Minor Arcana exploration (Patreon)

I've been trying to figure out what happens next now that I'm done with the Major Arcana. The logical choice is to begin working on the final 52 (!) tarot cards to finish up the deck. It's an intimidating idea so I've been rolling it around in my head a lot and experimenting with ideas on how to make it workable.

To kick off the exploration, I've been compiling reference and attempting a few of the Ace designs. Above are attempts at the Ace of wands and Ace of Swords.

These attempts were leaving me feeling a bit disheartened. I need the Minor Arcana paintings to be simpler than my usual work in order to complete the project, but these pieces don't feel like personal work to me. They feel like low-effort commissions.

Behind my disappointment in these pieces is a ray of hope. I've been stuck before and the solution is always the same. I need to shrug off my feelings of obligation and tap into my authentic creativity. I'm going to keep trying and I'm not going to commit to these pieces until I do it in a way that leaves me satisfied.