Coloring pages on Ko-fi

For March, I’ll have free coloring pages available on https://ko-fi.com/aliceekeyes

Time to relax and color a monster or two. 

#KofiChallenge

Inktober 2022

 I like fall traditions. My latest and new favorite is Inktober. It is fun and inspiring to be a part of a group of people putting out art. Here are my first two drawings. 

This is a Tree Gargoyle - a gargoyle's purpose is to protect.  This gargoyle is protecting a tree and watching a village below. 

The second prompt was -scurry-.  It is harder to come up with something when the prompt is only an idea/concept but it is also interesting to try to convey that idea. 

What do you think? Are these monster bugs scurrying from this hiker's boot?

Pinterest is Revived, Shuffles app codes

Pinterest 

My Pinterest boards have been revived and I've added more art. And, there will be more to see coming up. I'm connected to Shuffles which is a new Pinterest-connected app. You need a code to use it and I have two codes to share if anyone is interested; comment on this post. I would love some follows and interest on Pinterest and Shuffles.

 

New Monster on Redbubble

 Iris

Iris is a turnip monster. They are one of Juniper Boc's go-to consultants and best buds.  They are now available on notebooks, t-shirts, etc. at my Redbubble shop.

Juniper Bok

Juniper Bok has a video on Tiktok and they like to create monster friends.

Changes and Updates

 

Ok, so it’s been a while to add a chapter to Wattpad Works-in-Progress. The business of promoting and having an internet presence demands consistent content uploading; the artist process demands or rather tends to get distracted and meanders from one creative endeavor to another. 

Meandering took me from redesigning font/lettering layout of covers, drawing characters, deciding if I should have two Wattpad pages or one depending on maturity level. Then, there was cursing an old computer to learning how to do it all on the iPad Air, to family time, to watching movies, to putting in a garden and battling critters eating it. You get the point. 

So, chapter 6 of Honey Apiary is up on the second Wattpad account under the A.E.Keyes penname which will hold more mature content that has violence and not-behind-closed-doors sex.

Wattpad allows readers to comment and suggest edits. I welcome comments there and here. 

    What do you want to read? 

    Where do you want to see the story go?

    What cover changes would you make?

    How many typo grammar errors have I made? 

Links to all sorts of creative endeavors on the Tentacle Ties page

Drawing for Fun and Redbubble

Doodles to Stickers

Doodling for stress relief helped me create a few quirky characters that then prompted me to seek a place to share them. Redbubble was an fun way to put my doodles out in the world. I’ve added a new additions to the cast of monsters and I have a few more in the wings. 

I’ve have also made a few animations from the doodles. The Procreate app is the way I’ve been able to change hand drawn art into a usable digital content. 

Please comment with suggestions on product design or selling art. 

All art is copyright protected.

Honey Apiary - magical realism romance

I’ve put three chapters of my magical realism romance on Wattpad (link-Honey Apiary  ) I’m  planning on adding at least bi-weekly.

At a resort in Montana, Honey fumbles her way through a new job with the help of the brother of her new boss. Larkspur, his friends call him Zeus, is a master at making microbrews. Will these two become a unique power couple or will their lack of drive make ever

A Bit of Doodling - stickers, etc.

I Now have a shop on Redbubble. I mostly did it for the stickers and it has been fun to see my art as a product. Yes, my commission is small but I don’t have the lifestyle right now to set up an Etsy shop or start a patreon . I hope you check it out.

Redbubble Shop

Also, shhh, I’m on TikTok. I created a few very short animations with my doodles and I’m working on a few moments in Helsinki before we leave.

 www.tiktok.com/@aliceekeyes 

Thanks, for stopping by.

 

 

Art Available

Now Available on Devieantart link below

I've put up some art on Deviantart - Alice-E-Keyes. Some are photos of originals from my sketchbook and one is the above digital art. I'll be adding more digital art as pieces are completed. The website makes them purchasable though I have no idea of the quality of the prints as I've never purchased a piece from the website. And, I am willing to create on commission. 

Metric Century, almost. 8 sentence Dieselpunk

 I only passed two people all day on the ride; I wished my borrowed bike was speedier. Though for style, the classic Italian Bianci was a head turner.

Olive shouted, “This bike is a wonder!” She pedaled faster and passed the boys.

“Look at Ernest’s contraption,” said Evelyn as they left the Old Faithful area.

Ranger Dashing had retrieved his motored bicycle and made a quick pass by the group to show off his homemade wilderness traveling motorbike.

“That is marvelous and so is Ernest.” Susan teased and pedaled past Evelyn.

“I’m not going to eat dust back here,” Olive said while passing Susan. They played a leapfrog game of being leader until the trail became too narrow

8 Sentence Sunday

I have a moment on the family vacation to add a 8 sentence Dieselpunk snippet. 

Dear Mother and Father,

The weather has been lovely. The evenings are cool and there hasn’t been a cloud threatening our daytime activities with rain. You’ld be interested to know that my daytime has been occupied with science. The College of Nikola and Ada has a Scientific Society and are studying the Old Faithful area of Yellowstone. I was asked to join and Uncle Teddy agreed, thinking studying with students would be more interesting than listening to the Yellowstone Board’s meetings.

You would be happy to know my sketching skills are of great use to the group of students I’m helping. In fact, Professor Hayden invited me to join the Naturalist Department and said my observations skills would be a great asset to the program. It is all very exciting.

Cap-Haïtien, Laferrière Citadel, Sans-Souci Palace

Sketchbook

Living in the trees

The Limits Of Our Imperfection

For this terribleminds challenge, the title, first and last line were provided.

Deep inside the twisting wood, there is a house, in a gully. I spotted it, just a flash of it while descending far too quickly for my skill level along a deer trail desperately trying to keep up with boy mountain bikers. Keith convinced me it was a perfect first date. We’d met at a trailhead.

My girlfriends and I enjoying the afterglow of our weekly ride with Susan’s latest perfectly brewed white ale when Keith and his friends arrived. It was a typical trailhead meeting with the comparing of gear, info about trail conditions, and admiration of home brew. Keith was a flirt and most likely a collector of phone numbers. I didn’t expect a call.

There I was cursing through the woods, a million tiny scratches on my arms and legs from following a barely visible trail through heavy undergrowth, and reaching the end of the ride just when the last beer was about to be opened by Keith, my date.

He reluctantly handed it to me, “What did you think? It has hidden trail potential. Right? Cept for that last bit. Totally sketchy last mile or so.”

In the last effort to look cool before my date and not terrorized by every inch of their non-existent trail, I slugged down the entire beer. I didn’t know the whole crew was watching me. They hooted and hollered when the last drop hit my tongue.

Did this mean I was in? Was in the club? I didn’t want in. I wanted to throw a girly hissy fit. In my mind I was yelling at Keith - you dodo brain, this is a terrible first date. I’m miserable. I’m scratched head to toe, sweating, and stinky. My hair's a mess. And, at the moment, I hate you. All I want now is a shower and my bed. Not you. Not one bit. Though even the tips of my toes knew the whole ordeal was awesome and after the scratches didn’t sting in the shower I would want to do it again. And I would, alone. I wanted to check out the house in the gully.

Keith and his buddies were trail warriors. I became addicted to the animal trails they discovered and even brought Ashley to have someone a bit slower than me. It was a full month before I went back to find the house.

I brought my bike though I ended up pushing it more than riding it. Shoving it up a steep section while scanning the hillside, ignoring the wild rose vines licking at my legs, my mind kept thinking, “This is the wrong hill. It's been too long.”

I kept going until there was a break in the woods and an area of grass. It wasn’t as steep either.  It was memorable and where I thought of stopping on the ride but then seeing the tail end of Keith’s bike go back into the woods, I kept going not wanting to get lost. This had to be the hill.

Leaning my bike against a tree, I walked slowly back down the hill. There, a spot of sun glinted of something smooth and reflective and not visible from the other direction. I hadn’t been delusional from exhaustion.

I dug out my carefully wrapped camera from my backpack and took a few quick pictures of the surroundings. Then, stepped toward the house wondering how old it was and how it got to be in that position on this steep hill.

My foot snagged an entanglement of rose vines and I was falling forward.  My right-hand lets go of the camera and I tried to stop my forward momentum. The steepness was relentless so I tucked my head and hoped for a soft landing in the gully. The fall didn’t stop.

And then.

Silence blanketed the meadow.

Time For Tea And Treachery

Yeah, my title was randomly chosen for this weeks terribleminds challenge so I used it. I have added to an old Yggdrasil story.




Time For Tea And Treachery
The week passed by slowly since Yggdrasil challenged Nanna to a tea biscuit duel. Nanna, obviously bragging, brought out her dress during a tea hosted by the three Fates. It was the same design and cloth as Yggdrasil’s dress that she’d kept a secret.

The Fates conclude that it's Nanna’s destiny to wear the gown to the Höðr ball. Yggdrasil irritated, takes a deep breath and extinguishes the fireball she wanted to throw at the copied dress. Before an argument ensues, Yggdrasil challenges Nanna to a duel.

~

"Aiger, is my parasol complete? The tea duel is tomorrow and I should practice with it," says Yggdrasil.

"It's the fifteen minutes. The workings are precise up to nine minutes though they work best at three. Every time I push the mechanism to eleven or above there is a noticeable shimmering and a golden red leaf ..."

"Yes, yes enough with your nonsense. Nine minutes is plenty and perhaps three minutes," her voice quiets for this last bit, "for tea biscuit duel disintegration."

He peers over his multi-lensed goggles. "You know the significance of a red leaf, of course. This is something, I believe, that needs to be reported to the Council of Time Manipulations and studied further. I cannot let this item be in use by anyone who has not gone through the proper time manipulation training. Even your request for an altered parasol should have been..."

"Yes, yes, you discussed at length all the regulations when I brought the parasol to be changed," she air quotes around the word changed. "Do I need to remind you about our agreement." She places a gold coin in the brass dish.

"Your patronage is welcome, Yggdrasil." He straightens from his typical working hunch and points to a lever. "It is a simple gadget and by setting this lever that has fifteen positions. Please, I beg you, don't set it beyond nine minutes."

"Noted."

"Then, push the stone at the base of the handle. As requested, the user of the parasol is not affected. Time will stop for everyone and everything for a fifty-foot radius. I must also say..."

Yggdrasil grabs the object, walks out of the workshop admiring the Petra stone her grandfather gave her. She sighs happily not to hear the contraption master issue any more warnings and not wanting to give him time to change his mind.

The next day-

The crowd holds its breath as Yggdrasil cleanly eats her biscuit seconds after Nanna. The Tiffin Master says, “Yggdrasil’s won. She’ll wear the blue gown to Höðr ball.”

The crowd hesitates in their applause. Nanna, a five-year champion of Aphrodite's Annual Tea Duel competitions, lost. The goddesses sitting on Yggdrasil’s side applaud.

The hall’s doors open with a crash and a man, with a perfectly tied cravat, enters. “Yggdrasil cheated. Her parasol contains a time-turning contraption!”

“How dare you…” begins Yggdrasil, placing her thumb on the Petra stone on her parasol.

“Stop her,” yells a woman.

The Tiffen Master reacts too slowly. Yggdrasil presses the stone.

The scene reverses.

She wobbles the biscuit in her hand. It splashes on her cup and the table.

The door opens, the well-dress man says, “Yggdrasil cheated…”

The Tiffen Master says, “Yggdrasil lost horribly.”

Yggdrasil points her parasol at the man’s cravat and says, “And, I’m stuck wearing yellow.” She storms from the hall, smiles, and hatches another plan to thwart Nanna.

Trip to Paris and Amsterdam

Nord Station

Here are a few pictures from my recent trip. Steampunk is easily spotted when the Victorian Era leaves a mark and Amsterdam has a certain feeling about it.

Paris:

But of course

Imagine the time travel

The thing to do along the Seine

Miss Winsome!?

A pet toad for the parlor

Dusk

Where English books go in Paris

Companions

Amsterdam:

Bikes

And canals

And Saint George

Bridge architecture

A windmill

A walkway

The rainy Dam Square

On the way to view art

Waxed cheese