Studio Closeup #60

On Black Friday, it somehow feels appropriate to post three new Bird People Tarot cards.

Pleas enjoy!

Tarot king pentacles
Minor Arcana: King of Pentacles

Upright Meanings:
Loyal
Midas touch; material realm only
Conservatism
Traditional values
Financial advisor

Reversed Meanings:
Corruption
Weakness
Irrational
Unfortunate
Misery

Tarot judgement 20
Major Arcana: Judgement #20

Upright Meanings:
Awakening
Renewal
Upheaval
Transformation
Breaking with convention

Reversed Meanings:
Fear of change
A forced ending
Procrastination
Alienation
Faint-heartedness

Tarot magician 1
Major Arcana: The Magician #1

Upright Meanings:
Transformation through willpower
Creative
Talented
Diplomacy
Focused energy

Reversed Meanings:
Weakness of will
Negative
Confused
Selfish behavior
Overconfidence

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Studio Closeup #59

I know.

It’s been a long while since I’ve poked my head out of my rabbit hole and shown the world what I’ve been working on. Since July, I had been obsessively working on The Museum Series Shorebirds Edition (diorama paintings-19 pieces in that series and far from finished) but about a month ago, I answered to my (probably) undiagnosed ADHD and started refocusing on The Bird People Tarot Deck for a bit. I’ve posted three new cards from the deck, that mark my words, I am finishing in this lifetime(!) With additional big plans of having the deck professionally printed for folks to purchase. Thanks for stopping by and checking out my current work.

Tarot highpriestess 2
Major Arcana: The High Priestess #2

Upright Meanings:
Secrets
Mystery
Intuitive awareness
Going with the flow
Good judgement
Reversed Meanings:
Gossip
Disloyalty
Not listening to your inner voice
Insincerity
Coldness

Tarot 8 wands
Minor Arcana: 8 of Wands

Upright Meanings:
Haste
Journey
Commercial transactions
Full steam ahead
New ideas
Reversed Meanings:
Motionless
Arrows of jealousy
Stings of conscience
Wasted energy
Being too pushy

Tarot temperance 14
Major Arcana: Temperance #14

Upright Meanings:
Self-restraint
Tolerance
Compromise
Moderation
Consoling
Reversed Meanings:
Competition
Mood shifts
Gluttony
Extremism
Frustration

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Studio Closeup #58

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!

Tarot chariot 7
Major Arcana: The Chariot #7


Upright Meanings:

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

Reversed Meanings:
Out of control
Imbalance
Anxiety
Repression
Moodiness

Tarot ref chariot
Comparison to Waite-Rider deck Chariot art.
Tarot bkg 02
New tarot card background art.
Tarot bkg 09
New tarot card background art.
Tarot bkg 06
New tarot card background art.
Tarot bkg 08
New tarot card background art.
Tarot bkg 05
New tarot card background art.
Tarot bkg 04
New tarot card background art.
Tarot bkg 10
New tarot card background art.
Tarot bkg 03
New tarot card background art.
Tarot bkg 07
New tarot card background art.

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Studio Closeup #57

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.

Tarot ace cups
Minor Arcana: Ace of Cups

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

Tarot 9 pentacles
Minor Arcana: 9 of Pentacles

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

Tarot 3 cups
Minor Arcana: 3 of Cups

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

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Studio Closeup #56

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.

Tarot 5 knives
Minor Arcana: 5 of Knives

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

Tarot 9 wands
Minor Arcana: 9 of Wands

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

Tarot lovers 6
Major Arcana: The Lovers #6

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

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