18-Day Watercolor Challenge – Free, No Signup Needed

Are you ready to loosen up your watercolor technique, train your eye for values and color, and create daily without stress? The 18-Day Loose Watercolor Challenge is a free, no-signup course that guides you through fun, skill-building painting exercises.

Whether you’re brand new to watercolor or an experienced artist looking for fresh inspiration, this challenge focuses on practical exercises that actually make you better. You’ll explore values, color mixing, brush control, and loosening up — all while creating expressive, confident paintings.

Before Day 1: Core Watercolor Foundations

These first three lessons set the tone for the challenge and give you the tools you need to make the most of each day.

Color Mixing Basics
Learn how saturation, intensity, and water dilution affect the value of a color. This is the foundation of every strong painting.

Observation Matters
Why slowing down to see your subject before painting will make every brushstroke count.

Values Over Color Matching
Learn why chasing exact colors can hurt your work — and why values should guide your decisions.

The 18 Challenges

Follow these in order, one per day, or go at your own pace.

1. Blind Contour

Draw your subject without looking at the paper to improve observation skills.

2. Value Hierarchy

Identify and organize your lightest and darkest values.

3. Color & Values

See the true values behind colors to improve painting accuracy.

4. Wet-in-Wet

Paint a simple subject (like a tube of paint) and let the watercolor flow.

5. Monochromatic High-Key

Use only light values of gray to paint a subject.

6. High-Key Color Challenge

Add color while keeping values in the high range.

7. Monochromatic Low-Key

Use only dark-valued grays to paint your subject.

8. Low-Key Color Challenge

Use dark-valued colors to train value sensitivity.

9. Refrigerator Challenge

Paint an object from your fridge using lessons so far.

10. Connecting Values

Learn to link similar value shapes for stronger composition.

11. Connecting Values Study

Apply value connections to a finished painting.

12. Connecting with Color

Use color harmony instead of value to create unity.

13. Cool Color Study

Create a painting using only cool hues.

14. Chromatic Challenge

Push intensity and vibrancy without losing harmony.

15. Tonal Study

Focus entirely on tonal contrast.

16. Negative Space

Define shapes by painting around your subject.

17. Upside-Down Drawing

Flip your subject to improve perception of shape.

18. Final Loose Painting

Combine everything you’ve learned into one expressive piece.

Materials You’ll Need

Here are the materials I use all the time and have for decades. I only buy from Blick Art but feel free to shop where you prefer.

Recommended Watercolor Materials

• Holbein Professional Watercolor Paints – 8 Essential Hues
  Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Lemon Yellow, Ultramarine Blue, Cerulean Blue, Alizarin Crimson, Cadmium Red Light, Neutral Tint, Burnt Sienna
• Fabriano Artistico Watercolor Paper – 140lb Cold Press
  Buy full sheets and cut into quarter sheets for best value
• Silver Jumbo Wash Brush
  Great coverage, excellent quality for the price
• Princeton Neptune Point Rounds (No. 12 & 6)
  Reliable and affordable detail & wash brushes
• Princeton Neptune Dagger (1/2")
  Versatile size for lines, edges, and detail work
• Masterson Aqua Pro Palette
  Durable, with deep wells for generous mixing space
• Gator Board
  Lightweight, long-lasting painting support board
• Holbein White Gouache
  Optional for highlights and fine details
• Miscellaneous: plastic water containers, paper towels, masking tape

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Check These Out

If you enjoyed this course, check out my other Free Loose Painting Courses — or visit my Etsy shop for original paintings and prints.