Magical Unicorn

 

This "Magical Unicorn" is from a tutorial by Lucy Brydon for "A Year Of Magic and Fairy Tales. I totally enjoyed working on this piece in my Canson watercolor sketch book.

Lucy opened this tutorial with some historical context of the unicorn in Scotland.  I followed her detailed direction as I drew it with my Graphgear 1000 Pentel pencil.

For the background of this piece I used a set of Crafty Manor gradient pearl watercolor paints.   I used that same watercolor paint for the cone and huffs of the unicorn and painted it in with Jane Davenport watercolors. I used a Gelly Roll Pen for highlights and Gen Crafts Brush Pens for the hair and tail. I used Master's Touch fine liners for those parts also, along with a Micron pen to bring out details.

Challenges: 

Playful Wings

 

I'm always happy to work on a tutorial by Tamara Laporte. This one is for Mastering Mixed Media 2026, which she has been hosting. Although I've done several of her Quirky Birds in the past, I was still happy to work on this latest one. I followed her drawing lesson as well as the template she offered.

I painted this cutie with Jane Davenport Watercolors and some Liquitex Acrylic Ink. I used a few pens for details including Sharpie Creative Markers, Micron Pens and Gelly Rolls.

This is a nice colorful piece to be included in my Canson Watercolor Sketch Book. 

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://alessandrasangels.blogspot.com/2026/06/allys-angels-107-challenge-anything.html 

https://creativecrafterschallenge.blogspot.com/2026/06/challenge-101.html 

Annoyed Lil Artists

 

 

I discovered "Annoyed Lil Artist," while looking over the lovely work by members of the art groups I belong to on Facebook. So far I have work on 3 digital files of "Annoyed Lil Artist" which you can find in the Etsy Plum Loved Art Shop. This shop owned by artist Shelley Plum has a great variety of adorable images to use in your personal art.

I printed this file in an 8x10" format in black and white to hand draw my own version on Fabriano  hot press watercolor paper. I used the black and white image as my reference, using a Graphgear 1000 Pentel Pencil to draw. A Blackwing Pencil and a blending stump were good for the shading.  I used Molotow blackliners for the outline and to enhance the drawing. I followed the blackliner with Jane Davenport watercolors.

These "Annoyed Lil Artist," images are so adorable and fun to work on. I love to draw a variety of subjects challenging my skills with the pencil and paint brush.

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://alessandrasangels.blogspot.com/2026/06/allys-angels-107-challenge-anything.html 

https://creativecrafterschallenge.blogspot.com/2026/06/challenge-101.html 

 

 

Bubbly Mermaid

 

This "Bubbly Mermaid," was inspired by a "Baby Bubbles Mermaid," tutorial by Karen Campbell and Lucy Brydon for Awesome Art School. The more I painted this piece, she seems to age! So of course I went with the flow. 

I used a Graphgear 1000 Pentel Pencil in my Canson Watercolor Sketch Book. I painted the mermaid's skintone with Prima Watercolor Paint and the balance of the piece in Jane Davenport Watercolors. The dots on her tail were made with gouache and the highlights on this piece were done with a white Gelli Roll Pen.

This mermaid is a lovely addition to my watercolor sketch book.

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://craftycatzweeklychallenge.blogspot.com/2026/06/crafty-catz-challenge-715.html 

https://lilpatchofcraftyfriends.blogspot.com/2026/06/279-june-7-all-dressed-up.html 

 

Flower Storefront

 Karen Campbell has a new book coming out soon! It's from her Whimsical Watercolor and How to Draw Series. The book will include 13 different tutorials teaching drawing and painting storefronts. It hasn't come to print yet, but Karen offered a tutorial on painting one of the storefronts in the book. I watched Karen's video tutorial and then I tried my hand at painting my own version.

I transferred that storefront onto my Fabriano 140 lb. hot press paper and I painted the building with Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolors. In addition, I used a Prismacolor pencil to darken some areas for shading and a Uni-ball Signo Pen for white highlights. I used an old rubber stamp for the sign on top of the building.  

I'll be ordering that book when it becomes available. I'm looking forward to will drawing and painting my own versions of each storefront! 

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://allsortschallenge.blogspot.com/2026/06/challenge-851.html 

https://fabnfunkychallenges.blogspot.com/2026/06/challenge-639-summer-flowers.html 

Artsy Fartsy Fabulous

 

This "Artsy Fartsy Fabulous," is an example of lesson learned. I followed the tutorial by Karen Campbell for Awesome Art School and drew this girl  on Fabriano hot press watercolor paper, using a Graphgear 1000 Pentel Pencil. I decided to use my Gen Crafts watercolor brush pens to color this girl. Most of the painting came out ok, but when I used the blue brush pen for the skirt it came out totally streaky. I remembered Karen might have said keep going, don't give up. I used a blue Prismacolor pencil over the skirt and it worked!

The black outline was done with a Molotow liner and shading was done with both colored pencils and a Blackwing Pencil and a paper stump.

I'm so happy I kept going and now have a really nice art piece!

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://craftycatzweeklychallenge.blogspot.com/2026/06/crafty-catz-challenge-715.html 

https://allsortschallenge.blogspot.com/2026/06/challenge-851.html 

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