Along with the 3,000 other art series I have started, I’m determined to finish at least one of them before the world literally implodes. The Bird People Tarot Deck. And the Museum series dioramas centering around shorebirds. Two of the 3,000 at least.

Bird People Tarot: I have some new watercolor backgrounds I thought I’d share. I have thrown away more false starts that became muddy hellscapes than I really care to admit (about 20) but it’s just paper. Expensive paper, but just paper nonetheless. Best to let the ones that got pushed too far in the wrong direction GO. One of the backgrounds turned into a new tarot card so all was not lost!

The Chariot card was a real tricky one to tackle. There’s a lot of symbolism in this one, and trying to explain all that; it got a bit cluttered really fast and I’m still unsure about it. I've posted what the Chariot card looks like from the traditional Waite-Rider deck for comparison.

Living inside the world of color and all its combinations/possibilities these past couple months has been beyond therapeutic. I think I’ll stay there all summer. Maybe fall too. Thanks for stopping by!

Upright Meanings:
Clear purpose
Balancing conflicting emotions
Use of inner will
Self control
Ambition

Reversed Meanings:
Out of control
Imbalance
Anxiety
Repression
Moodiness

More Bird People Tarot cards today. Over Easter celebrations, my sister was asking how many cards I have made already and how many are left to go.

Completed Tarot cards: 39
Uncompleted Tarot cards: 39

She also asked if I have any particular order I go in. That's also a great question. I go in order of what the images I look for in books and magazines take me.

In another life, when I worked at a certain toy company, I would do a lot of hunting and digging for art illustrations and resources that were already created by artists/illustrators that had been hired for our various books and magazines. If those artists/illustrators couldn't make new art for a game or animation we were working on, I'd have to go and look for art we already "owned" to use in the feature; to keep costs down and maintain continuity. That meant lots of hunting, pecking, scanning illustrations and doing a lot of art surgery to keep everything on brand. I really loved that part of the work I did (and all the animation I got to do) and I think about it a lot while I'm looking for the pieces of these tarot cards in all my old books and magazines. It's a long organic process that would probably give super organized people who love Excel hives, but that's creativity. Messy, time doesn't matter, complete disarray and complete chaos.

Upright Meanings:
Good cheer
Invitation
Sensitivity
Emotional renewal
Peace
Reversed Meanings:
Instability
Unhappiness
Nobody loves me
Egotism
Conditional love

Upright Meanings:
Abundance
Relying on oneself
Solitary affluence
Maturity
Circumspection
Reversed Meanings:
Insecurity
Unwise decisions
Dishonest people
Guilt
Overindulgence

Upright Meanings:
Celebration
Entertainment
Having fun
Plenty for all
Recovery
Reversed Meanings:
A setback
An accident
Addiction
Alcoholism
Selfishness

New cards for The Bird People Tarot deck that I promise I haven’t forgotten about! I have a number of art projects going on right now and that’s been my best defense against mania and the chaos of the world this spring. Please keep well everyone.

Upright Meanings:
Slander
Shame
Conquest
Disharmony
Malice
Reversed Meanings:
Rejection
Misfortune
Outcast
Oppression
Manipulation

Upright Meanings:
Hidden enemies
Cautious
Defensive
Protection
Attentive
Reversed Meanings:
Unprepared
Neglectful
Loss of rights
Inflexibility
Bad luck

Upright Meanings:
Choice
Tests
Relationships
Duality
Trust
Reversed Meanings:
Disharmony
Bluntness
Indifference
Unwise plans
Contraries

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! I’m not that into this holiday but I remember my Mom making each Valentine’s Day special for my sister and I with little presents in the morning before we’d go to school and no matter what happened at school that day (good or bad) we had that to look forward to when we got home. Thank you for your thoughtfulness Mom.

Today’s Carolaoke tune comes from my favorite Beatle George Harrison and all his buddies (fellow rock ’n’ roll legends) while with The Traveling Wilburys. I love the lyrics to this song and I especially like that during the choruses there seems to be Flamenco clapping! I hope everyone eats all of the chocolate today. All of it. Every last piece. That’s the best thing to do on this particular day. That's the only thing to do.

Carolaoke Song #54 - The Traveling Wilburys - "Maxine"

Original Song Reference:

Bonus! Flamenco clapping instructions!

Who wants to see more Bird People Tarot cards! Well, today’s your lucky day because I just happen to have four new ones to share. I've also been working on a lot of dioramas and have recently got sucked into to the wonder of “making water” using a product from Woodland Scenics. I also ordered a lot of earth terrain "things" from Woodland Scenics too and have been experimenting with that as well. It’s kind of like taking a vacation trying to recreate habitats for my paper animals so that’s been really soothing for me lately.

Upright Meanings:
Trust
Rapport
Harmony in personal relationships
Joy
Spiritual happiness

Reversed Meanings:
Disharmony
Depression
Loss of friendship
Discord
Regrets

Upright Meanings:
A hiatus
Satisfaction
Harmony
Reunion
Fruition

Reversed Meanings:
Incomplete Happiness
Appreciation
Delayed but impending success
A pause to relax
Improvement

Upright Meanings:
Saying goodbye; moving on
A turning point
Disappointment
Avoidance
Making adjustments as you go

Reversed Meanings:
Reunion
A new romance
Public spectacle
Debt repaid
Restore

Upright Meanings:
An adventure
New life
Optimism
Confidence
Enthusiasm

Reversed Meanings:
Can’t get going
Being too demanding
Lost or damaged goods
Abandonment
Unproductive work