Pencils, Pens, and the Pain of Circles
Linework and foundation for the Five of Pentacles.
(Pencil and Ink on Paper; Digital Color Saturation)
Until recently, I penciled a page, outlined it, erased the pencil, and then fully inked on the newly clean page. Now, I keep the pencils on one page and use a light table to ink over them on a separate page. Usually, I don’t bother inking the pencil page at all, but circles are evil, so I inked them onto the pencil page for better clarity.
I have a tattoo artist's aversion to circles. Even when I'm working on paper: I don't trust them.
Five of Cups
(Ink on Paper; see more in the Tarot Gallery)
I was inking this, thinking about how goddamn depressing fall is, regardless of its A++ aesthetics.
So, today I made myself go for a walk with the dog in the sun and among the trees, talked to some surly teens, did some gardening, took a nice nap, hauled a bunch of wood, and then drew some more.
I cannot express how much it pisses me off that the most cliché mental health advice helps me. I want to be all unique and shit, but, no, my brain likes light, physical activity, and, dare I admit it: human interaction.
The banality of the human brain. The audacity.
Anyway: I still finished drawing this sad, sad human in the rain and started drawing some more sad, frustrated humans in the snow.
Which is the first time it’s occurred to me how little weather there is in the Tarot when, honestly, there should be a lot. I’m going to have to fight not to draw all upcoming cards as winter scenes.
In 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)
