I’ve been posting these tarot images over on my facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/albaillustration but wanted to blog about it too! After the move and getting settled, I am not finally back at work. I’m still getting used to being freelance and I need to work a little harder at it. It is very easy to get distracted by the internet, prettifying the house or doing laundry (I love having a washing machine!), buying frames to hang more art, or just staring happily at my new studio set up. It’s time to USE my new studio set up! Here’s a picture!
I have since added sheer curtains to block the sun which is occasionally directly in my eyes, and also privacy at night. Scott and I still work back to back. His space is behind the camera, and he has even more space than me! Surrounded by windows! woohoo!
Now onto tarot. I am working on the suit of swords first. The current tally is 3 sword paintings done and approved (and one pentacle court card), 4 swords inked and ready to paint, 3 swords ready to ink, and 4 sword sketches ready to send for approval before I can ink and paint them! I aim to have all the swords finished before Christmas, and some work done on pentacles. Gotta keep on schedule!
Here are a bunch of sword cards in various stages of sketch work. My sketches are either a combination of pencil and digital, or entirely digital. I also do color comps digitally. The finals will all be ink and watercolor.
Also, I never posted these other two finished cards!
Picture description: A gender-neutral teen witch wearing sky blue pants and a dark blue tunic covered with silver spirals holds a short sword (or a long athame) up to the sky in challenge. A backpack at his/her feet spills out books and a long-feathered quill pen. At his side stands a small black kitten, looking fierce. A broom lies on the ground in front of them. The mood is of someone setting out on a journey he/she might not be quite ready for. Caption: “Impulsive or intuitive? You decide.” Underneath Caption: I don’t need to know where I’m going to get there.
Picture description: On a table in an empty bedroom is a large heart-shaped red satin box of candy with three athames shoved through it (downward). (This is the same bedroom as the one in the Four of Swords.) Outside the window, a storm rages and a bird struggles to fly. On the bed there is a book that says “Journal,” with a feather quill lying next to it, with a jar of ink spilled on the quilt. The mood is desolation and heartbreak. Caption: “Oh, my achy breaky heart.” Beneath Caption: Sometimes heartbreak is unavoidable. The least you can do is learn from it.