Watercoloring · 2 comments ·

Celebrate World Watercolor Month | 13 Watercolor Flower Ideas

by Altenew LLC - 6 minute read

Last Updated: June 19, 2022

July is World Watercolor Month! A whole month dedicated to this fantastic and versatile art medium. Whether you're a seasoned watercolorist or someone who’s just dabbling with watercolors, there's no shortage of ways to celebrate World Watercolor Month. Looking for watercolor art inspiration or some fun things to do with this crafting supply? We’ve got you! We’ve put together a list of watercoloring ideas and a few World Watercolor Month prompts that you can quickly try!

Thank You card with a colorful watercolor background and gold-embossed "thank you"

Thank You Card with Watercolor Swatches

What Is World Watercolor Month?

Every July, watercolorists around the world come together to celebrate World Watercolor Month. This international celebration was started in 2016 by Charlie O’Shields, the creator of Doodlewash®, and continues to grow in popularity each year. Doodlewash is a social community for artists of all skill levels who are into watercolor painting and sketching. The growing watercolor community features artists all over the world.  

Whether you're just a beginner in watercoloring or an experienced watercolor artist who’s in love with this beautiful coloring medium, there are plenty of ways to get involved and join the fun!

Fun Fact! Young Hare (1502) by the famous Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer is one of the most famous watercolor paintings in the world. It also significantly contributed to the development of watercolors in the West.

36 Watercolor Pan Set with a few watercolor brushes and a white card stamped with a floral outline image

Create Your Own Watercolor Art with This Watercolor Pan Set

When Is World Watercolor Month 2022?

The month of July is World Watercolor Month. This whole month celebrates various forms of arts, crafts, and DIY projects that utilize different forms of watercolor.

Did You Know? Every year, 18,000 applications are submitted for “official days” and national holidays, but only 30 are added to the calendar. But Doodlewash® creator and watercolor-lover Charlie O’Shields have always wanted to celebrate his favorite medium; that’s why, even though it was a long shot, he registered July as World Watercolor Month. And the rest, as they say, is history! 

Ways to Celebrate World Watercolor Month

There are so many ways to celebrate World Watercolor Month 2022. From joining challenges and contests to creating a project with World Watercolor Month prompts, the only limit is your imagination! This fun holiday encourages the artist in us to be playful and imaginative and value the importance of creativity in today’s world.

Here are a few fun and exciting ideas for celebrating this year’s Watercolor Month!

1. Join watercolor art challenges - whether online or in-person, you’re definitely going to have lots of fun!

2. Submit your creations to watercolor contests. One quick Google search will help you find the best contest for you.

3. Donate watercolor art supplies to charities, schools, churches, etc.'

Watercolor art with watercolor paintbrushes, watercolor coloring book, and artist-grade watercolor pan set

Get the Ultimate Watercolor Art Bundle

Fun Fact! Last February, Altenew partnered with the Zakat Foundation of America to sponsor a watercolor workshop in a low-income senior housing facility in Milpitas, California. The seniors had a relaxing afternoon through this watercolor workshop as they played with two popular Altenew products - the Artists’ Watercolor 24 Pan Set and Watercolor Coloring Book. Read more about this heartwarming watercolor workshop.

4. Host a watercolor painting workshop or event - online or offline. 

5. Find some World Watercolor Month prompts online and use them as inspiration.

6. Invite your friends over for some watercoloring fun!

7. Bond with your kids and teach them how to create watercolor flowers.

8. Visit an art museum (preferably ones with watercolor paintings).

9. Share your watercolor projects on social media using the hashtag #WorldWatercolorMonth.

10. If you are an expert watercolor artist, teach a FREE watercolor class! You can do it in a school, a shelter, or virtually!

Fun Fact! Watercolors were first created in China and soon became popular in Japan. Back then, they used watercolors to paint on silk, wood, and other materials.

Color wheel painted with metallic watercolors, with a flower die-cut and white-embossed sentiment on vellum

Create Shiny and Shimmery Watercolor Paintings

World Watercolor Month Prompts and Ideas

Here at Altenew, we are all about watercolor flowers! There’s something about capturing a flower’s softness and vibrancy using watercolor that makes it even more surreal. That’s why watercoloring with flowers is a popular hobby for most watercolorists. No matter what type of watercolor you use - watercolor pan set, liquid watercolors, or watercolor pencils - you can have fun creating your own watercolor flowers! Here are a few creative prompts (from Doodlewash) and ideas to inspire you.

2 birthday cards with 3D embossed and watercolor flowers

Woodless Watercolor Pencil 24 Set

1. Cheer. Therese’s birthday cards with 3D embossed watercolor florals scream cheerful and bright! We love the added shine and texture through her black and gold sentiments!

3 handmade cards with watercolor background inspired by blueprints and white floral and foliage die-cuts

Watercolor Paper for Your Watercolor Art

2. Wave. Imagine the vast blue ocean with white foamy swirls and bubbles here and there – that’s exactly what Aga’s blueprint-inspired watercolor cards remind us of!

Handmade card with 3D embossed and watercolor sunflower background

Sunflower Bundle 3D Embossing Folder

3. Welcome. There’s nothing more welcoming than the sight of huge, bright yellow sunflowers like these in Erum’s breathtaking watercolor art!

Thinking of You card with watercolor flowers and watercolor pencils

Woodless Watercolor Pencils

4. Home. The Watercolor Coloring Book has a variety of watercolor flowers that will help you whip up instantly gorgeous watercolor paintings! The additional background in Norine’s watercolor flower cards gave it homey vibes, and we love it!

Motivational card with white 3D embossed background and watercolor flowers

Adore You Add-On Stamp Set

5. Confident. We hope the clean and simple feel of Erum’s watercolor card makes you feel super confident in your own watercoloring skill!

Watercolor flowers from Watercolor Coloring Book, painted using Watercolor Pencils

Watercolor Coloring Book

6. Dance. Picture a bunch of flowers swaying – almost dancing – in the wind! What a lovely sight indeed! You can recreate this look with just a page out of our Watercolor Coloring Book and Norine’s watercolor inspiration card!

Did You Know? Watercolor manufacturers do not have the same colors produced. So if you like a specific color from a specific brand, the exact color won’t be available on other brands or manufacturers.

3 watercolor flower art made with Altenew Watercolor Coloring Book and Artists' Watercolors

Create Your Own Watercolor Flowers with Just a Coloring Book

7. Focus. Struggling with negative space in your project? Emily has a few tips to help you embrace the negative space and make your watercolor flowers pop off the page!

Pomegranate flowers watercolored with woodless watercolor pencils

Woodless Coloring & Watercolor Pencil Connoisseur Bundle

8. Ceremony. The watercolored Happy Pomegranates in Kathy’s masterpiece are simply perfect for any occasion, ceremony, or event!

Watercolor card with die-cut mountain and nighttime scenery

Recreate This Stunning Watercolor Art with the Mountain Die Set

9. Travel. Bitten by the travel bug? The wanderlust in you will surely adore the starry night sky and dreamy mountain range in Lydia’s watercolor art! We hope her card inspires you to recreate some of your most precious travel memories.

Thank you card with colorful watercolor background and die-cut purple and green bird image

Ultimate Watercolor Brush Markers

10. Perform. The splashes of Purple Wine and Lagoon with a lovely tinge of gold splatters in Lydia’s thank you card is like a colorful and jolly performance! She used our Watercolor Brush Markers for her charming watercolor painting.

Watercolor poppy flowers on a memory-keeping journal page, with a stamp set, black ink pad, and watercolor pan set on the side

Paint-A-Flower Poppy Outline Stamp Set

11. Time. Nathalie’s memory-keeping layout highlights an adorable “family member” and the importance of spending time with those who matter to us. The watercolored poppy is such a gorgeous element too!  

Hand-lettering on a red envelope and black cardstock using Altenew metallic watercolor pan set

Must-Try: Hand-Lettering with Metallic Watercolors

12. Silver/Gold. Torn between silver and gold? Why not combine them to create a shiny, shimmery, and splendid masterpiece?! Kristina’s hand-lettered watercolor art is so pretty that we can’t keep our eyes off it! Check out how she used both Sterling Silver and Enchanted Gold from our Metallic Watercolor 14 Pan Set.

Watercolor art on a handmade holiday card featuring a cozy cottage and snowy trees

Send Winter Hugs with This Watercolor Art Idea

13. Rest. Who doesn’t want to sit back and relax inside a cute and cozy cabin amidst snow-covered trees? Jen took her watercolor skill to the next level by doing some freehand watercoloring to create this awe-inspiring winter scenery card!

Join in the Fun and Celebrate World Watercolor Month with Us!

Get started on your watercolor art today! The best part about watercoloring is that anyone can do it. All you need is a little bit of creativity (or some of the World Watercolor Month prompts above) and basic painting skills. We can’t wait to see your own watercolor paintings for World Watercolor Month 2022. Happy painting!

2 comments

  • Altenew

    Hello, Diane! We totally loved that one too! Pretty stunning, right?! Thanks for stopping by. We hope we inspired you to try these techniques.

  • Diane Oliver

    Loving all the water color techniques! Especially where the background gets the major coloring and the flowers are mostly white with shading! Amazing!

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