Fools Aplenty (Delivered by Art)

Here is another installment of "Delivered by Art."  This particular piece jumped the line, because I just received it, and liked it, and remembered that I could bring a couple other issued into the post.  This is from Jim again.  He said he would continue sending me art via postcards and I am glad he is following through with it.  Here we have Jim's foray into the world of the occult and divination by way sarcasm.
It's from what Jim labels as "The Aimless Hipster's San Francisco Tarot."  From an artistic standpoint, I am enjoying the watercolor work and the inclusion of the landscape and landmarks of San Francisco, as well as the inclusion of the pipe (Jim is a pipe smoker) and the scroll border.  This is the figure of "The Fool."  The Fool is an interesting character, because although he is sometimes portrayed in motley like a court jester or juggler, in the arcana of the Tarot, the Fool is not the butt of a joke or a simpleton who job it is to amuse others.  Instead, the Fool is a character on a journey, open to new experiences, willing to let the journey be the destination.

The Fool is the spirit in search of experience. He represents the mystical cleverness bereft of reason within us, the childlike ability to tune into the inner workings of the world ("The Fool (Tarot card)" Wikipedia article)

I think writers and artists are quick to empathize with the Fool and can identify and perhaps even strive to emulate the fool. It is not always easy to open yourself up to change and be willing to be swept away by what life has to offer. I love looking at Tarot cards, seeing the artwork and the variation of style and content using the same set of templates. And I will admit to enjoy considering the quasi-mystical element of the cards as well.  Cards that can foresee the future?  That is pretty cool if you ask me.  But it is that spirit of openness and willing to take what life and the future have to offer that inspired me to use the figure of the fool in a short comic I did on New Year resolutions (You can click on the image to view the post with the comic or CLICK HERE).  I made my Fool card from looking at probably the most recognizable set of Tarot cards, known as the Waite-Smith deck or the Rider-Waite deck (and also known by like a dozen other names).  I include the image of the fool to provide a comparison.  I would say that Jim's Fool is more of a departure and more original rendition of the Fool card.  I was definitely going for image recognition and a connection to the Waite-Smith deck.

I remember meeting an artist/illustrator a the Haddonfield Arts Festival last year, and he had recently landed a gig where he would be doing the illustrations for a deck of Old Maid cards, and I thought that was great, and it opened my mind to the idea of how your illustrations could be marketed and what kind of products your art could be attached to.  I immediately had a Tarot deck in mind.  It would make a quite an extended and prolonged project to do all the cards of the Tarot, but I think it would be pretty great to have a collection of illustrations, all drawn and painted in the same style, working off the basic template of the Tarot, but leaving plenty of room for interpretation.  That one project, creating a Tarot deck, would be an entire portfolio of work.  Jim's postcard says that it is the first of a series, so I will look for more in the future.  In the meantime check out a pretty interesting novel that features a deck of Tarot cards, and a link to a Rider-Waite deck.