The Webmaster Tarot

You know, there's a reason that paintings shouldn't be done in one day. One of the nice benefits is that it gives you a chance to stumble upon new techniques and new effects as you're madly splashing the paint around the canvas which has suddenly turned into the texture of a damp sponge.
Of course, there are times when you don't want to spread your artistic wrings by dealing with painting crisis after crisis. Sometimes you just want the painting done and over with.

This is one of those times.

Because of a variety of factors, I was supremely pressed for time on this project. This is my entry into the "99 Bucks" show in Palm Springs. Earlier this week I had the idea of making a new tarot card with a figure of a computer technician. I'll be the first to say this isn't the most revolutionary idea I could have come up with, but at the same time it's ripe with possibilities for creativity. After kicking around the idea a bit more I decided to do a card for "The Webmaster", where I'd paint a heroic figure floating before a pyramid of icons representing various social networking apps. Of course, I started painting earlier this evening, and the deadline is TODAY! AH!

Well, it actually made it under the wire. But barely. I'm pretty happy with this painting. If I had some more time I'd have cleaned it up but as it stands now I think it looks pretty sweet. I still am planning on creating a new Tarot deck sometime in the future, but this is a nice start! The painting itself is 5" X 7", so there's not much room for detail. Since I was rushing, I cheated and used ink to put some fine detail in.

Next time I'll let it dry before adding the gloss top coat. Sigh. See that fuzzy cape he's wearing? It's not supposed to be fuzzy. It's the ink bleeding into the acrylic. Yes, it's a cool effect and can likely be used in multiple other paintings. But I don't want that in this one!

I tidied the paint up a few minutes ago with Gouache but I'm still grinding my teeth. So close to what I want! But close enough that I'm entering it into the show. If anyone asks, I'll say it's deliberate. I'll say that since the main character is nude he was cold and needed a fuzzy cape.