Did you know July is World Watercolor Month? If not, you’re not alone! I had no idea there was such a thing, and this is its 10 anniversary! I found out about it completely by accident as I was scrolling through Facebook the other day.

What is World Watercolor Month?

So what is World Watercolor Month? According to the official website for World Watercolor Month,

It’s a month to inspire people to paint with watercolor (watercolour, aquarelle) while raising awareness for the importance of art and creativity in the world. 

~https://worldwatercolormonth.com

It was founded in 2016 by Charlie O’Shields, the creator of Doodlewash® and author of Sketching Stuff books. In addition to spreading the word about art, World Watercolor Month highlights the International Child Art Foundation, which helps to “nurture art and creativity in children across the globe.”

You can find out all about World Watercolor Month here.

It just sounds like a really fun way to get some practice and improve our skills. It’s so easy to participate, and it doesn’t cost anything — unless you choose to buy some of their merchandise or donate to the International Child Art Foundation.

How can we participate?

Getting involved with this couldn’t be any easier! All you have to do is tag any watercolor art you make and post on Social Media with #WorldWatercolorMonth and #World WatercolorMonth2025.

You can check out the website if you want to participate. They have a 31-Day Challenge where you can paint 31 paintings in 31 days, or you can take it at your own pace and paint whichever days you feel like painting. If you need some prompts to get you started, they have those too. All you need to do is tag your artwork (#WorldWatercolorMonth and #World WatercolorMonth2025) when you post it!

For me, that may involve getting out of my comfort zone a little, because I’m not at the stage yet where I feel comfortable sharing what I’ve done, except with family and friends. That makes YOU my friend, because I do share some of it here. :o)

BUT, if I want to learn to be something new (an artist), I have to learn to step out of my comfort zone and try new things.

There are several artists on YouTube who are doing tutorials for the month, so even if you’ve never picked up a paintbrush, they make it easy to participate. One who is doing beginner tutorials throughout the month is Emma Jane Lefebvre. You can take a look at her first day video here:

If you’re more advanced but would like more direction than just painting on your own throughout the month, I saw several more artists who were participating. Just search World Watercolor Month and I’m sure you’ll find something that piques your interest!

I don’t know if I can commit to painting every day this month, but I’m going to make a concerted effort to paint as often as I can. Who’d like to join me?

Have you ever participated in anything similar for your chosen style of art? What was your experience like with it? Please share!