Aliya
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aliyailsa.bsky.social
Aliya
@aliyailsa.bsky.social
130 followers 47 following 150 posts
Muralist. Illustrator. ADHD. Language-obsessed. Searcher of weird. Sower of gentle chaos. Lover of all things living. she/her
🩷💜💙
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aliyailsa.bsky.social
The baby and the beast

#balinesecat #balinese #colorpointcat #colorpoint #agirlandhercat
Selfie of Aliya with her cat, Jeremy. Aliya is wearing a pink and red dress and a pink cap. She and Jeremy are sitting on a wicker couch and her arm is around him. He is a Balinese cat (color point with light body and a dark face, ears, tail, and paws). They both look calm. Another selfie of Aliya with her cat, Jeremy. This time, she is smiling and he is yawning and his yawn shows his fangs and makes him look ferocious.
June 16, 2025 at 7:49 PM
aliyailsa.bsky.social
Idk why there’s not an option to post both a still image and a video in the same set, but here’s a time lapse of my sketch from today.

#nokingsday #nokings #procreate #digitalart #digitaldrawing #drawing #illustration #illustrator #makeart #speakup #createdaily #drawdaily
June 15, 2025 at 2:32 AM
aliyailsa.bsky.social
A bit different from my usual work, but obviously had to sketch something up today.
Love you guys. Stay together, stay safe.

#nokings #nokingsday #illustration #illustrator #makeart #createdaily #drawing #drawdaily #speakup
Illustration by Aliya showing a crow atop a gold, bejeweled crown. The crow has a red jewel in its mouth that it took from the crown. The jewel appears still connected to the crown by something that looks like tendons. There is a split orange circle in the background and behind that is all black. The subjects are lined in red and the crow has red eyes.
June 15, 2025 at 1:44 AM
aliyailsa.bsky.social
Another sketch. Colored pencil on gouache- and ink-washed paper.

#sketch #drawing #portrait #portraitsketch #coloredpencil #prismacolor #womenwhodraw #drawdaily #sketchdaily #makeart #atlantaartist #artist #illustrator
A sketch of a bust of Black man in colored pencil on a piece of paper that has been gouache- and ink-washed. The sketch is in red, pink, orange, and yellow hues. There are stars around the man. He is looking to his left (the viewer’s right). He has a beard with a connecting mustache and he has fairly short locs pulled up into a ponytail.
June 14, 2025 at 1:40 AM
aliyailsa.bsky.social
Pretty little sketch the other night to warm up

#sketch #coloredpencil #inkwash #drawing #womenwhodraw #feminineart #celestialart #stars #sketchdaily #drawdaily #createdaily
A small piece of paper with deckled edges on a cardboard background. The paper is blue toned but has a fluorescent pink ink wash on it. On top of the wash is a sketch of a woman looking to her right (left for the viewer). Out of her eye is a triangle of increasing darkness with a couple of stars in it. In her chest is an open doors with the same darkness/space and stars are flowing out of it and around her.
June 12, 2025 at 5:09 PM
aliyailsa.bsky.social
Literally never could’ve imagined these mismatched loafers so PERFECTLY matching an article of clothing.

Shoes: Charlotte Stone
Dress: Nooworks

#shoes #maximalistfashion #charlottestoneshoes #nooworks
A photo looking down at Aliya’s shoes and the bottom third of her maxi dress. The shoes are (intentionally) mismatched loafers. The left shoe is orange, coral, highlighter yellow/green, mint, and has a black sole. The right shoe is yellow, medium green, coral, bubblegum pink, and has a brown sole. The dress is black with a print featuring a woman in a bikini riding a moped but the wheels are pink magic 8 balls. There are also hands holding knives and rats smoking cigarettes in the print lol.
April 6, 2025 at 6:38 PM
aliyailsa.bsky.social
My friend Lo got me into a proper haircut again and I feel *so beautiful.* Nothing quite like having one of your best friends know how to make you feel the most like yourself.

Dress: nooworks
Mirror selfie of Aliya post-haircut. She is in a salon, seated at the mirror, wearing a pink maxi dress with vertical red squiggles (she loves pink and red together). She looks so good y’all. Like wow.
April 5, 2025 at 1:11 AM
aliyailsa.bsky.social
Got this babe back from a show and am playing to bring her more to life.

#illustration #painting #drawing #womenwhodraw #womenwhopaint #womenartists #atlantaartist #illustrator #painter #artist #wip
Photo of one of Aliya’s mixed media pieces on a wood panel. The piece is sitting partly on her lap and partly leaned against a pink metal outdoor table. It features a feminine figure with light purple skin and vibrant yellow-orange hair and there are red/pink flowers growing out of her chest. On the table behind, there is a set of Prismacolor colored pencils, a white paper cup, and a bottle of green juice.
April 4, 2025 at 8:33 PM
aliyailsa.bsky.social
I’m gonna see how many ways I can style these new BBP bug pants. I feel freakin precious.

#bbp #bigbudpress #morningwitch #ootd
Mirror selfie (Aliya) showing off an outfit. She is wearing: - A light, muted green and muted rosy color cap - A crop top from Morning Witch with a black background and large print of pomegranates, snakes, and doves - Chartreuse pants from Big Bud Press with a hand stamped print of ladybugs, grasshoppers, and praying mantises. The print is very spread out - A floral belt with a black background - A muted deep rosy corduroy jacket - Lots of jewelry, including a pearl necklace and dangly pearl earrings She is in a bathroom with a gallery wall behind her.
March 31, 2025 at 8:05 PM
aliyailsa.bsky.social
Reading The Yellow Wallpaper for the first time. Wish me strength.
A photo of a hand holding the book The Yellow Wallpaper open to the title page. It is lying on a blanket with a floral print and there is a rainbow cast onto lefthand side of the book from nearby window light (due to a privacy film meant to cast rainbows).
March 1, 2025 at 2:51 PM
aliyailsa.bsky.social
🌷Ripple Effect🌷

New 8x8” piece for Making Our Mark, a women and nonbinary artists’ show at Empire Arts in Atlanta. I started this piece over x2 because my first idea needs to be on a larger surface. But I’m happy with this pretty baby!

#painting #painter #atlartist #illustration #gouache
Bird’s eye view of a square painting, an open sketchbook, and a slew of tubes of gouache and colored pencils all on a pink blanket. The painting is of two hands (one light-medium purple, one sort of dark pink) coming from opposing corners and holding the face of a woman looking up. The woman is painted orange with bright red-orange hair. She does not have pupils or irises (this is very common of my work). There are red flowers growing out from where the hands are touching the face. And there is a ripple effect around the face of brush strokes and implied petals and leaves. There is a black background behind all of this. The open sketchbook shows it has been used as a palette for the gouache.
February 28, 2025 at 10:52 PM
aliyailsa.bsky.social
First rejection of 2025. Just part of the process.
Instead of feeling dejected, I responded asking for feedback on my application. If it was purely the style of my work, we just weren’t a good match. But if something else lacked, I want to know. Don’t be afraid to ask, “Why?”

#muralist #muralartist
Screenshot of an email that reads as follows: Dear Artist Applicant, We received your RFQ submission for the Walls Between Waters mural festival. We are grateful for your interest in this project. We are writing to share that you were not chosen to participate in Walls Between Waters. We had nearly 100 qualified applicants from all over the world submit their interest in the project, and only a handful of applicants were asked to move forward in the process. The decision was difficult. We reviewed applicants on the scale of their previous work, consistency of style, style of work, artist resume, and the artist’s statement of interest.
February 20, 2025 at 6:32 PM
aliyailsa.bsky.social
Painted the barn from my granddaddy’s family farm for him. He’s wanted me to do this for a long time and I had to make sure he got it this time I’m visiting. Strawberries were one of their biggest crops.

#gouache #painting #illustration
#womenwhopaint #artist #painter #illustrator
Square (8x8”) painting of a barn, a tree in front of the barn, and a border of strawberries around the piece. The piece is being held in front of a vibrant blue wall. Aliya’s grandfather smiling while holding the painting she did for him. He is in a chair and has an opossum stuffed animal at his side. An angled view of the same painting to show that the sides are painted red.
February 13, 2025 at 7:17 PM
aliyailsa.bsky.social
Desperately missing Iceland (always). Spent 10 days solo hiking/camping around the country in June 2024 and I need an excuse to go back.

Reykjavík, y’all want some more gorgeous murals? How about you Akureyri?

#iceland #glymur #krafla #borgarfjörðureystri #hiking #camping #solotravel
Selfie of Aliya at the top of Glymur waterfall in Iceland. This is the second tallest waterfall in the country. The elevation gain was about 1400 feet. There is a prominent rainbow over the falls behind Aliya. She is wearing a blue beanie, sunglasses, and a brown long sleeve shirt. You can also see a black camera strap around her neck and light green straps of a backpack/camelback. It is a cloudless, sunny day in June. Aliya standing contrapposto in front of Glymur waterfall (a little farther down the trail before she hit the top). She is wearing a brown long sleeve shirt, black athletic leggings, a knee brace on her left knee, a green rain jacket around her waist, and a green backpack/camelback. She also has her camera around her crossbody-style and is wearing sunglasses. It is a cloudless, sunny day. Aliya sitting on the ground at the top of a hike at Krafla, which is a caldera in Iceland. The ground is light brown and the caldera is filled with aqua-colored water and large sheets of white ice. There is snow on part of the hill on the other side of the crater behind Aliya. In the far background are snow covered mountains. It is a sunny day with a few clouds in the distance. Aliya is wearing a blue beanie, a grey zip up sweater, black hiking pants, and rainbow accented hiking boots. She also has her sunglasses and camera on. A selfie of Aliya smiling big and standing in front of a fjord, specifically in Borgarfjörður Eystei (northeast Iceland). There are mountains and sea behind her and it is a cloudy day. She is wearing a blue beanie, Frog & Toad clay earrings, a green rain jackets and a black turtleneck. Aliya also has her camera strapped across her chest.
February 9, 2025 at 7:24 PM
aliyailsa.bsky.social
ALSO it was Jeremy’s first birthday today. We are so lucky this little weirdo perfect angel baby found us.

#balinese #catdistributionsystem
Six photos of Jeremy Bearimy, Aliya (and her family)‘s one-year-old Balinese cat.
February 7, 2025 at 4:05 AM
aliyailsa.bsky.social
Mr. J-pod and I have a ritual every time I pick him up where I put him on my neck like a scarf and then hold him like a baby.
Aliya holding her one-year-old Balinese cat, Jeremy Bearimy, like a baby and looking at him lovingly. She is wearing a green and rosy ball cap and standing in front of a blue wall on one side and a set of windows directly behind her. There is a crocodile illustration hanging on the blue wall.
February 7, 2025 at 2:30 AM
aliyailsa.bsky.social
I wanted to take up a new creative hobby this year and embroidery has been on my list for a long time. @bakeybakes.bsky.social and I decided last year to do it together and hold each other to account.

Def having fun with all I’m learning.

#embroidery #beginner #newskill
Closeup photo of a beginner’s embroidery panel showing different types of stitches around a central image of mushrooms using various stitches learned.
February 6, 2025 at 9:30 PM
aliyailsa.bsky.social
Got this cropped pullover from @christinakwanart.bsky.social and idk what it is about a quarter zip but I feel so hot. Thanks for the ego boost bby.
Aliya standing outside in her yard. A brick house is behind her and it is a sunny, cloudless day. She is wearing a scarf on her head, sunglasses, a dark brown pullover with a quarter zip, a yellow mini skirt with buttons, high dark brown socks with mushrooms around the top, and black boots. She is standing contrapposto.
February 1, 2025 at 7:03 PM
aliyailsa.bsky.social
I feel unstoppable in my new jumpsuit. My first one from BBP is also perfect but there’s something about a crisp, paint-free garment that feels oh so special.
Mirror selfie of Aliya in a public restroom wearing a dark green, short sleeved jumpsuit. She is also wearing a black KN95 mask, daffodil earrings, a multi-colored scarf in her hair, and a light green cross body purse. She looks very cool.
January 31, 2025 at 9:51 PM
aliyailsa.bsky.social
Had to contribute a note to David Lynch on this shrine for him at Empire Arts Gallery in Kirkwood.

#DavidLynch
Photo of a two tiered shrine for David Lynch. Some contributions include a bouquet of pink and purple flowers, PBR beer cans, electric candles, hand written notes (one of which is from me), a prayer candle, a toy fish, an Eraserhead vhs, and a Dune (1984) blu-ray. In the center is a photo of David and a quote of his beneath it. The quote, when zoomed in, reads, “Ideas are so beautiful and they’re so abstract. And they do exist someplace. I don’t know if there’s a name for it. And I think they exist, like fish. And I believe that if you sit quietly, like you’re fishing, you will catch ideas. The real, you know, beautiful, big ones swim kinda deep down there so you have to be very quiet, and you know, wait for them to come along.”
January 30, 2025 at 8:00 PM
aliyailsa.bsky.social
“Brûlage Contrôlé” 2023
Illustration for Deuxième Page, a Paris-based feminist magazine. This article was on the redefining of ecofeminism (will elaborate in comments).

#editorialillustration #illustration #feministart #illustrator #illustratrice #dessinatrice #drawing #digitalart
January 29, 2025 at 8:47 PM
aliyailsa.bsky.social
Sharing more photos from my MARTA bus wrap for Atlanta Pride! They had mini buses made for the four of us and I love mine so much.

Getting into the habit of using the alt text finally.

#publicart #muralist #digitalart #atlantaart #atlantaartist #lgbtqia+art #lgbtqia+ #illustrator #illustration
Aliya is smiling and holding her mini bus next to B side (florals only) of the MARTA bus with her art. She is wearing a brown/rust mini dress with pink and white flowers, socks of the same rust color, and black doc marten Mary Jane loafers. This photo only shows a small portion of the bus. Aliya is standing in front of the A side of her MARTA bus (three faces among florals on purple background). The bus reads “you deserve to bloom.” Aliya is wearing a brown/rust mini dress with pink and white florals and has her left hand up and behind her in a showcasing manner. She is smiling while looking at her bus. This photo shows the entire length of the bus. Aliya is smiling and holding her mini bus in front of the A side of the MARTA bus with her art. She is wearing a brown/rust mini dress with pink and white flowers, socks of the same rust color, and black doc marten Mary Jane loafers. This photo only shows a small portion of the bus. Closeup photo of Aliya holding her mini bus while smiling with her eyes closed. She is standing in front of her MARTA bus, but all shown of it is the purple background, half of a door, two windows, and cut off florals. Aliya is wearing a brown/rust dress with pink and white florals.
January 28, 2025 at 7:59 PM
aliyailsa.bsky.social
Loved @ericpalicki.bsky.social’s version and had to make my own. This is how I imagine it feeling for quite some time.
January 28, 2025 at 4:03 PM
aliyailsa.bsky.social
Another throwback to another favorite residential mural for @bakeybakes.bsky.social

Don’t forget to show off old favorites now and again.

#mural #muralist #muralartist #interiordesign #homeimprovement #homerenovation #painting #painter #artnouveau #illustration #illustrator
January 27, 2025 at 5:30 PM
aliyailsa.bsky.social
Throwback to one of my very favorite residential murals, which is getting added to soon.
Loved getting to experiment here and so glad that experimentation won’t stop with what’s to come.

#mural #muralist #muralartist #interiordesign #design #atlantaartist #painter #painting
January 27, 2025 at 2:38 AM