World Watercolour Month is celebration of the medium of watercolour painting, encouraging everyone to take up a brush and give this form of painting a try. Not only that, it is an event which encourages and supports arts education.

Watercolour is a painting method in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-based solution and the term ‘watercolour’ refers to both the medium and the artwork itself. It’s an extremely ancient form of painting, dating perhaps to the cave paintings of palaeolithic Europe. It has been used for manuscript illustration since at least Egyptian times but especially in the European Middle Ages.

World watercolour month was founded by Charlie O’Shields, creator of the Doodlewash, a website dedicated to all things watercolour. The event Partners with the Dreaming Zebra Foundation which provides help to those who may otherwise not be able to develop their artistic creativity.  They are a non-profit organisation that encourage children’s individuality, help them to express themselves creatively, and to follow their dreams within art. The aim is to raise awareness and to raise funds for this worthwhile cause.

Dreaming Zebra also have an:

“..art recycling program that is free to the public. Reusable art & music supplies that would otherwise be discarded, along with new or unsold materials, are donated by individuals and businesses and matched to recipients who have requested those materials for arts education purposes in the community.”

Art is important to us all. Many would argue that it absolutely essential. It has always played an important part in education, being a great leveller and being one of the things that everyone has access to and that everyone can take part in. It’s for this reason that it is so terrible that it is often the case that art classes are first in line when budget cuts are made in education.

During World Watercolour month you can take the ultimate challenge of painting 31 watercolours in 31 days. Even if you are not up to that, you can dust off your old palette and have a go. Watercolour paints are available very cheaply in many shops and also online, so there is not excuse. If you need tips, try here.

You can post your masterpiece online with the hashtag #WorldWatercolorMonth. And, if you can, donate to The Dreaming Zebra Foundation to help children across the world reach their artistic potential.

Happy painting!