More Doodle Fun

There's just something about creating something out of nothing. Doodling is a soft form or art. It doesn't have to be particularly good, it's purpose is to pass the time and to help get the creative flow going.
When I'm having trouble getting my artistic muse to show her lovely face I get out a pen or pencil and begin a doodle. Some have Zentangle elements, some are more of a sketched doodle, while others are random patterns... but the most fun are when I put all three together and create a large Uber-doodle using the open scribble as my starting point.

 Starting by holding your pencil loosely, move your hand/arm freely and flowingly around the page to create a large flowy design.
Add words, images, designs ~ repeat your patterns and imagery around the page to create flow and balance.
Remember to use Small, Medium and Large elements to make your doodle more interesting.

 I absolutely love Paisley - Fun factoid, Brad Paisley has Paisley designs on all of his guitars... they're beautiful.
Finding a design for paisley or any other design can be as easy as opening your closet, a magazine or checking out packaging on popular products.
What designs are you attracted to?
Are there recurring patterns in your life? What are they? Doodle them.

Adding color is always a blast... I try to keep it to 5 colors or less. But, I often blend a couple colors together OR do light and dark of the same color giving the image of more colors.

Smile ~ Laugh ~ Create ART!

Liquid Acrylics and India Ink

From Bold and Beautiful, to soft and subtle... using liquid color can give you a very unique element to your Art Journal pages. I personally like the Bold look better... but, play with your options and find what works for you.
To achieve a softer look try:
~ diluting a few drops into some water and apply with a brush or a spray bottle.
~ apply gesso to your page, let dry, then add your liquid color.
~ spray your page with water and apply the color with a dropper or paint brush.
~ apply color to the page and then spray with a water bottle.
Play around and see what effects you can create. You can also stamp, blot and stencil liquid color.

To achieve a dark, bold look:
~ stamp, paint, stencil, blot, drizzle, dab, etc the color directly onto a fresh, untreated page of your art journal.
~ you can also spray with water to give it a more water color effect.

But, above all else, Have FUN!
Here are two pages I did with India Ink.

I created the backgrounds together using the same colors to create unison and flow.
The left side I added Gesso ~ so it's a softer more washed out color. On the right I added it directly to the paper for a bolder look.
I love both looks.

 The softer color palette was perfect for me to embellish with words and art. I wanted to just play with the, "I am..." prompt which I had seen the day before, after all that is one of the main purposes of keeping an Art Journal - Positive Affirmation
~ I added more color to the words and banner at the top
~ Played with a package of ephemera that I had laying around until I achieved the right dynamic.
~ Before gluing them down I edged them with pigment ink stamp pads in bright colors then in black.
~ Lastly I grunged the edges and the whole page.

I actually did quite a bit more to this page after the initial liquid ink application.
~ To start, Black stamping and writing in white gel pens over the bold color added contrast.
~ Washi tape and ribbon help to create motion and lines.
~ Messy circles in pen and marker around my bright, bold dots enhance and emphasize the shapes.
~ Added ephemera creates interest and a three-D element. As with the other side I added color to the edges with pigment ink stamp pads then again in black.
~ Because all my ephemera is game pieces I thought it fitting to  use the phrase, "Life is NOT a GAME" in  my heart.
~ I also finished this page by grunging the edges and the whole page.
Smile ~ Laugh ~ Create Art

Bountiful Beauties

If you're new to my blog, Welcome, come join me for a cup of coffee/tea. If you've been here a while thank you for coming back, the pot is always on. New friend, acquaintance or long time cherished friend, I hope my blog inspires you to find your own creative path and perhaps to begin your own art journal. The options for Art Journaling are endless, I can only share my styles, tips, tricks and techniques with you... My hope is that you fall in love with Art Journaling, search up other styles as well as mine and then find your own style.

I've been working on a series of women who express pure femininity. The theme I've chosen for these women is Bountiful Beauties; strong beautiful women, powerful affirmations, bold colors and of course sexy, stylized portraitures.

Steps 1-3

The methods are pretty simple and standard.

1) Prep your background with interesting ephemera.

2) Choose your colors and begin playing, adding layers and interest upon the page.

3) Sketch your Beauty in carbon, lightly, so you can still make corrections if needed.
4) Paint face, hair and body. My eyes are a combination of marker, pencil

Steps 4-5

crayon and acrylics.

5) Stamp, Stencil or paint in some big bold flowers or other interesting items to compliment                         your beauty.

Steps 6-8

6)Continue adding layers of color to hair, background and your beauty until you have the desired effect.
7) Stencil or write in your Affirmation.
8) Finish with bold black marker, white highlights and any other detail that captures your fancy.

You're AMAZING!
Keep practicing and pouring your heart into your Art Journals.
Remember it's your journal, if you want to journal in the background, in your beauties hair or underneath the paint in the early stages, DO IT! It adds interest and helps to add to the therapeutic part of Art and Art Journaling.

*Color
I simply love playing with different color combinations. I find it refreshing and exciting to put new and unconventional colors together...the end result always surprises me.

*Cheep Thrills
Buying a new bold color palate to me is such a rush.
The possibilities and fun to be had in those little paint tubes is a big thrill... I know, it's such an artsy thing to say. Sigh

*Journals
I use heavy weight Art Journals, but you can use lighter weight paper just gesso/mod podge two pages together. OR use old books~up-cycling is fun & thrifty.

*Affirmations
What speaks to you? What inspires you? What motivates you?

*Ooooops,
I realized after I had written the word "Soar" that there was a bunch of room underneath and the spacing didn't quite work... so I wrote the word, "High". But, amusingly I had already added the exclamation mark... so, it looks like I'm encouraging ppl to do drugs. NOT!
I amuse myself sometimes.

As always, it was so nice to see you and thank you again for stopping by.
Please share your work with me.
All the work on this blog is the sole property of Danine Mroz of Prairie Mroz Art and may NOT be used without the written permission of Ms. Mroz. Thank you.

Reality Bits & Bites

Today I decided to step outside my comfort zone a little. Though I love drawing faces and sketching people the painting of a face is another story for me. It's a bit of a mystery to me and that really bites. Then there is the background... what the heck do I do with the background? The background always leaves me a bit frustrated. But, then I begin and I let my intuition take over and everything is ok with the Universe once again.

So  today I began my art journey by watching a couple Pam Carriker youTube videos on how to add portraits into your art Journal. Miss Carriker is a beautiful artist and gives amazing instruction (in case you're interested). But, her  videos are meant to entice you to sign up for her on-line art classes... I just don't have the patience or the cash flow to do that right now which also bites. Soooooo, I watch the video a few times through and do my best. In fact I feel that I learn a lot by doing it this way and the final product is more mine than if I took some on-line course.
The bit I find interesting is how during the process, I go from liking what I have created in the beginning, to not liking it in the middle and back to liking it by the end. Kind of a strange bit...

This is my process:

1) Draw a face and add some shading. You can also use an old book,

 or music sheets, etc to draw on,so you will see some 

of the words peaking through. 

(If you use a book or separate paper to draw your face, 

cut it out and mod podge it to your journal.)

2)Mix some Titan Buff with a little water and gel medium and paint over

 the face. While waiting for it to dry begin to add some soft colors 

to your background and some collage.

3)Blend two different skin tones into the titan buff. 

One to give you a high light and another to create a low light, 

then apply them accordingly to the areas of your portrait.

4)Do a little stamping or writing on your background to start creating depth.

5)Keep working your face and background until you have your desired affects.

Be patient with yourself. I find it useful to walk away for a bit and then come back to see my work with fresh eyes.
Live happy, Be creative, and Love Yourself!
Danine

How to Create a Fantastic Art Journal page

When I first began doing art journals I had no clue as to where to start or how to layer my work to give me the best results. I have watched countless tutorials, read several books and viewed many art journal pages, this is the process I have come up with "How to Create a Fantastic Art Journal page".

1) Begin by picking your palate. I usually work with three main colours and versions of them plus black & white. If you're a beginner it's a great idea to invest in a colour wheel, one that tells you which are complimentary colours etc.
Some of my favorite colour combo's are
- Black, White, & Red
- Pink, Yellow & White
- Teal, Cream & Purple
- Fuchsia, Lime Green, & Orange
- Brown, Sage & Rose
- Orange, Yellow & Blue
- Lime Green, Black & Hot pink
I hope you play with colour a little to see what colours appeal to you. Or go through some magazines and just pull pages that you are drawn to to find your colour palette.

2) Begin by applying a wash or glaze in the lightest colour. Start layering come colour, shades of existing colour and textures on top. Use you brushes, fingers, bubble wrap, insides of coffee holders, sponges, plastic bags, etc.
Paint Glaze= 1 part paint-2-3 parts water-1 part acrylic glazing medium Wash= paint + water to thin
*Note- always let each application DRY before adding another colour, unless you want the colours to blend. Too many colours blending together will make for a muddy looking page.

3) Add some texture and interest to your page by stamping some text, musical notes, or other interesting subject to the page. You can also put your personality into the page by drawing a picture of your own then painting it. I have also added decorated, stamped or coloured tissue paper at this point.

4) At this point you can begin adding collage or altered collage images to your page. You can select a theme or just use random pictures out of old magazines. You may also want to add some three dimensional pieces to your work; paper or cloth flowers, brads, beads, feathers, etc.

5) Next I add a bit more paint, often white or gesso in areas that I want to mute out and give a bit of pop. Or I will add low-lights in a darker colour or deeper shade of a colour that is already there to create more depth.

6) Doodle time. I keep pictures of doodles around to give me inspiration on my doodles. Just play and be creative, don't over think it.

7) Journal- a poem, your wishes and dreams, a letter to yourself or another loved one, song lyrics... it's your journal, what do you want to say?

At this point your pretty much done, you can always doodle a bit more or add some more highlights with a white gel pen  if you like, but that's it. I hope you have enjoyed making some art.

Cheers,
Danine

Fly

Happy New Year!

I began a new art journal today~Seeds.
I'm joining the Milliande community in this art journaling project.
~ Sowing a seed Vs. Being the seed
~ Daily or Weekly journaling entries.

Day 1 is entitled "Fly"
Mediums used ~ Water colours, calligraphy pens, nibs & inks, prisma colour pencil crayons, white gel pen.

I wrote my verse in white gel pen, it reads:

Let me fly upon the Wind of Whimsy to places unknown, adventures anew.
Let me land upon fertile soils that may enrich my creative journey.
Let my roots grow deep and strong and may I drink from the pools of Wisdom.
Let me grow strong & branches be many,
ever reaching out in many directions towards
Abundance, Friendship, & Community always supporting others,
sharing my fruit, And being ALL that I'm meant to Be.

I choose the seed of the Maple Tree for several reasons. The first being that it has always
amused and fascinated me. As a child I would watch it as it floated, fluttered and flew upon
the wind as if by magic. It's structure sturdy like a helicopter yet feathery and beautiful like
 the wings of a butterfly. "Where are you going?", I would ask. Following it with my eyes
as it danced upon the wind gracefully to the ground. How it gave, and yes still does, give me joy.

Secondly, it is the seed of the Maple tree, the tree that gives Canada it's beautiful
national symbol, the Maple Leaf. Enough said. :)

Thirdly, the Maple tree is strong majestic and beautiful, it's leaves changing to so many
amazing shades of red and orange in the fall. If you tap into it it gives you the most
delicious sap to be turned into Maple Syrup, Canadian liquid gold.
As my poem says, I hope to grow in my art, with strong roots, a sturdy trunk, many
branches and one day be a source of strength, support and wisdom for others.

I look forward to seeing your pages on Milliande.ning.com

Danine