Contemplating Despair
(Pencil on Paper; Digital Color)
Aesthetically, I’m a fan of fall. Gourds, cozy snuggle clothes, nice fires, the return of stews and other hearty fare….
However. My brain perceives the season as existential threat and throws up every alarm. They’re sad, battery-dying, waning alarms, because they’re the harbingers of crushing depression, which is not known for its enthusiastic vibe, but they do their best.
Strength
Tarot Major Arcana VIII.
(Ink on Paper; see more in the Tarot Gallery; read more about the iconography in this blog post)
One View of Strength
Preliminary sketching for the Stength card, Tarot Major Arcana VIII.
(Pencil on Paper)
The Rider-Waite-Smith tradition, which I’m mostly pulling from, included switching the number and position of Strength and Justice. In earlier decks, Justice was VIII and Strength was XI. This same change occurred in other Golden Dawn decks.
In Crowley’s Thoth deck, card VIII is Adjustment, a different take on the original Justice card and position. Card XI, instead of being Strength, is Lust.
I’m focusing on the red lion as the alchemical symbol for the philosopher's stone, the final work, instead of either Waite's somewhat bland taming of the subconscious or Crowley’s (very on-brand) confrontation of the desires. The complexity of the alchemical goals enacted in an active struggle with the fire of wisdom strikes me as more complex, and more interesting, than either of those iconographies.
The Four of Wands
(Ink on Paper; see more in the Tarot Gallery)
The fours are done. Which is fun because what better way to welcome in the darkness of the fall season than to plunge into the realm of Geburah and the fives.
I’m absolutely positive this will be nothing but beneficial for my wellbeing.
The Limits of a Cathedral
(Ink and Pencil on Paper; Digital Color)
I made some inking progress in the Four of Wands tonight and then decided to digitally color this segment for fun.
Four of Pentacles, Redux
The first card I’ve remade.
(Ink on Paper; see more in the Tarot Gallery)
The original was too blobby….
(Ink on Paper; original on the right, redux in wip stage on the left)
I’d like to take this moment to reiterate that I don't always finish a whole drawing in a day; I just draw every day. Between both of these versions, I spent a lot of time inking drapes and confronting my egregious geometry skills.
