A to Z Blog Challenge: K is for...

 Keeping a record

 

Do you have a problem remembering what you achieved during the course of the year? Or do you need to read multiple pages in a journal, search through many folders to remind yourself what you had created? I have had to until I got tired of that effort. My single new year's resolution for 2026? Find a way to make my end-of-year reflection easier.

  I have many blank sketchbooks and dug through my stash to find one which I thought would be suitable. It has 86 pages, is suitable for drawing and a light water application, so I can do whatever I feel would work for this idea. So far I have done just that. The layout is still evolving, but one page per month will make my end-of-year reflection a process of reflection, instead of a process of searching and wondering.

  Want to learn more about how the process is working for me? I explained it in more detail on my Substack, to keep this post short.

Until tomorrow!

🇿🇦💜 Linzé

CreativeLife update: art, the novel, and that pesky geyser problem

Hey there creative friend!

Our pesky geyser problem has finally been fixed, and I have started work on repairing the ceiling in my studio. It's mostly scraping off the flaking paint, and then repainting it. Most of the water damage was inside the cupboard, which made it awkward for someone who doesn't like ladders, to reach. But I managed.

Of course, I could ask Hubs, but it's my studio and I like painting walls and ceilings, which he certainly doesn't. And if you don't like something, you either postpone it, or you do a crap job. Since a crap job was not an option, it meant that I had to do it.

Reorganising is still a challenge. Since I want to move some furniture around, it is taking time with unpacking and moving and storing stuff again. Also a good time to get rid of things. I have already put aside a lot of pencils, and other materials, but they are still in the house. I want to put everything up on a website maybe in two or three batches to sell. I thought of donating everything, but advertising it might interest someone who actually needs a few things and don't live in my area. I will share where and when everything is available.

At least now I can get into my studio and work on some larger panels again. The tiny watercolours are still fun, but the big brushes are calling and those are the most fun to play with.

My 10th novel's editing is going well. The final edit is in progress, then it needs to be proofread and formatted for publication. The cover still needs some work, but I will have a chat with Hubs since he is my cover guy. This means I could actually make the new May deadline! Woohoo!

The A to Z blog challenge is underway if you want to have a look at the other kind of stuff I am up to in April. The next post is tomorrow.

Until next time!

🇿🇦💜 Linzé

A to Z Blog Challenge: J is for...

Art Journal

or Lifebook in my case

I have been a fan of Tamara Laporte's lifebook for years. A private space for thoughts, often covered up by a painting. This year our art group is back on doing a monthly lifebook entry as part of our creative practice.

Sharing is optional to the members of the group. I would sometimes share my painting, collage, or drawing but the private stuff would either be covered up at that point, or simply done after.

I choose a theme for us, since it can be difficult to choose a reference (or idea) when one's private thoughts are not always conducive to artistic expression.

This past March, the theme was Growth. Each member of the group could interpret the theme in any way they wanted, but it also gives some guidance for personal reflection. To be honest, I don't write in my Lifebook, because I have a journal and don't need a theme or a reminder to use it. It has been a practice of more than 40 years for me, so the art is just another opportunity for some fun.

>>> My March Lifebook interpretation of the theme, done with acrylic brush markers and metallic gel pens.

Until tomorrow for a CreativeLife update post. The A to Z challenge resumes on Monday.

🇿🇦💜Linzé

A to Z Blog Challenge: I is for...

In the Dollhouse We All Wait

by Amanda M. Blake - a book feature

Buy link: AMAZON

Synopsis

An extreme horror novel of privilege, cruelty, and survival—splatterpunk at its most unflinching.

“In the dollhouse, if you don’t play with Annie…she plays with you.”

Sam Frain thinks she’s found the perfect a live-in nanny position in a sprawling mansion owned by one of the wealthiest families in the country.

The job seems simple: Take care of Annie Lange.

Annie may look like a grown woman, but she lives inside a world built for a little girl—frilly dresses, scripted games, rigid rules, and what seems like every doll in the world.

As Sam learns the true nature of Annie’s games, she’s forced into a waking nightmare of psychological domination, grotesque excess, and carefully curated cruelty. In this gilded cage where money erases morality, survival means choosing whether to resist—or become part of the performance.

Blending the social unease of The Nanny Diaries with the ruthless brutality of Hostel II, In the Dollhouse We All Wait is a harrowing work of extreme horror that explores power, complicity, and the terrifying truth that the rich really are different.

Buy link: AMAZON

Excerpt

The gown on the mannequin in front of Sam enthralled her: gold brocade that wouldn’t have been out of place in Elizabethan costume, although this gown had more modern lines. The thread looked like it had been spun from real gold. For all Sam knew, it had been. Seed pearls of different sizes had been sewn to the bodice in an elaborate pattern, like lace from the irritation of gastropods. At the décolletage, there was even a diamond brooch—probably real, because why wouldn’t it be?

The mannequins came to a complete stop, skirts rustling like woods in a light wind. Sam stepped closer to the display case to get a better look at the details, the elaborate collar framing red ringlets and ‘Queen of Hearts’-painted lips and eyelids. Sam wondered if Annie had made the pearl headdress, too.

The quality of mannequin in the Dream House exceeded that of any boutique or department store. Most places deliberately tried to make mannequins look more stylized to keep them from entering the realm of uncanny. Either these mannequins had already been uncannily human or Annie had made them so to better display the quality of her gowns, similar to what she’d done with the altered Barbies.
Sam took another step closer. She didn’t want to leave prints on such beautiful art displays, but she wanted a closer look at that diamond brooch to figure out how real it was, how it caught the light…

The mannequin blinked.

Sam jerked back, just as another waltz started. She didn’t know the name of this one, and she barely heard it as the turntables spun the mannequins once more. She struggled to follow, trying to see if she’d seen what she thought she’d seen. A trick of light, maybe from the turntable starting, or maybe Sam herself had blinked, or maybe there’d been one of those stealth power surges that made her wonder if she or the lights had dimmed. 

Sam ran around the spinning turntable, daring herself not to blink if she could help it. Maybe it was just her panic and disorientation in basement sunlight, but it seemed like the mannequin’s face was sadder, brows low over the dark eyes. Was that a tear running down the mannequin’s face, or had the tear always been there, or was it just another trick of the light?

About the Author

A mass of tentacles and rose vines masquerading as a person, Amanda M. Blake is the author of horror titles IN THE DOLLHOUSE WE ALL WAIT, QUESTION NOT MY SALT, and DEEP DOWN, dark poetry collection DEAD ENDS, and the Thorns fairy tale mash-up series.

Alt-historical plague novel MASQUE releases in 2027 through Quill & Crow.

For more, visit amandamblake.com.

A to Z Blog Challenge: H is for...

The 100 day project

and 100 Tiny Treasures

The 2026 edition of #the100dayproject started on 22 February. Today is the 47th day since the start of the challenge, and by some miracle I have been keeping up a daily creative practice.

Last year I spent more of the time writing, but so far I have only used two days to write, and not draw or paint. This does not mean that I haven't written during the other days, I have. I do have a book to finish, so writing (and editing) is necessary so I won't miss the new publication deadline in May.

And then I decided to do #100tinytreasures. These are tiny paintings and the perfect solution for days where I have to focus on the book. The tiny treasures is not a challenge but a quest (alias the inventor, Leslie Stroz) to make 100 tiny paintings in a year. So not everyday, but often enough to keep the creative interest, and a perfect solution for the 100 day project too.

And just so you know: I don't count the A to Z challenge blog posts towards the 100 day project. And on that note here are a few of those tiny paintings.

Until tomorrow!

🇿🇦💜 Linzé

A to Z Blog Challenge: G is for...

Graphite

The most basic of all art mediums, the humble drawing pencil remains a favourite.

A friend asked me last night which graphite pencils I like to draw with, and I had to think for a moment. While I usually reach for my trusty 2H first, I have been drawing with a 5H pencil as well. And this choice is the result of the paper I am drawing on.

The 5H pencil just seemed be the best choice for drawing on Canson Sandgrain paper. We have an oil based material project for April, and I chose oil pastels. The harder pencils don't smudge easily, so the oil pastel won't get dirty because I smudge the first layer of the painting with my fingers. I love Sandgrain paper, although I know many artists don't because of its abrasive surface.

But here is another oil pastel I did on Sandgrain paper - it is based on an acrylic painting tutorial by Michelle the Painter on YouTube.

Until tomorrow!

🇿🇦💜 Linzé

A to Z Blog Challenge: F is for...

 Friends

Doing art with friends, is one of the best ways to stay creative. You don't have to paint or draw the same thing; just sharing the process can be great fun and inspiring.

It is one of my favourite things to look forward every week: spending two hours with friends painting or drawing. Since we all decided to take part in Leslie Stroz's 100 tiny paintings in a year, the meetings have become even more fun.

We have a private group, where we share our paintings and support each other, and share ideas to keep going since this is a longer project than what we would normally do.

Tiny painting No 2. 7x7cm - ink and wash

Until tomorrow!

🇿🇦💜 Linzé