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Note from the Atelier September 12, 2026 Hi There Reader... I know, I know. It's only September and I'm already talking about October. But I'm sharing the October Art Challenge now so you have a couple weeks to decide what you want to work with, gather your supplies and get ready to start on October 1st. In the meantime, there's still plenty of September left to enjoy, including a few places that are particularly worth visiting this month. If you're anywhere near Grand Rapids, Michigan, I'd highly encourage a trip to Art Prize. It's definitely worth a visit. Cheers!

P.S. If you enjoy my writing here, I've started writing over on Substack, too. Meet is where I'm sharing observations and musings across art, travel, books, museums, life and whatever else I run across that's too interesting to ignore. Everything is free to read, so feel free to wander over, look around and subscribe if you'd like.

Wander over to Meet on Substack

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The October Art Challenge

31 Prompts. Your Medium. Your Rules.

In October 2024, I decided to challenge myself to make a painting every day for a month.

I had recently discovered an artist who was hosting something she called Paintober. Every day in October, she provided a reference photo we could paint, although we were also free to use our own.

Earlier that year, I spent several weeks in Europe and had approximately a gazillion photos on my phone, so I decided to use those instead.

Thirty-one days. Thirty-one paintings. All from my trip. At the time, I had only recently picked up a paintbrush again after about 40 years, so let’s just say the results varied.

I look back at some of those paintings now and cringe a little.

But here’s the interesting part: I got better.

Not incrementally better over the course of the next year. Noticeably better over the course of that one month. And more importantly, I got more confident.

When you paint every day, you don’t have time to obsess over every painting. You make decisions faster. You figure out what works and what doesn’t. You mix a color, realize it’s wrong and try again. You start seeing shapes instead of objects. You start seeing value better. Your hand gets more comfortable doing what your brain is asking it to do.

And then you do it all again tomorrow.

Recently, I ran across Inktober, a worldwide challenge started by artist Jake Parker in 2009 as a way to improve his own inking skills and develop better drawing habits. The idea is simple: make an ink drawing every day during October. Same idea, different medium.

The point is consistency.

Which got me thinking.

Why limit this?

Paintober. Inktober. Collagetober. UrbanSketchtober. Watercolortober. Gouachetober. Linocuttober. Whatever-you-want-tober.

So, I'm proposing The October Art Challenge: 31 prompts. Your medium. Your rules.

Pick something you'd like to get better at. Pick a medium. Decide what "consistent" means for you. Every day? Every other day? Three times a week?

Then do it for the month of October.

And because the quickest way to derail the whole thing is to sit down and think, But what should I make?, I've created a list of 31 prompts.

They're deliberately simple: a coffee cup, a tree, a window, a flower, a building, a piece of fruit. This isn't an exercise in coming up with a brilliant interpretation of an obscure prompt. The exercise is making the art. You can make it as complicated or as straightforward as you'd like.

Use the prompts in order. Jump around. Skip the ones you hate. Use your own photos for reference (you probably have a gazillion of those, too). Paint them. Draw them. Collage them. Photograph them. Make a print. Do whatever you want.

Don't spend more time deciding what to make than making it.

The work doesn't have to be good. In fact, some of it almost certainly won't be.

I have 31 paintings from October 2024 that can attest to that.

But I also have 31 paintings that show me getting better.

And that was the point.

Download the October Art Challenge prompts here:

​October Art Challenge.pdf​

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September's Best Destinations

Barcelona, Italy Warm Sea, Fewer Crowds Barcelona in September: the intense heat of summer begins to ease, the biggest vacation crowds start heading home and the Mediterranean is still warm enough for a beach day. Even better, late September brings La Mercè, Barcelona's huge annual festival, when the city fills with concerts, parades, fireworks and wonderfully Catalan traditions like human towers and fire-breathing dragons. Add Gaudí, tapas and long evenings wandering the Gothic Quarter, and September gives you Barcelona with plenty of summer still left in it.

Napa, California Harvest Season It's harvest season in Napa Valley, which makes it one of the most exciting times of year to visit. Vineyards are heavy with ripe grapes, wineries are buzzing with crush activity and you may actually see grapes being harvested as you make your way through the valley. The days are typically warm and sunny, the evenings begin to cool and the restaurants are making the most of late-summer produce. It’s a busier time to visit, but if you want to see Napa when wine country is actually making the wine, September is hard to beat.

Ljubljana, Slovenia Summer Lingers, Crowds Leave September is a lovely time to visit Ljubljana, when summer crowds begin to thin but the days are still warm enough to enjoy the cafés lining the Ljubljanica River and wander the city's wonderfully walkable historic center. Slovenia's capital is compact, green and ridiculously charming, with colorful Baroque and Art Nouveau architecture, Ljubljana Castle overlooking the city and the unmistakable influence of architect Jože Plečnik everywhere you look. And with Lake Bled, the Julian Alps and Slovenia's wine country all within easy reach, Ljubljana makes a pretty terrific base for exploring far beyond the city.

Grand Rapids, Michigan Vibrant Arts Scene September is when Grand Rapids turns into one enormous art gallery. ArtPrize takes over downtown, filling museums, galleries, hotels, restaurants, parks and unexpected public spaces with work by artists from around the world, much of it free to see. The weather is usually still warm enough to explore on foot, while the first hints of fall are beginning to arrive in West Michigan. Add a terrific craft beer and food scene, the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Grand Rapids Art Museum, and September is a particularly good time to see why Grand Rapids has earned its place on the art lover's map.

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