The many faces of Danine Mroz

Beauty is all around us and comes in so many forms. That is especially true when it comes to peoples faces. I have always been fascinated with the human face, as a matter of fact, people watching is one of my favorite past times. In the last year I have studied many styles of portraiture and have tried my hand at many of them... I simply can't decide on one style alone, they are all fabulous.

So I present you with my many faces, a look at the different portrait styles that I do.
Shall we?

For some of the portrait styles I have made up my own name for them, such as my "Fanciful Stylized Angels" which have been heavily inspired by Kelly Rae Roberts book, "Take Flight". I would like to thank Miss Roberts for sharing her passion and art with me and the world. I hope that my art is not seen as an infringement but a compliment to her and her art.
This piece is called "Whisper" 12x12 mixed media on canvas. It will be available for sale on my Etsy store, 'Prairie Mroz Art' later this week.

Another style I simply can't get enough of is Whimsical faces. The quirky misshapen faces are so adorable and childlike to me. They remind me of babies, faeries and all things make-believe. I tend to make my whimsies with squarish or oval faces most often. There are tons of amazing artist on YouTube that do this style incredibly well, Tam from Willowing.com has been a huge influence on me. I love her spirit, her joy and the gentle nurturing care that she brings to each lesson and tutorial that she gives. Thank you Tam.

My "Super-Viva-Glam" dollz are somewhat a creation of my own. With their big, no ENORMOUS expressive eyes, heads far too large for their bodies and flawless skin they would make any Hollywood starlet green with envy. Fun for the young and young at heart, I often create a "Friendship" grouping for clients. This is one of those pieces, done for my friend Heather Gagne. I do take orders for these, any size, any number of dollz. I work from a photo(s) of the girls/ladies you wish to feature in the painting. Contact me for pricing. 

The other style I create is some what stylized expressionistic Old World all rolled into one. It sort of happened organically as I was working on the pieces. As I was working on the stylized piece the colors of her face were working out but everything seemed flat and boring to me... so I started adding wild, bright colors to it. This is one of my favorite pieces, it's called "The Heart Knows" 12 x 16 mixed media on canvas.  

I hope you like my many faces. Each face is special and precious,, I love them all. I hope you enjoy them too. Please do stop by my Etsy shop at
"Prairie Mroz Art"
Love and Laughter,
Danine

Find your Passion

Today, doing what you love, being grateful and embracing the inner joy associated with the work you love.

"Love what you do and do what you love."
Whether that may be art, music, singing, sports, journalism, stock trades or what have you, the passion for it creates love which in turn makes this World a more beautiful place to live. I suggest that if you are currently in a crap-tacular job that you hate; either quit it right now and find a better one OR start a hobby that will fill you with JOY! When you're filled with a passion  for life and all that you do in it, there comes an energy  from within you, pulsing from you, drawing good things to you. Find it! Recognize it! Cherish it!
My passions are the things I often write about in my art-journals. They inspire me to continue to create and fuel me with their positive energy. If you don't already have something in your life that fuels this passion ask yourself; "What did I love doing when I was 5, 12, 15?" "What does my inner child want to do today?" Be playful and creative and just see what happens next. Write about how you feel during different activities and see if a new hobby is just waiting to happen. (Side note: you can learn almost anything via YouTube) You're never too old, or too young. Nothing is too silly. Above all else, never stand in your own way of being great.

What inspires you to create? What are the things you're passionate about? What gives you energy?

Write 5 things that you're grateful for each day. OR Before falling asleep at night say them to yourself.

"Joy, Love and Happiness are feelings that multiply 3 fold when you share them with others."
Much love to you all. Thank you for sharing in my art journey.

Danine Mroz
Prairie Mroz Art

A Whale's Tale

I don't know what possessed me to take on a Doodle of this magnitude, but the little voice inside me head said Go For It. At 11x14 it's the biggest doodle I have ever done and it took me over 20 hrs to complete. The concept came from an underwater doodle I seen a while back and it sort of grew from that.

 Here it is along with a couple close ups. I hope you like it.

Weekend Fun

My apologies for being absent for a while. Life and kids and stuff... you know how it goes. Sigh

I'm here to share with you some fabulous new Zen-Doodles. I hope you like them they're one of my favorite thing to do to pass the time on a rainy day, sitting having coffee, pretty much any time.

I was first introduced to the art of Zen-Doodling/Zentangling on the Milliande community art pages shared by other members. I was awe struck by how beautiful these creations were and how different and special each one was. I started searching the web for tutorials and found a good deal on YouTube. At first I was copying others (which is totally fine, you can use mine for inspiration is you like) and soon I was creating my own. I find my inspirations from men's ties, decorated boxes, clothing, books, etc. Designs are everywhere... just keep your eyes open.

The two main patterns here, the Zentangled Mooka (heart shapes) and the centre pattern I learned from YouTube videos courtesy of Rick Robert and Maria Thomas the founders of Zentangle. Their YouTube home is "Zentangle" and they have a lot of fantastic video's showing you how to create your own beautiful works. Many people find great peace and relaxation while doing this technique and use it as a form of Meditation... hence the name "Zen"-tangle. I know I could spend hours at my desk mindlessly creating Zendoodles, and I have. I find that the more I do the better I become at them... as with all art. The one area that I'm still not fantastic at with my Zendoodles is the shading in. But I will keep working on that. :D 

My second ZenDoodle is a combination of hearts, flowers and paisley's that are inspired by many amazing YouTube video's by "miraculousmosquito", her stuff blows me away. She has countless YouTube videos, "how to build" flowers, leaves, paisley... as well as some very interesting trees, and other shapes that are out of this world. I simply can't say enough about her... she is indeed "Miraculous". Along with Zentangles that I have picked up from "milliande" whom you can find on YouTube or at her art community site "milliande.ning.com" and share you work with others. :D Which I highly recommend by the way. The community is very encouraging and it has been wonderful getting to know other creative ppl from around the globe.

Lastly, my 'Flowers and Ribbon'. Yesterday I found a YouTube video by "rainbowelephant61" who, among other things, showed me how to create these fantastic ribbons. I wasn't sure what to do with them at first... so I thought, "Well, I love to do flowers" and that's what I did. I'm very happy with the results. I decided to do the ribbons in different colors and then keep to traditional black for the flowers. Just the thing I think. :D


So that's all. I hope you like them and check out the YouTubers and start creating some/more of your own. 
Cheers for now.
Danine

Playing Around

Why is it so hard for me to PLAY? I freely admit that I'm far to serious for my own good. Have I always been this way? Possibly so. I have always found playing intimidating. What if I did it wrong? What if the others laughed at me? What if no one wanted to play with me? So more times than not I played by myself. I understand now that this comes with being an introverted personality and there is nothing wrong with enjoying your own company over that of others. In fact many great minds and creative people throughout history were introverted. But, even though I understand this I still wonder why it is so hard for me to play.

When I watch a child playing it's such a joyful event to behold. I'm often in awe at the simple grace of their movement and the sheer carefreeness of their actions. They don't need permission to run, giggle, jump, swing, create, dance and just simply play, they simply play. I greatly admire those children and the adults who have retained their childlike playfulness.

I know deep down there is a small child within me struggling to get out and she's adorable. I"m learning to show her gentleness, acceptance and love when I sit down to paint. I recently decided to try a little carefree abstract to allow my little one some play time and this is the finished product.

Acrylic on paper 22 x 30in

A close up of the central spatter.

I was quite proud of my PLAY time and what I had accomplished on those days. Many layers and some very dirty hands later I was satisfied with my creation and how playful I could actually be when I create. Now to move onto canvas and play, play, play.

Yes indeed that should be FUN!!

What's Your Style

Spring has sprung and I'm very excited to go shopping for some new clothes. Just thinking about the beautiful new clothing lines on the department store racks gets my heart thumping and my wallet burning a hole in my pocket. Though I would have to admit that I find clothing and the designers who create them to be very artistic that's not the "Style" I'm referring to in my blog today.

Eduard Fleminsky Abstract
 Modern-Age Impressionism

Artistic Style! I'm not a trained artist and I have never studies all the amazing artists and styles out there that have come before me/us.  But even I know who Monet, Pollock, Van Gogh, da Vinci and Michelangelo are and have greatly admired their works as well as many others. As a self taught artist who is still trying to discover my style I have some burning questions, 'Does the artist choose their style OR does the style choose the artist'? What is the true measure of an artist? Can they turn on and off different styles, creating paintings in whichever style they choose on an given day? OR does the art and image come to life through the artist who is merely a conduit for the art itself?


Like a fashion newby, young adult, green artist I have tried on a lot of styles, hoping to find the right one for me. Some styles have felt very comfortable and other styles have felt quite awkward. I have days where I'm distracted and the art just doesn't want to flow through me, on those days I really struggle. Other days the art comes to me and I see it clearly in my head. On those days I know which colors to reach for, how to lay them on the canvas and the brush seems to move it's self. On those magical days the style that happens on the canvas seem to be my own with no distinctive "Style" but rather several styles all smooshed together. Is that how many artist feel? Work? Create?

I'll leave it at that today. With some burning questions that some day may reveal themselves to me in those special "Ahh Haa" moments.  I would love to hear from you. Have you had a break through with your art and discovered your style? Are you classically trained or a self taught/discovered artist?

Have a wonderful day, create and be happy.

"Steal like an ARTIST"

I recently picked up a fabulous mini book called, "Steal Like an ARTIST" by Austin Kleon. This fantastic little book renewed my confidence as an artist.

"Steal Like an Artist" is chalked full of advice and artistic gems teaching you that it's alright to get your information and inspiration from other artists and the like. No idea is a new idea, just old ideas with a new spin on them. Without giving too much of the book away, one of my favorite pieces of advice Austin gives inspired me to do more research on some of my favorite artists and then to emulate what they have done. In doing so I was shocked and amazed that not only am I, "Stealing Like and Artist"  these artists, the ones that I so admire, also "Steal" from the artists they admire. Wow, what a break through and what a confirmation.

Austin also gives you permission to begin where you are. DON'T wait until you THINK you're good enough... just begin. No one is a brilliant writer or an amazing artist, a poised dancer or a dynamic singer the first day they start. No one! Think about that if you will for a moment. All the writers and artist. All the dancers and singers they all had to start some where and even though many, yes even most, of them might have natural talent for their given passion they had/have to put in thousands of hours practicing and sucking just like the rest of us. Until one day they feel like they are good enough to share what they do with the rest of the world. Some may feel like they are never good enough, yet they keep doing what they do for the pure pleasure of creating their work for their own selfish pleasure. For many, that's enough. I call that "Art Therapy" which is a topic for another day. :D

So, embrace where you are right now and begin. Then do it again and again and again. Let those you admire be the inspiration to keep you going through the rough patches, through the writers block, or through your own negative demons. Learn to "Steal Like an Artist" and keep moving forward. You will be happy that you did.