Shadowdancer,
Thank you for your reactions to the cards, It beyond fascinating for me to read them and then read them again. Also I am extremely happy that you have picked up almost my exact interpretations of the cards. And you say it so much more succinctly than I can.
For as long as I have been painting, speaking about my work has been almost impossible for me, I become quickly tongue- tied, this is not a great thing for a person to make a living from their art, yet one of the main reasons I was drawn to symbolism and allegory and then to Tarot was the means by which I could express myself visually. It is not that I am an introvert, I most certainly am not, but not a self promotor.
The images for the cards I have made pretty much all came to me in an instant, I researched the cards, wrote copious notes and then settled back an waited; sometimes for a while and I got a bit frustrated and moved on to another card, but more often the image was conjoured in my head, the elements swirled into place , I sometimes use my hands to physically move (them like in that movie Minority report where The Tom cruise character moves pictures of suspects and victims around on an visible screen). The sketch was them made and the painting after. I feel some of my favourite cards evolved when this was firing really well for me.
Some cards, particularly the faces are real people who I know or have experienced and I feel embody the essence I have from the card. many are amazing characters and I hope to somehow bring their actual life force in to the deck in some way. I do not how ever really want to name check them as that is not really relevant or helpful in a reading, But then I am in intuitive reader, perhaps others would feel differently about this.
Sarahjoy, thank you so much. For the Vanitas explanation, again you said it so well. there is so much I could say about the deck, it really could use a book, but I am not sure that I have the strength of the skills to write it. I realise this sounds like a cop out, but I do really need to paint and read Tarot, not write, I wrote a terrible novel a couple of years ago and it damned nearly killed me.
At the moment I just wish the flaming post would hurry up and deliver more Bonefires around the world, It seems to be taking so long that I feel like I have posted them all wrong or something and they will never turn up.
patience....