Due to my travels, some NDA work and my chaotic personal life, it's going to be a while before I have much new artwork to show. So, instead, I'm sharing a piece I painted ages ago that I never shared!
This painting was for a tarot project I started but shelved about a year ago. I wanted to tell the tarot story through a modern, relatable lens. The occult use of tarot is a relatively modern appropriation, and I wanted to represent them as they were initially intended in the hope of overcoming the barrier of skepticism and distrust that many experience.
This card is Strength. Traditionally depicted as a woman with a lion, calm and dominant, it represents inner strength and perseverance. I couldn't resist giving it a cute twist :3.
Also, I can’t help but feel this one would be PERFECT as a print. If you agree, click here to nab one for your wall- discount applies today only!!
Reflection
Weekly prompts to encourage self-reflection and help you discover impactful things about yourself, your art and your career.
We're all familiar with the idea of studying artists we admire, searching for the elements we want to adopt and emulate. It's natural to mimic those who are more skillful than us.
...but have you ever considered what you DON'T want to learn from them?
There's just as much wisdom in what you don't love about someone's work as what you do love.
Looking at the work of someone you admire- what would you love to do differently if you could? Why?
Showcase
Each week, I share the work of other people here. Be sure to check out their pages and show them some love! To find out how to get featured, click here.
Resource
Clip Studio Paint - 50% off!
This week, I wanted to plug the software I use to do all of my paintings. After 14 years of hardcore devotion to Photoshop, I tried Clip Studio Paint, and within a month, it had entirely replaced Photoshop for me. This was over a year ago, and I'm still hopelessly in love.
The brush blending is out of this world, and if you're a keybinding addict like me, you can bind just about anything. It's ridiculously cheap, doesn't require any annoyingly monthly payments, AND has an iPad version, which is basically identical to the desktop version, but with a few features to make it a little less cluttered on the smaller screen. That means I can take my work on the go and not suffer any quality issues or workflow interruptions.
Feature
Frost (below):
Dave Cave (below):
Caroline De Ruffray (below):
That's all for this week's free newsletter. In case you’re curious what you missed out on, this week’s premium newsletter contained:
Worldbuilding: The story of an English castle, owned through the ages by several monarchs and given a new lease of life in the 1930s.
Visual Inspiration: Artist feature (hint: corgis).
Reference Image: Free full-res image from my Dramatic Lighting reference pack.
Personal Update: Thoughts and photos from my trip to England.
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Thanks again for being a part of this!
-Rachel