Tabula Mundi Tarot: formerly Tarot "M"

Babalon Jones

The Hierophant

So just in time for Easter I guess, here is the Hierophant.

Now I want to ask those of you who look to comment. Please please don't just click and go away - post your comments. If it isn't your cup of tea say so, (it's okay, I understand!) but preferably with suggestions.

The reason I ask is I have a dilemma. I want to finish this deck, at least as a majors only but ideally as all 78. I'm questioning if this is what anyone besides me wants. This is a project *I* want to do, but if no one else is interested, then while I still may do it I want to know who I am creating it for, just me or anyone else. My time in this life is short.

Lately I am so drawn to restarting my oil painting practice so I wonder where my time is best spent. I have always (for years at least) wanted to make a deck with oils, but I always thought that was such a big time commitment so I put it off. But what I have realized is that each of the cards in Tarot M so far have taken as much time as an oil painting, between the drawing and the inking and the stippling and shading, then the painting and glazing. In the same amount of time, I could execute a substantial oil painting, with a much more "painterly" look, which seems to garner more respect even though the time commitment is similar.

In an ideal world, I could do both, and eventually I hope to and desperately want to. I have so many ideas! It's killing me how many, and most of them likely won't see the light of day. The reality is, I have a full time job that drains the everliving shit out of me, so my art time is limited to after hours, which are as some of you with jobs that are not ideal anyway know the time of day in which your energy is hard to muster. And I am fully aware of how many years in this life I (will be fortunate enough to) have left.

So, the first link is to just the Hierophant, if you have seen the other cards. The second link shows all the cards of Tarot M to date.

What I am most wondering is if I should continue this series, or postpone it in favor of a more artistic one in oils, or do one then the other or just work on both simultaneously knowing they both take oh so long. What I am not willing to do is just cull paintings from my stash and assign them to tarot meanings, to me this seems inauthentic and I want the cards to be at least moodwise identifiable even without titles.

So this *might* be the last card in this series I post, at least for a while. While I may still finish the deck, I figure why post them all ahead of time, I'm just giving away all my creative ideas, and so far this deck I think has some unique ones.

just the Hierophant, he is a Tibetan master:

http://blog.rosettatarot.com/2012/04/07/new-card-tarot-m-the-hierophant.aspx

all cards to date in this series:

http://www.rosettatarot.com/Tarot_M_-_in_progress.html
 

Bluefeet

Please create a 78-card deck! I really adore your art. :)
 

rwcarter

I do love the Tarot M and hope that you finish it (preferably as 78 cards, but that's me). I like the Hierophant. You have a knack for taking the traditional imagery, exploding it and rearranging the elements into something new, different and unique. I think the Hierophant flows well with the deck to date.

My only quibble so far is the Empress. I love the image, and the art style is similar to the other cards in the deck. But there's something about the image that I can't put my finger on (and therefore can't describe) that makes it seem like a card from a different deck. Maybe it's not as otherworldly as the other cards so far? Maybe the imagery hasn't been exploded as much as the other cards you've shown and arranged into something different so it seems like most any other Empress card.

I hope you finish this deck (and sooner rather than later), but I'll support whatever decision you make. :)

Rodney
 

Laura Borealis

I usually have trouble with Hierophants. This one, I like.

The Thoth influence is good. I like the vau-nails. I noticed that he actually IS encompassed in a hexagram, like Crowley says his is, even though it's clear that Lady Harris painted a pentagram. :p I like how you put the four Kerubic Beasts on the pillars -- that works for me.

I REALLY like that he's a human-looking figure, not a (forgive me, Frieda) empty-eyed, soulless, creepy-looking Babylonian priest. The Thoth Hierophant is really a little horrifying to me. He looks dead and his little smile repels me and I can't find any wisdom in him at all. Yours looks like he has wisdom in spades.

Of the cards you've done so far, this and the Priestess are my favorites.

On the side of criticism, though... he doesn't look like any Tibetan person I've ever met. And I've met a lot. The town where I used to live had two Tibetan Buddhist monasteries. I used to see the monks all the time. It's really fun to walk into a shoe store and find a group of monks in their saffron and crimson robes, all trying on sneakers. :D But I digress.

At the risk of sounding like an ass -- if you wanted to paint a Tibetan master, why make him a white guy? I DO know there have been white Buddhist masters, even in the Tibetan tradition, but given the fight for Tibetan freedom and so on, it seems really odd to me to choose a white man to represent an Asian tradition.

You may have a great explanation for it and I'm all ears. :) But I bet I won't be the only person that wonders.
 

sapienza

Rodney, I have a similar feeling regarding the Empress. I actually love the image, and the colours, but for me I think it is her expression. She looks sad to me, I just wish she had a hint of a smile, or something.

I like the Hierophant. He looks small to me, which provides much to think about.

I understand you being torn regarding finishing this deck Babalon. So far I think it's absolutely wonderful. I love the art style, I really like the way you are exploring the symbolism too. But I think you have to do what your heart wants, because as we saw with the Rosetta, magic happens when you pour your heart and soul into a deck. I'd love to see you finish this one, but I'd probably be equally excited to see you begin a deck with oils. I imagine it is rather an overwhelming task and I hope you are able to use your time in a way that gives you the most joy. Because, if you are enjoying the process, then that will shine through in the cards. :)
 

Teheuti

I love your art and your use of symbolism, and this deck looks like it will be as great or greater than your last one. I really like the Hierophant a lot.

But, I have to comment on the Emperor and the Empress. One of my pet peeves is decks where these two don't look like they have anything to do with each other, and I'm afraid that's the feeling I get here. There's not anything specifically wrong with the two cards, but at the least I think that the figures on the two cards should be of approximately the same size and I prefer it when I can put them next to each other and feel like I have a pair. If he was larger and looking toward her it might help or _____? - something!

Regarding your other question: Why not do one card in oils and see what happens?
 

Mallah

I personally think you are hitting your stride in this deck, and it's much more original than the Rosetta. You did excellent work in the Rosetta, but there is so much Thoth in it...actual parts of images that come from that deck...while here, I see all original stuff. That makes me like it more...and I love it.

But I can well imagine, having just completed a whole deck, not to mention all the publication stuff, wanting to take a break from the production of Tarot Decks in general, and do other things with your artistic talents (and they are formidable!).

I say, what's the hurry? If you are producing, say, a card a month, heck, that's 6.5 years to churn out a deck; and if that's your ONLY project that's a hell of a long time to work on a project like this....so what if it takes, say, 12 years?

Heck, I think it's taking a long time and I'm doing a card a WEEK (my skills are much more limited and it just doesn't take as long...) but it's occurred to me that if i were a REAL artist, I'd want to be doing other things at the same time, cause it's a long time to not have a "finished piece"...and a card is not a finished piece...only the whole deck because it's a series of images that express the whole idea, you know? But if you do a single painting, you have a finished piece in a much shorter time...then on to the next one, which can be completely different.

When doing a tarot, you have freedom, but you also have a pre-ordained structure...the next card that I MUST DO has to be the SUN. (I"m doing the Sun right now...) That can be a good thing...having the structure tell you what's next...but it can also be restricting, I can imagine, if say, you like to paint...um....say still lifes. If that's what you're feeling and stucture dictates what the next card must be, and you feel some obligation to yourself or the project or the public or what have you, then you aren't really having all the fun that you could be having...and 6+ years is a long time to not be enjoying it.

So what if you mix it up? Yeah, it might take longer.... I think your media look great for cards.

And your current set of images are really *wow*.

I wish I was a REAL artist....
 

Aset

Quite nice! I particularly like the High Priestess.
 

Cassandra022

I really, really like what you've done with this deck project so far. I appreciate rosetta but it's not for me, as I see it as...well, too close to the thoth deck, when i actually prefer the thoth original. but this, while it has strong influence, is much more original, and has a modern feel i really, really like. the magician especially i just adore. would love to see this available in 78 cards one day :]
 

Babalon Jones

I usually have trouble with Hierophants. This one, I like.

The Thoth influence is good. I like the vau-nails. I noticed that he actually IS encompassed in a hexagram, like Crowley says his is, even though it's clear that Lady Harris painted a pentagram. :p I like how you put the four Kerubic Beasts on the pillars -- that works for me.

I REALLY like that he's a human-looking figure, not a (forgive me, Frieda) empty-eyed, soulless, creepy-looking Babylonian priest. The Thoth Hierophant is really a little horrifying to me. He looks dead and his little smile repels me and I can't find any wisdom in him at all. Yours looks like he has wisdom in spades.

Of the cards you've done so far, this and the Priestess are my favorites.

On the side of criticism, though... he doesn't look like any Tibetan person I've ever met. And I've met a lot. The town where I used to live had two Tibetan Buddhist monasteries. I used to see the monks all the time. It's really fun to walk into a shoe store and find a group of monks in their saffron and crimson robes, all trying on sneakers. :D But I digress.

At the risk of sounding like an ass -- if you wanted to paint a Tibetan master, why make him a white guy? I DO know there have been white Buddhist masters, even in the Tibetan tradition, but given the fight for Tibetan freedom and so on, it seems really odd to me to choose a white man to represent an Asian tradition.

You may have a great explanation for it and I'm all ears. :) But I bet I won't be the only person that wonders.

Hi Laura!

He actually isn't a white guy (I think), but I guess my artistic skills didn't work out so well. His agedness, white hair and relatively light skin I guess look pretty white.

My "model" was based Khordong Chhimed Rigdzin Rinpoche (try saying or spelling that 3 times fast, lol!)

You can read about him here and see a picture of him too:
http://www.khordong.de/Engl/Rinpoche/Biography/biography.html and also here:

http://www.khordong-india.org/lineage.html#chhimedrigdzin

The monastery/lineage is in Tibet, and he was born there so without knowing his geneology I assumed he was Tibetan.