Books and Bottles

This incredible still-life is from a tutorial by Karen Campbell for Awesome Art School. I sketched out the books and bottles using a Graphgear 1000 Pentel Pencil on a sheet of Fabriano hot press watercolor paper. I followed Karen's drawing lesson from the video and a black and white print out.

I painted the elements using three different watercolor sets, Winsor Newton, Jane Davenport and a Crafty Manor Shifting watercolor set, which I recently bought out of curiosity. The two bottom books were painted using that set. 

I added some details to the pages with several Prismacolor Pencils. Later I used white gouache for brighter highlights. I also added some greenery with the gouache.

The books that I  painted in the Shifting watercolor are a nice addition to the still-life.

I have to admit I made some mistakes, but I'm happy with the finished painting. It certainly was a challenge.

Challenges:

https://hereisaplacetostart.blogspot.com/2026/06/challenge-202606-june-2026-anything.html 

https://avenue613.blogspot.com/2026/06/june-2026-anything-goes-w-optional.html 

https://creativefingerschallengeblog.blogspot.com/2026/06/challenge-324.html 

https://aperfecttimetocraft.blogspot.com/2026/06/a-perfect-time-to-craft-open-challenge.html 

Bouquet in Watercolor

 

This easy floral bouquet was a great tutorial by Karen Campbell for Awesome Art School. It was relaxing and fun to just play with lot of greens and pinks. I used Jane Davenport Watercolors on Fabriano hot press watercolor paper.

Challenges: 

https://lilpatchofcraftyfriends.blogspot.com/2026/05/278-may-17-sheepski-designs.html

https://aperfecttimetocraft.blogspot.com/2026/06/a-perfect-time-to-craft-open-challenge.html 

https://creativefingerschallengeblog.blogspot.com/2026/06/challenge-324.html

Besties Nesties (Two of a kind!)

  I enjoy the challenge of working on the houses in Karen Campbell's book "Happy Hooses," from the "Whimsical Watercolor and How to Draw Series." This "Besties Neasties," was a delightful challenge, with a few more details. There are 13 lessons in this book and I planned to do them  all.

 I drew this house onto my Fabriano 140 lb. hot press paper and outlined the house with a Molotow Blackliner.  I painted the house with Jane Davenport and Winsor Newton watercolors. In addition, I used a Prismacolor pencil to darken some areas. I read and followed Karen's tutorial in the book, but used different paint sets than what she used.  

I loved this tutorial! Karen's books with tutorials are such a blast!

Challenges:

https://allsortschallenge.blogspot.com/2026/05/challenge-850.html 

https://creativecrafterschallenge.blogspot.com/2026/05/challenge-100.html 

https://aperfecttimetocraft.blogspot.com/2026/06/a-perfect-time-to-craft-open-challenge.html 

https://lilpatchofcraftyfriends.blogspot.com/2026/05/278-may-17-sheepski-designs.html 

Hobbit Home

 

 Working on the houses in Karen Campbell's book "Happy Hooses," from the "Whimsical Watercolor and How to Draw Series," could keep me happily busy for another month! This "Hobbit Home," turned out to be more difficult than I thought. I made errors in both the drawing and the painting, but I'm happy to say it all worked out just fine!

 I drew this house onto my Fabriano 140 lb. hot press paper and outlined the house with Molotow Blackliners.  I painted this piece using Jane Davenport watercolors and a bit of Holbein Artist's Gouache for the tiny dots on the mushrooms. In addition, I used a Prismacolor pencil to darken and smooth out some areas. I read and followed Karen's tutorial in the book, but substituted other paint sets.  

I'm so glad I kept working even when I thought I couldn't fix it! I'm sure it was Karen Campbell who said, "Don't give up, keep going!"

Challenges:

https://allsortschallenge.blogspot.com/2026/05/challenge-850.html 

https://creativecrafterschallenge.blogspot.com/2026/05/challenge-100.html 

https://aperfecttimetocraft.blogspot.com/2026/06/a-perfect-time-to-craft-open-challenge.html 

https://lilpatchofcraftyfriends.blogspot.com/2026/05/278-may-17-sheepski-designs.html 

The Art of Play

 

This "The Art of Play," tutorial is by Angela Murray for Mastering Mixed Media 2026. 

I traced parts of Angela's pattern with a fine black Sharpie onto Fabriano hot press watercolor paper. I no longer paint in acrylics, so I changed the media in this tutorial. The black background was done in Winsor Newton gouache and the patterns were painted in using Gen Crafts Watercolor Brush Pens.The additional doodles and dots throughout the pattern piece were done using several pens including: Sharpie Creative Markers, Micron Pens and Gelly Rolls.

This was a very fun and relaxing creative way to  spend the afternoon.

Challenges: 

 https://hereisaplacetostart.blogspot.com/2026/05/challenge-202605-may-2026-anything-goes.html

https://avenue613.blogspot.com/2026/05/may-2026-anything-goes-w-optional-twist.html

https://craftygalscornerchallenges.blogspot.com/2026/05/challenge-277-anything-goes-woptional.html 

https://tuesdaytaggers.blogspot.com/2026/05/going-round-in-circles.html 

King Night Owl

 

This fun "King Night Owl" is from a collage tutorial by Eulalia Mejia for Mastering Mixed Media 2026.

Back in 2020, I discovered Gelli Plate printing and I made a lot of sheet of mixed-media colored cardstock to make colorful mono-prints. I stored these prints in a cabinet for years. Now in 2026, I combined a used these  prints with pieces of printed scrapbook paper and colored cardstock to make this colorful owl.

Eulalia used acrylic paint for the background. I don't paint with acrylic paint, so I used black Stonehenge watercolor paper instead. I don't have any cardboard to use for the 3D effect, but I used Eulalia's templates to cut the paper into pieces that make up the owl and the pieces for the tree branch. I loved putting this together on the black watercolor paper and using a variety of pens to design patterns on the solid papers.

I loved working on this piece!

Challenge: 

 https://hereisaplacetostart.blogspot.com/2026/05/challenge-202605-may-2026-anything-goes.html

https://avenue613.blogspot.com/2026/05/may-2026-anything-goes-w-optional-twist.html

https://craftygalscornerchallenges.blogspot.com/2026/05/challenge-277-anything-goes-woptional.html 

https://morgansartworld.blogspot.com/2026/05/morgans-artworld-challenge-100.html 

Creative Soul

 

This lovely "Creative Soul," is from a tutorial by Tamara Laporte for "Mastering Mixed Media 2026," which she hosted. I enjoy doing tutorials especially those by Tamara.

Tam's tutorial calls for acrylic paint, since I try not to use that paint, I chose gouache. I painted with Winsor Newton Designers Gouache, Holbein Gouache and Jane Davenport watercolors. I drew the girl with a Graphgear 1000 Pentel Pencil on Fabriano hot press paper.

I used a few pens for details including Posca Pens, Micron Pens and a white Gelly Roll Pen.

I love that the gouache I used work so well with the watercolors!

Challenge: 

 https://hereisaplacetostart.blogspot.com/2026/05/challenge-202605-may-2026-anything-goes.html

https://avenue613.blogspot.com/2026/05/may-2026-anything-goes-w-optional-twist.html

https://craftygalscornerchallenges.blogspot.com/2026/05/challenge-277-anything-goes-woptional.html 

https://classicdesignchallenge.blogspot.com/2026/05/classic-design-challenge-05-2026-mayjun.html