The 100 day project Week 8 (Day 50 to Day 56)

Hey there, creative friends!

When I started this challenge, I just hoped that I could keep up with a daily creative practice, but this week started with Day 50. Mind blowing that we are halfway already!

I do have a problem now, with the next novel which is scheduled for release at the end of the month, my time is getting really limited until I finish working through the edits.

Any painting, or writing words for the next book, have to wait until the edits are done.

But I did manage to finish the Raven drawing, and did some more sketchbook work to start the second half of the 100day project challenge.

Until next week!

💜 Linzé

Day 50

A small (10cm x 10cm) canvas done with acrylic markers. The sun looks more like a fire than our star. Oh, well. 😏

Time: 30 minutes

Days 50 to 53

I got the final edits back from my editor on Thursday last week. With the release date at the end of the month, I had to commit my time to working through the edits and the comments she had made to fix some issues.

Visitors to my blog have the opportunity for an exclusive discount and getting the book before it is officially released on 30 April 2025.

Use this link to Tiger Gold - the Strike Masters, to see if it might interest to you. Please note there is an email requirement. I don't have a mailing list anymore, so there won't be any spam from me.

Day 54

And it's done. A challenge for sure because of its size, but I loved doing it. Graphite is one of my favourite mediums, so I will definitely do another big drawing. But my next big project is an acrylic / mixed media painting on canvas.

Time: 30 minutes

Total time: 16 hours 30 minutes

Day 55

I made tags from tags attached to some socks I bought.

They are small and could easily be used for spine dangles on a junk journal or to decorate a bigger tag, or something else. I haven't decided yet where they will end up.

I also finished another sketchbook. It had just one spread left. Stickers and collage spreads only - no drawing or painting.

I picked two spreads to share.

I made the sketchbook using craft paper. It is 6cm wide and 9.5 cm high. It is now filed with the other full sketchbooks. Awesome feeling! 🥳

Tags: 1 hour

Sketchbook: 20 minutes

Day 56

An abstract coffee cup painted with gouache in my TBS sketchbook. Only three pagers left.

I really enjoy painting with gouache so it will be great if I can finish this sketchbook soon. 

Time: 3 hours

Cheating the Muse - Letter Q

Hey there, creative friends!

Thank you to everyone who has visited my blog. If I missed your question when I wrote this post, I promise to answer it in the comments.

So here is Lissa's question: "Why is your blog named 'Butterfly on a broomstick'? This could have an easy explanation. But I'm curious if there might be something special to it."

My reply: To be honest, Lissa, it took me a while to remember 🤦🏼‍♀️ because once I created the blog in 2011, I didn't think about it again. Until today. 😃

Although the dragonfly is my favourite insect, it is a predator and not quite the image I wanted for my blog. I do like butterflies and picked them for the aesthetic side of creativity. The broom can represent many things, but when it comes to creativity, to me, it represents the "work and effort" side of things. Not in a negative way, but art or any creative project requires some effort to make it happen.

Thank you for your question, Lissa, and the reminder of why I chose the name.

Don't forget to visit for the Letter S post (Tuesday, 22 April 2025). I have a special surprise for my blog visitors.

On Wednesday, I will share a few tips that have helped me improve my artistic skills - in the Letter T post.

Until Monday!

💜 Linzé

Cheating the Muse - Letter P

Hey there, creative friends!

Having a studio inside the house can be a pain, mostly because I don't want to make a mess since some materials will leave a permanent mark. But I have watched a few YouTube videos with junk journalers using a box to spray inks onto their projects because they have to film it for their channels. And I thought: I can use that!

I used the biggest box I could find; I often keep the packaging from things we buy and cut it down to make it shallower. Then, I lined it with layers of newspaper for the purpose of pouring paint projects.

You might have seen those; some people do the most amazing things by literally pouring paint onto a canvas. Me? I don't make paintings like that. I made a few small ones to get a feel for the fluidity of the paints, but not as a complete project.

I do pour paint. And lots of it too, but to colour the background for a painting, especially mixed media paintings. I have one hanging in my office as a reminder that it still needs to be finished - it's a seascape. But the box works! If Hubs is busy away from home, I use his garage to set up the process. It has more space than my studio, but I am still using the box. Then I make a mess with my hands and on my apron, but it is loads of fun.

>> Tomorrow, we have the Letter Q. I will use it to answer any questions you might have. Please leave your questions in the comments below. Thank you! ☺️

Until tomorrow!

💜 Linzé 

Cheating the Muse - Letter O

Hey there, creative friends!

Today's post is something I think we all can relate to. You know, when you go, oops!

We all make mistakes: at work, at home, in life, with a creative project, nearly anything we do. It invariably happens when we do something for the first time.

My question is: since no one is perfect, why do we expect our creative projects, the paintings or the sculptures, to be perfect?

Yes, I am an engineer, and my brain has a distinctly logical way of thinking, but I am also an artist and a writer. And my engineering brain tells me to stop overthinking the perfection narrative and to just get on with it. Practice it if it's not something I am skilled in. And try again if the result is not right the first time. But perfection will never come from my drawing or writing pen, so why worry about it?

Oops! Yeah, I say that a lot, and then get on with it anyway. Okay, sometimes the oops sound more like f**k, but you get the point. Making mistakes is what we do, but not learning from it is the real disaster in my opinion.

Do you agree?

Thank you to all the lovely people visiting my blog this month.

A surprise for you (exclusive to my blog visitors) is coming with the Letter S post. If you like reading fantasy for adults, it might be just for you. (Hint: it's my new book, Tiger Gold)

Until tomorrow!

💜 Linzé

PS: On Saturday, we have the Letter Q. I will use it to try and answer any questions you might have. Please leave your questions in the comments below. Thank you! ☺️

Cheating the Muse - Letter N

Hey there, creative friends!

Today's post is about something new. Try out new art material, or dig in your stash and use one you haven't played with in a while. Or you can try a new type of art.

Have you tried collage art yet? And not using magazine papers or other preprinted materials. Instead, make your own papers and cut them or tear them up to create something new.

How about drawing a building if you usually draw people? Or do a landscape in oil pastel instead of oil paint.

The options are endless. Trying something new or different can inspire you to get out of that creative rut. Or inspire you to start a new project.

If you're a writer, how about a short story if you're a novel writer? Novels can be disheartening since they take much more time, but short stories are so satisfying, too. Or, if you write contemporary stories, why not try something in the fantasy genre? Or a historical novel? Just be careful of the rabbit hole called research. Trust me, we've all gotten lost in that one.

What have you always wanted to try? This could be a good time to cheat the muse and recharge your creative juices.

Until tomorrow!

💜 Linzé

Cheating the Muse - Letter M

Hey there, creative friend!

Happy halfway, A-to-Z blog challenge day! If you are taking part, well done so far. I have visited a few blogs, but will get to more in an about a week's time. I have a book deadline keeping me busy.

Do you like to make things? I do. Bookbinding is a favourite, but so are the models I have on my bookshelf. I have a lot of books, but we are fortunate to have a room in the house dedicated as a library. Loads of engineering textbooks, photo albums, lever arch files with the materials of courses we did, and then my fiction books. Hundreds of books. So, the bookshelf in my office has space for the models I built over the years.

The next model I plan to build is a Da Vinci clock and an apothecary cabinet. The clock is a model I bought, but I plan to make the cabinet from scratch and will have a blog series about it.

Unfortunately, this can only happen after April since I have a novel coming out on 30 April and lots of stuff to do for that. I don't do much marketing, but if you like fantasy books for adults, click the links on the eBook tab above to have a look.

I hope you're having a lovely, creative week.

Until tomorrow!

💜 Linzé

Cheating the Muse - Letter L

Hey there, creative friend!

Yesterday, we arrived at the halfway point for #the100dayproject, and tomorrow, we will reach the same point for this blog challenge.

We challenge ourselves to learn something new or to expand our skillset. The question I am asking myself at this point is: what did I learn so far?

The answer to that question is two-fold:

1. A daily practice of art or creative writing helps to get things done. Projects that take time can be finished earlier than planned.
2. I have also learned to improve how I manage my time because of this commitment.

A surprising, or perhaps not, thing also happened. The Raven project, which took many hours so far, is not as good as I could make it. In one or two sessions, I was rushing and made a mistake. When I realised it, it was too late to fix it. I am experienced, so I could adapt my drawing so that the error is not visible to the viewer.

This doesn't mean that I am happy that I had to change it. Lesson learned. I love large and complex art projects, and I will take this lesson with me when I work on the next one.

Until tomorrow!

💜 Linzé

PS: Just scroll back one post, if you are curious about the Raven project I mentioned.