Tarot Cat came about as an idea while exploring new materials to work with.  I found scratchboard while browsing the isles of Pearl Paint.  I found the idea of negative drawing to be a challenge.  As I started playing around with a few scratch nibs in my crowquill  pen, it occured to me that the lines I discovered would work well with describing the fur of cats, the lines of money and printmaking techniques in etching.  I chose a theme of Tarot cards and decided to use various wild and domesticated cats as models for the various Tarot card titles.  Framing these illustrations around a money designed frame I thought would enable me to push the envelope of the scratchboard medium while keeping with beautiful design. The results are this Tarot Cat idea.

Each Card was first experimented on flat scratchboard sheets of paper.  The resulting design are Justice and Da Devil Tarot cards.  Both with the size of 2.5 inches by 4.5 inches.  I then moved on to 5 inch by 7 inch scratch board plates. These are more durable and held up well to the long hours of execution of each design.  Along with the two sketches, you'll find a Justice, Death, The Devil and Strength 5 by 7 inch tarot cards.



Sherwin Banfield - ARTIST