Descriptions

In preparation for my gallery show in August (the 19th and 20th to be exact) I have been putting together art card descriptions for all the pieces I'll be showing. For most of my work this is relatively easy as it just involves a brief explanation of why I did it.

For my tarot cards it has been a far more in depth process. Because the cards are based on original deck designs and each one has a meaning behind it, I've needed to really polish my descriptions. It's been interesting as I've reflected on each design, going back to the very first ones I completed, moving forward to the final three I finished just a few months ago. Initially I didn't actually spend a lot of time explaining my work. I would finish a card, post some pictures of it to my blog and that was that.

When I held my first gallery show in Calgary in November 2009 I realised I needed to tell the story behind my work. I've been to galleries and museums where the work is summed up with a card stating the name of the artist, the material used and the title of the work. This is boring.

There is nothing more exciting than laying eyes on an original piece of work and getting a story to go along with this. A sculpture of a woman, who was also the artist's mistress. A painting of Jesus, which at the time was actually seen as a racy comment on the current king and resulted in the banishment of the artist. A series which started with great definition and progressed into pixilation and abstract as the mind of the artist turned to madness.

All of this makes the work that much more wonderful to look upon. I know I felt it as I revisited all 22 of my Tarot Paintings. I remembered the things going on in my life as each one took shape. Some designs started out with frustration and have now become my favourite pieces. Other designs had very little written about them and suddenly I was able to write long paragraphs, finding it difficult to keep the descriptions succinct.

Designing these cards has been an incredible journey for me. Not just professionally with regards to developing my skills, but personally, as I've worked on myself. I really am so happy I took it on. I think if I'd thought to far ahead on it the task might have seen impossibly daunting. As it is, looking back, I'm stunned at what I accomplished and extremely proud of the result.

London Journal - Ten Months and seven Tarot Cards

I arrived here on January 7th. It's now November 7th, ten months since that wintry day when the tubes were shut due to a dusting of snow.

When I first arrived I was without a job and with very few funds. What little money I had saved was practically halved due to the exchange and so my days needed to be spent frugally. I filled my time by visiting museums and job hunting.

About two weeks in I was unhinged. I had no art supplies and no money to buy art supplies. I awaited a delivery from Canada and felt myself going slowly bonkers.

When my supplies finally arrived (The case beaten up but the contents safe and ready for use.) it was as though a floodgate had opened. I bought a few canvases, deciding the expense was worth it for the sake of my sanity, and set to work on my Tarot Cards.

The last Tarot Card I'd completed before leaving Canada was Temperance, which I did for a friend.

The first card I did when I got to London was The Hierophant, which I did just for me. It continues to hang in one of the four spaces I have for my paintings, even though I've done seven more since.The Hanged Bat was my second piece completed and then there were a few weeks where I worked on other projects, taking a break from my cards. When I picked up the brush again it was to do The Magician.

I was already mulling my next card over when The Magician was just a pencil sketch. I often get the idea of the animal and a general image of the layout I want a few weeks before I start a card. I knew The Devil would be next because I could picture it so clearly.

Despite having such a clear idea of The Devil, this card has taken the longest for me to complete of any I've done thus far. It wasn't that the actually painting took any longer (I spend about eight to twelve hours per card.) but I found myself unable to work on it for weeks at a time. At one point I even feared it wouldn't be finished as I repeatedly laboured to get the horns just right.

Of course the feeling of being stuck didn't last and in one afternoon of solid painting I completed it and found the energy to start my next one.

But alas, I was without canvases for a time and had to put that energy into other projects until the time when I could afford some new ones.

The next batch of canvases arrived and I proceeded to complete Love, The Moon and The Hermit rapidly. Each of these carried through to the next and I found myself coming home and painting almost every evening. One of the canvases was damaged and so it could not be used for my Tarot Cards. Instead it was used for a self portrait and a replacement was ordered.

When I began The Tower I was nervous. I do not like this card and each card I've done has managed to reflect the energy and current experience of my life. I did not feel like I had the energy for a tear down and re-build but The Tower was sticking in my head. It was the only one of the remaining few I had to do that I had a clear idea for and so I began it.

I did seem to find myself wavering. Things seemed to be coming to a head and in an effort to remedy the personal difficulties I was struggling with I rushed to complete the piece.

It is the last one I've done but not the last Tarot Card I've worked on. I have two more from that last order of canvases. They're both started, both waiting for my time and attention.

Last week my final five 24X36 inch canvases arrived. The final five canvases for a project begun in January 2009 when I still lived in Calgary and moving to London was merely an idea in a long list of ideas.

From The High Priestess to The Tower, I have now explored and created seventeen of the twenty-two cards that make up the Major Arcana of a Tarot deck. I have spent nearly two years on this project which is now nearing the end. Last year I did nine cards in twelve months. This year I've done eight in ten, so far.

It's amazing what you can accomplish in a year. Amazing to ponder, if this is what you can do in a year, what will you do in a lifetime?

I look forward to finding out.

The Moon

The 18th card in the deck, The Moon represents both imagination and dreams. It can be a warning about living in a fantasy or it can be a sign of creativity.

Artists and writers usually get this card. It's about the inner workings of the mind, the other realities that we find through the power of our imagination.

It can also be very dark, almost sinister. It's a representation of escapism fueled by mind altering substances. It's the darker thoughts that weave stories and wreak havoc on our emotions.

It can also represent the end of a journey, but not one between physical locations. This can mark the completion of writing a novel or the finishing touches on a sculpture. It's the an idea come to fruition.

I chose a unicorn because, to me, The Star and The Moon cards feel like sister cards. They go hand-in-hand and I chose a dragon to represent The Star. I don't think there's anything foolish about believing in these lovely creatures and as The Moon represents a dream world and the imagination, it seemed the right fit.

I don't know exactly why I chose to have a black unicorn. A white one just didn't feel right. I'd look at my sketch and I couldn't see a white unicorn as my end result. Any other colours would be a bit too 'my little pony' and I wanted this to be intense.

I'm really utterly chuffed with the result. I'm extremely proud of my moon. I love the depth of the brick pillars on either side of the unicorn. The unicorn itself is just as I'd imagined it.

I'll be getting this card, along with The Devil and Love imaged at the end of the month. In the mean time, originals of all my paintings and prints of several of my previously completed tarot cards are available through my website.