Hi drwitz, and thank you!
I haven't shown the Minors yet. I will though, when I have a few more done. I kind of am at the state where I need to germinate more without sharing. I think sharing of the work so far has not had the best results for me productivity wise.
What I will say is that they are very different from anything else out there, but still true to the meaning of the suit and recognizable (as in, you will be able to know or figure out what card you are looking at, at least in context with the rest of them if not as a stand alone, even if there were no titles).
They are so far very different from the Majors, both because the Majors while unique artworks and new representations of the Major Arcana are still variations of the traditional ATU, while these are even more original. Because I think the Minors lend themselves to that, being more of a representation of the mundane world, closer the human state rather than the more karmic overarching archetype of the Majors, if you know what I mean even though I don't feel I'm expressing it well in this moment.
They are also oil paintings rather than works done in ink. This is because I think that it as a medium better expresses the way the Minors are closer to the earthly state. It will allow distinction from the Majors at a glance. I hope the fact that these are in a different media and style do not bother people, but I am compelled to do it anyway, so if the haters gonna hate it won't stop me from doing it
The worst thing that can happen is I'll end up with two decks, and therefore it takes twice the time to complete them both assuming I can.
I really really hope to light a fire under myself and work harder at these. I'm almost done with the Majors so am concentrating on wrapping those up very soon. I actually feel really excited about working on the Minors again, and inspiration and artistic initiative is always a good thing and often elusive so it feels really good.
I'll show at least one of the Minors soon, but I don't want it to distract or discourage me from the process before the momentum is strong enough. It will definitely be this year though I can say that is a goal for sure, to have at the very least all the pips done in 2014.