Peachtober 2024

November 1, 2024

If you've been following me for any longer than a year, you'll know that every October I've done a drawing challenge: 31 daily doodles based on the word prompt for each day. This year, while working the tension between jobs and pushing my art business more aggressively, I looked at the October Inktober prompt list and thought, "no."

And then I thought, "but maybe different."

Peachtober is an October prompt list put out by Furry Little Peach (an artist in Australia). Same gist, but different feel. The beauty of October prompt lists is that artists of all styles from all over the world sync up around one list, and if you're following, you get to see the creative diversity taken from the one word of the day. There's also the unique chance for your work to be seen by new people. While the Inktober list is great, it tends to feel a little more rigid. I saw myself starting it and being eaten up by obligation to produce daily cohesive content as a desperate grasp for an audience. Couldn't do it. But Peachtober caught my attention as a free-for-all expression of the love of the craft--creating for the sake of creating, and sharing because it's fun. It was a gift and a great self-care move to make art just for fun. No one theme or style, just the space to play and try when I felt like it. I didn't do all of the prompts--I don't even love all the pieces that I did--and I'm happy with that.