Page of Pentacles - 78 Tarot Nautical

EDIT: The deck is available for sale here! - www.etsy.com/listing/237476059…

Here's one of the big pieces I was working on last month, and can finally post it!  I was honored to be a part of the 78 Tarot project for their second tarot deck, which has a nautical theme.  The deck consists of 80 artists (one for each card, including two 'wild cards'), and I was asked to do the Page of Pentacles card.

The Kickstarter has ended, but you can buy a deck at the link above You can get a copy of the deck here! www.kickstarter.com/projects/k…

The Page of Pentacles uses his brain and his hands (or, in this case, talons) to achieve his goal through hard work and by coming up with solutions to a challenge. This gryphon could catch fish one at a time, but instead he takes the effort to weave a net to gather more fish. He's not greedy, though, and he is realistic with his goals.  He's not going to catch all those fish in just one dive; he'll have to plunge in again and again, working hard to gradually collect his wealth through perserverence and effort.  But with enough hard work and commitment, he will reach his goal, and enjoy life all the while.

The page is a youth, This young osprey gryphon - a raptor who lives its life diving head-first into the sea after its prey - is growing in mind and body and is always open to learning and discovery.

While pentacles is an earth suit and not a water suit, the theme of the deck was nautical, so many of us had the added artistic challenge of designing our cards and taking their elemental symbolism and finding a way to make them complimentary to a water theme.  Cups had it easy. Wands, not so much!  But everyone did an AMAZING job with their cards!

This deck is being funded with a Kickstarter, and there are all sorts of awesome rewards at each pledge level, including of course, a copy of the deck. You can also see artwork for many of the other cards!

_{Watercolor on soft-press Fabriano, 9.5 X 14 inches}