I finished the paintings for the major arcana of my tarot deck and did various amounts of digital editing to them. They are all now a standard size and labeled and copyrighted. Today I began the first draft of the card descriptions. As of yet, I have no name for the set, but maybe it will come to me by the time I finish the whole deck, which might be a good while yet. The majors are only 22 of the 78 cards!
The cards turned out better than I expected given my limited experience painting. I like all of the cards, although some more than others. My favorites I’ve scattered around this post, along with some commentary on method. A few took a lot more finessing to bring together. I am both overwhelmed and excited to tackle the minors.
Another unexpected experience is how much I’ve solidified my own scattered bits of thoughts and knowledge of the cards through this process. Writing the first few card essays drove this home to me as I found concrete words and ideas. I am clarifying the themes and concepts I’ve consciously, subconsciously, and unconsciously applied to the cards. I had a vague idea that this coalescence might happen, but it’s coming quicker than I anticipated. If I sit down and write, it will come together. Quickly, more often than not, yet I always doubt the productivity of writing. Or maybe I’m just having a good-energy, minimal-brain-fog kind of day and that let’s me see everything rosier. Whatever. I’ll take it.
Suicidal Tulip 