar and I launched #30x30 on a whim seven years ago. Because we think it's a great idea for students, but mainly because we wanted to do it ourselves! Anyone who continues making art, year on year, will develop their own rituals and superstitions. We all gravitate towards a working method that matches our brains. I'm sure it's different for everyone, but if you have the right mix of over-thinking and attention-deficit that I have, a mad push followed by a collapse might be the only sustainable system.

The willingness to ignore all other responsibilities and simply focus on your work. I don't know if it can be sustained for longer than thirty days at a time?

You can call it a marathon, or call it a sprint. Or call it a risk of public humiliation. You've promised to paint when you're sick, paint when you're tired, and paint when you're sure nobody cares. But the real keys is; you've promised to broadcast every single thing you do, for better or worse, in real time.

That's a powerful drug! The fear of letting people down works magic on my motivation 🙂

Oh sure, besides that, there's an 'attunement' you get from painting every day. A refined sense of color-mixing, and a sensitivity to the physicality of the paint. With watercolor it's an uncanny ability to sense the dampness of the paper and the dispersion of the paint. With oils it might be a master chef's ability to feel the texture of ingredients under your knife.

These things can't be measured with grams and milliliters. It has to be instinct. You need to be in the flow-state.

That's the secret recipe: The sprint keeps your mind focused on your materials, the marathon keeps you showing up, the teamwork won't let you quit.

I hope you've caught some of the magic.

Take care, please drop me some comments about your own marathon. How it feels to cross that finish line. Share your best work, share your epic fail, or share a story of what you discovered.

Ok! We'll see you next year!

~Marc