Free Watercolor mixed media painting demo

 

Watercolor mixed media Teacup by Marla L. Niederer

About a year ago I took a class on how to paint teabags presented by Jeanne Marie Webb and so enjoyed it.  I framed a few of the teabags individually but wanted to find another way to display them.  Since I love everything about the ritual of drinking tea, I have quite a collection of pretty teacups and saucers that I use.  I decided to create a painting of one of my teacup and saucers and attach one of the painted teabags to it for display.

Painted Teabag by Marla L. Niederer

 

Since I had so much fun doing this I decided to share a demo of the process for you.  I used watercolors, graphite pencil, acrylic ink, and Yes paste for this project.  You can view the demo on my OrsinisAngels Youtube channel by clicking on the picture below.

 

Free Watercolor painting demo by Marla L. Niederer

In case  you missed the Valentine’s Day project I shared last year, here it is again.

I took a vintage Valentine’s Day card, and a piece of vintage wallpaper to create this heart.

 

Valentine's Day Pincushion by Marla L. Niederer

You can print it out on fabric using an inkjet printer after attaching the fabric to a full page printer sticker.  Just make sure you trim off any stray edges of the fabric before placing into your printer.

 

I also wanted to share with you that my Sleeping Mermaid Class is now a self study class.  You can find out more about it by clicking on the picture below.

 

Sleeping Mermaid Self Study Class by Marla L. Niederer

To see more of my self study classes click on the picture below.

 

Self Study Classes by Marla L. Niederer

To go to my OrsinisAngels YouTube Channel where all of my free video tutorials can be found, click on the picture below

 

Free Tutorials on OrsinisAngels YouTube

To see all of my free tutorials you can click on the picture below

 

Free Tutorials by Marla L. Niederer

To find out more about me click on my picture below

 

About Me

Until next time……….

 

Warm hugs,

Marla

 

40 Portraits Challenge and Woodland Faery Journal class review.

Online classes are so much fun!  Not only do I enjoy teaching them but I also enjoy taking them.  What I love about them is that you can enjoy taking a class in the comfort of your home.  You can take them at your own pace and if something happens to disrupt your class time you can always go back to it at a later date when you have more creative time.

Since I just joined a 40 portrait challenge on Facebook, I decided that it was time to create another art journal.

Toni Burt, a mixed media artist, teaches several classes online and in one of them she teaches how to make a woodland faery journal. 

Woodland Faery Journal by Toni Burt

The journal she made is really pretty and uses some mixed media techniques that I don’t really use so I decided to give it a try.   The class videos are clear and informative.  She takes you through the entire process in real time without any fast forwarding.  The class is one of her shorter ones and priced quite reasonably.  The videos are broken up into roughly 20 minute to 35 minute videos.  This seems to be a good length of time for each session.  Not too long and not too short.  I found the videos quite easy to follow.   She uses water-soluble graphite pencils which I had never heard of before.  Of course I had to purchase a set and try them out.  I bought a set made by Faber Castle and now absolutely love them.

Keeper of the Earth Journal cover by Marla L. Niederer inspired by Woodland Faery Journal Class

I created the journal substrate pretty much as directed in the online class but then I decided to go in my own direction.  I did use the mixed media techniques she shared for the background but wanted to use my own artwork instead of copying her artwork.  I also did not have many of the supplies she used such as the water-soluble markers and inktense sticks.  Since I had my watercolors out and ready to use, I used them instead.  The design I chose was based on a figurative fiber art sculpture that I had created quite some time ago called “Keeper of the Earth.”  I did want to make some changes though but kept that theme.  I also used quite a bit of Toni’s color palate since it was warm and earthy.

Keeper of the Earth Journal cover by Marla L. Niederer inspired by Woodland Faery Journal Class

These are pictures of the journal cover before sewing in the watercolor paper signatures that I will be using.

 

Keeper of the Earth Journal cover by Marla L. Niederer inspired by Woodland Faery Journal Class

Bottom line, it was a really fun class to take and a good way to start off my 40 portrait challenge.  Out of five stars, I give the class Five Stars.  Here is a link to the class if you would like to check it out.

https://www.toniburt.com.au/current-classes/woodland-faery/

I wonder do fantasy portraits count as portraits?  If so consider my journal cover the first of my 40 portraits!

 

Sleeping Mermaids by Marla L. Niederer

I am still teaching the Sleeping Mermaid workshop on A for Artistic.  If you are interested in taking the class it remains open for the rest of the month.  You can find out more information about it and or sign up here

https://www.aforartistic.com/Sleeping-Mermaid-Workshop

Until next time…….

Warm hugs,

Marla

Mermaids on my Workbench

Sleeping Mermaid by Marla L. Niederer

“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.” – Jacques Yves Cousteau

Reclining Mermaid by Marla L. Niederer

I have always loved to be around water, be it a lake, river, or ocean.  I always feel calmer, more peaceful, and uplifted when I am near it. 

Reclining Mermaid by Marla L. Niederer

 I have also always held a fascination with mermaids.  Maybe it’s the femininity they represent, maybe it’s the beauty they are always portrayed with.  

Sleeping Mermaid by Marla L. Niederer

So when asked to create a commissioned small sized mermaid, of course my response was YES!   I was so happy to create this little mermaid that I couldn’t just make one!   

Mermaids by Marla L. Niederer

They are far from complete.  They need hair, headdresses, and all sorts of embellishment.  But, I thought it was time to share what has been on my workbench lately.  

Some of the watercolor paints I used on the mermaids

I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Until next time……

warm hugs,
Marla

Mardi Gras Doll by Marla L. Niederer

If you are interested in taking a live class, I am teaching a one day class at the Thousand Islands Arts Center in Clayton NY on July 27,2017.  If you wish to find out more about the class or to sign up give Marcia Rogers a call at the Thousand Islands Arts Center at 315-686-4123.  There are still a few places in the class left.

Mardi Gras Doll by Marla L. Niederer

If you want to boost your creativity, try this….

 

Transformation by Marla L. Niederer, close up

It is really easy to chase everything shiny down the rabbit hole when you are trying to focus on developing your skills as an artist.  When I first started working as a figurative fiber artist full time it took unbelievable self-control to remain focused on figurative fiber art.  I wanted to work on my art but also make journals, learn how to watercolor, create jewelry, and everything else that caught my attention for the moment.

Transformation by Marla L. Niederer

 If I were to chase all of those interests down the rabbit hole I would not have been able to continue to develop my skills and techniques as a figurative fiber artist because the focus wouldn’t be there.  

Fire Goddess by Marla L. Niederer

But sometimes it is okay to chase all things shiny in the name of artistic cross training. Sometimes your creativity just needs a little boost. If you find yourself in a creative rut and haven’t been feeling very inspired it sometimes helps to work in a different medium than you are accustomed to.  It lets you stretch your artistic skills and gives you a different perspective. 

Hand beaded earrings by Marla L. Niederer

So, I recently rewarded myself for being so focused the past two years by taking a jewelry making and watercolor painting break.  Playing with the two mediums has resulted in several new creative sparks for my figurative fiber art. 

Reflections by Marla Niederer 

Mission accomplished!

Winter Sky by Marla L. Niederer

It’s not too late to sign up for my online class Fire Goddess that is currently being presented on AforArtistic. 

If you would like to learn more about the class and to sign up and join in on the fun just click on the following link to the AforArtistic website.

http://www.aforartistic.com/fire-goddess-with-marla-l-niederer-doll-artist.html

Newest Creations

I just wanted to share with you my progress on the flower fairies I have been working on.  As you can tell I have definitely been inspired by the beautiful colors of this fall and all that shines.  Each Fairy is needle-sculpted cloth that is hand painted with watercolors and embellished with hand beading.  I am still working on another one but taking time to photograph each process step by step so I can share how to create them in a future online class.  Hope you like them :-)

Class at Quinlan Show

I just wanted to share some pictures taken at the Quinlan Artist Doll and Teddy Bear Convention in Philadelphia where I had the pleasure of teaching a class on how to needle sculpt a cloth doll head and how to use watercolors for skin tone and facial coloration.  

It was an absolutely wonderful experience.  The class was a lot of fun to teach. The convention is a wonderful setting to meet other artists and make lots of new friends.  I hope you join me in attending the convention next year!

Boudoir Dolls

When I visited my grandmother as a small child I remember that she always had a doll seated on top of the console TV and one on her bed.  The dolls were dressed in beautiful costumes with full ruffled skirts.  I was always fascinated with these dolls, and if I recall correctly, they were boudoir dolls.

Boudoir dolls were popular during the 1920’s.   When I started creating dolls I became intrigued with Lenci dolls and fell in love with the Lenci boudoir dolls. There were several different types made but the ones that fascinated me the most were the ones elaborately dressed in romantic court dresses such as those worn by Marie Antoinette.   Out of my love for these dolls I created Mistique and costumed her with all of the ruffles and frills I could imagine worn by a beautiful boudoir doll.

Mistique is a 17” needle-sculpted ball jointed cloth doll inspired by the romantically styled boudoir dolls of the 1920’s that I have always loved.  I will be teaching a workshop on how to create your own Mistique on May 22^nd online for A for Artistic.  This work-shop will present a multitude of cloth doll making techniques. You will receive instruction on needle-sculpting a cloth doll head, hands, and feet. The workshop will present techniques on creating hidden ball joints, using watercolors for cloth doll facial coloring, needle-felting an elaborate hairstyle, how to create an elaborate costume, and how to create beautiful doll shoes. All of these techniques will be presented while you are in the process of creating a beautiful heirloom doll!

Hope to see you in class!

Day 18 of 51 Days of Art

 

I wanted to share with you some pictures of my progress on the Make a Face Challenge which I entered on the Cloth Doll Studio Facebook page.  If you hadn’t read my previous post the challenge was to use the pattern for Queen of Hearts created by Sharon Mitchell.  I chose to use some different needle-sculpting techniques, needle-felted the hair on, and used watercolor pencils for the facial coloring.    I need to finish her in the next two days to make the deadline.  Hopefully I will post the completed project in the next day or so.  I am still also working on the Warm Hugs tutorial and Sea Nymphs have started dancing in my head waiting to be created.  So little time, so much to create!

New Year, New Projects!

Of course I didn't add complete my unfinished projects to my New Year resolutions list.  How ridiculous would that be?  Instead I chose to embark on three new projects.  I am very excited about each one.  First since I so thoroughly enjoyed presenting an online class on the A for Artistic website, I decided to create another one.   And since I was working on one online class why not work on two at the same time?

This is a picture of the needle-sculpted heads I am working on for the two new workshops.  They both will utilize new watercolor techniques that I have developed for facial coloring.  My goal is to create the dolls to look like they have just walked out of a watercolor painting.  I must say I am really enjoying the process of creating them.

The third project came about during the holidays while I was surfing the net (yes sometimes I do get lost there).  I found a website that just absolutely touched my heart.  It is called Enchanted Makeovers.  You can see it by clicking here:         http://enchantedmakeovers.org/      The organization does makeovers of homeless shelters for women and children so they can have a place that is inspiring to a transformation in their lives.  It doesn't use the traditional let me help you philosophy.  It utilizes the philosophy where everyone in the equation is on equal ground and each person works together to enrich each others lives.  I contacted Terry who is the founder of the organization and asked if it would help if I created a pattern and tutorial for a child friendly stuffed doll for Enchanted Makeovers.  She was really excited about the project so I started to develop a pattern for "Warm Hugs."  I just  started working on developing the pattern and will keep you posted when I get a little further along and have some pictures to share.  

Watercolor Journal

I bought a book called "Artist's Journal Workshop" by Cathy Johnson and was so inspired that I decided to start a watercolor journal last week. Instead of painting a page a day I chose to paint a little bit each day. Now I just need to keep motivated to continue painting every day!