The Sunday Times Watercolour Competition

About

The renowned competition is the largest and most prestigious prize for contemporary watercolour painting in the UK. Over the past 33 years it has attracted entries from artists working in abstract, figurative, contemporary or traditional subject matter, with the aim of celebrating and redefining the beauty and diversity of all water-based media.

The 2020 competition received over 1600 entries from artists around the world. Approximately 80 works have been selected by a panel of leading figures from the art world which includes Gill Saunders, Senior Curator at the V&A, artists Ishbel Myerscough and Paul Newland NEAC RWS, Louis Wise, critic and writer for The Sunday Times and Tara McKinney Marinus, Visual Arts Exhibitions Manager at Hampshire Cultural Trust. The judges look for work that makes the most imaginative or impressive use of a water-based medium. This year saw a number of topical themes and the judges commended artists’ creativity and resourcefulness in finding inspiration in the ordinary and recording the current global challenges in original ways. The exhibition truly celebrates the vibrancy of the contemporary artistic community with something to appeal to everyone.