Here is another painting for Ghosts & Spirits Tarot. This is a water spirit who is a shapeshifting seducer. He offers a cool drink and a splash in the refreshing water. It felt great to paint this. Here’s an abbreviated journey through the painting process.

The finished watercolor painting

Some of my fans, friends and colleagues have expressed interest in me doing an art instruction book. Having been an art college teacher for several years (before settling into full time studio life), I’ve toyed around with the idea. It wasn’t until a recent lunch date with my old college buddy Pam (who is a charismatic high school art teacher) that I realized how exciting a project like this could be.  So after our riveting chat, I am giving the idea some serious consideration. I’ve always loved to teach–I love sharing my techniques and enthusiasm for the drawing and painting process with others. I hope this has been obvious on my blog, facebook and twitter pages. Creating a helpful art book is shaping up to be my next venture. What do you think?

*** In other news ***

Here’s Kyra painting animals. Recently, Kyra sent a picture to one of her favorite artists, Stephanie Pui-Mun Law. Much to her delight, Stephanie posted her “Stephanie with Elephant” picture in her recent SF Zoo blog post.  This, of course, is a big deal to an aspiring 6 year old artist. Hmmm, I wonder how much this kind of validation from a professional artist can affect a young child–I suspect Kyra will be painting pictures for a long time. Thank you, Stephanie. It meant the world to Kyra.

~Lisa

The end of winter is not too far away and Lisa is celebrating the coming of spring with another spectacular giveaway. Until April 15th, you can enter to win a FREE signed copy of the Premier Edition of the beautifully illustrated Fantastical Creatures Tarot. There are three ways to win – you can follow and re-tweet LisaHuntArt on Twitter — “RT and follow @LisaHuntArt to win a signed copy of the Fantastical Creatures Tarot http://bit.ly/x6jCj”, mention and link to this blog entry on Facebook, and/or purchase something from the Lisa Hunt Art website.

Each method counts as a separate entry. The winner will be randomly chosen from the entries. Thank you for your participation and good luck!

~ Lisa

Where I grew up (1971)

Lions, tigers and bears oh my! The mysterious forest is full of unknowns and teeming with mysterious life.  As a symbol of the unconscious, it is a place inhabited by wild things, often obscured by the shadows of tree branches and layered with the remnants of seasons gone by. When we walk into a forest, we step into a world full of adventure and trepidation. We leave the comfort of paths familiar and cross the threshold into a realm  full of challenges and unpredictability. Who knows what monsters lie in wait and who knows where the wayward path will lead. Myths and fairy tales often use the woods as a stage for the evolving protagonist. The character leaves the safety of home and wanders into the realm of the psyche, where growth is inevitable.

Drawing from the 80's

When I was in high school, I often sketched the forest using the wells of my imagination as reference. These forests were alive with spirits and elusive beings, there to provide me with messages. They dwelled  in a place that offered  temporary refuge from the province of a chaotic reality . I loved exploring the twisting tree limbs and fortifying roots that helped me to feel grounded in a world of teenage confusion.  I was wandering into the path of the unknown and these fantasy tree drawings helped me to manifest the deep-seated worries I was experiencing as I approached adulthood.

Pencil drawing done in my teenage years

My Mom as the Hermit (Fantastical Creatures Tarot)

Lisa as a teenager

Lisa in the snowy woods of northern New England, 1990s

Fairy tales often employ these settings as metaphors of the shadow. They are the wild, untamed symbols of our own inner landscapes, where creative thinking and intrinsic energies reside and beg to be released. It is here where we meet frog princes, wise old men, a golden goose, a ravenous wolf, imposing giants, spirit messengers and all manner of creatures that help us shed the constraints of a rational mind. It is here where we let go and become more self-aware. It is under the dappling light that we recognize our full potentials and find our way through the tangle of brush.  Through the darkness of paths unknown, we have the possibility of seeing the light.

Forest images from The Fairy Tale Tarot

Here is a neat “forest” video from friend and fellow artist Carisa Swenson:

The Forest

~ Lisa

Shapeshifter paintings in progress

final drawing for Crow-Shapeshifter on watercolor board

As some of you may know, after 20 years of publishing intensity, I’ve taken a break from contracted assignments to work on my own material, unhindered by deadlines, dimensions, or other technical considerations. This doesn’t mean I’m abandoning my identity as an illustrator/writer — I still have plenty more to do/explore in print publishing. I simply needed to refresh myself and flex some creative muscle that has been lying languid since the completion of the monumental Fairy Tale Tarot project. It’s like taking a dive into the ocean after counting grains of sand by the shoreline. I needed to pull away from the details of my daily repertoire and just let loose. This also came about after befriending a bird enthusiast from Canada (who is about to have her first book published) and watching some PBS Art 21 episodes, where varied fine artists discussed their fascinating and individual journeys.

Sketches

With this break I’m flying free through the mountainous terrain of self discovery and am enjoying every minute of this much needed recess. I haven’t felt this unfettered since my early youthful days, when I freely dabbled in the surrealistic vicissitude of the imagination; when swooping brush strokes and splattered paint were par for the course. I want to paint big, bold and textural, and get really physical with the process.

Early exploratory work as a teenager (1984-5)

I had recently read “Pictures Telling Stories: The Art of Robert Ingpen” and inside was this passage:

“When asked about the difference between a painter and an illustrator he often observes that a painter stands to work and an illustrator always sits.”

I wanted to debunk this idea for myself! Why abandon a sense of illustrative narrative when standing? Why label myself and settle in a seat of expectation? I was determined to break my own convention: I stretched a whole sheet of paper on the one oversized  board that I’ve had in storage for years and set out to work.  And yes, moving the board around was no easy task — nor was it easy to paint a large scale watercolor. What I thought might be a brief interlude turned out to be an obsession!  The spirit of the paintings took over — not only consuming my psyche and soul but assuming my full attention in the studio, with creative chaos being a mess inducing bi-product. Oh, my normally orderly surroundings now took on a life of their own as the desire to paint supplanted the necessity to maintain order.

But this is good, isn’t it? Sometimes as artists, we need to shake things up, deconstruct and build anew. For me being an artist is more than just interpreting story or conveying expression, it’s about diving deeper past barriers and depths that we may have ignored for way too long. I suppose this is my way of dismantling potential artist’s block and it has worked to great effect!

Please feel free to visit my purchase page for more information, thanks!

Final Shapeshifter Paintings - click to visit Lisa's online store

~ Lisa

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I’m offering some amazing deals in recognition of “Black Friday”.
They are:

1. Half-off original paintings!
2. Custom drawings
3. Buy 1 get 1 FREE prints
4. Buy Animals Divine and The Fairy Tale Tarot & get a FREE copy Celestial Goddesses
5. Buy Celestial Goddesses and get a FREE print

Check out the specials here: http://lisahuntart.com/blackfriday.html

Offer good until December 7, 2009, so don’t delay!
______________

Don’t forget to sign up for the Celtic Dragon Anniversary print giveaway!
http://is.gd/4Lf4x

In honor of this anniversary I’m having another giveaway. Either leave a comment below or  Follow and “tweet” the following message on twitter.com: “Win a signed 2′x3′ poster of the ‘Queen of Swords’ for the Celtic Dragon Tarot’s 10th Anniv! Follow Lisa & RT. http://is.gd/4Lf4x” Entries will be tallied at the end of the month and the winner randomly drawn from them. Commenting here AND on twitter gives you 2 entries, but no further submissions will not be counted. I will gladly ship anywhere around the world.

Also this month, we’re having a sale on a limited edition Celtic Dragon Tarot Kit. Included is:

• a signed American release of this legendary  kit (deck & book)
• a signed, archival  print (choice of the Moon, King of Wands, the Hermit, the Magician & the Lovers)
• a unique dragon sketch by me, Lisa, done just for this special offer on an individual basis
• a Celtic Dragon greeting card

There are just 15 of these kits available and they’ll be at the low price of $60 (a $95 value) only until January 1st (S&H is FREE in the continental US). I’ll have a paypal link on the Purchase page of my website soon, or you can message/email me to reserve a copy.

CONTEST CLOSED-The winner will soon be announced. Thanks everyone for your participation!

The Fairy Tale exhibit opens Friday, October 23 at the Kris Waldherr Art and Words Gallery in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn. Lisa is one of the artists with work in the exhibit. Visit this link for more details:

http://www.kriswaldherr.com/press/ftpress.html

“Lisa Hunt is the creator of the Celtic Dragon Tarot, the Shapeshifter Tarot, the Animals Divine Tarot, the Fantastical Creatures Tarot, and her most recently released work, the Fairy Tale Tarot.

Lisa also has created a hardcover meditation guidebook called Celestial Goddesses, and maintains a website at www.lisahuntart.com.

She will join us on Walking the Path with Dawn and Laura on Monday, Sept. 14 at 11:00 am (Eastern Time) to discuss the Fairy Tale Tarot, and will be taking calls at 347/677-0909. Hope you can join us!

Listening is always free, show will be archived and available for download at www.blogtalkradio.com/walkingthepath.

Visit www.DawnandLaura.com anytime for info on upcoming shows.”

I hope that you can tune in!