» magical alphabet

Tree of Stars Alchemy Card

Ninth Wave — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 20:41:21 +0000

I found a little bit of time last weekend for artwork and created this very little painted card. The card itself measures 2.375″ high by 1.625″ wide. The frame, shown below, measures 3.5″ wide by 4.5″ high and is 1.25″ deep. The card is made from 4 ply Strathmore 500 bristol board and it is painted with acrylic inks, watercolor pencils and metallic acrylics. I floated the card against a background of antique marbled paper.

I love the idea of this symbol – a tree with stars for leaves – and it serves as a visual reminder in my mind, bringing up a feeling of potential for the transformation it represents. The six-pointed star is traditionally a symbol for mercury – combining upward and downward pointing triangles that represent mercury’s role of uniting the sun and moon in the alchemical process. The tree is also a symbol used to represent a similar kind of unity – between heaven and earth – with the branches in the sky and the roots planted deep in the ground.

This original small framed painting is available for sale in my Etsy store HERE.

Nine of My Heart

Ninth Wave — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:06:38 +0000

This is the companion piece to the previous work posted, Heart is Home. It was created in much the same way: It is a collage done on Strathmore 500 bristol board, using an engraved illustrations from an old anatomy book. I also incorporated a playing card and a scrap of antique marbled paper. The frame around the heart the embossed and perforated edge from a very old holy card. The media used includes liquid acrylic inks, Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils, Prismacolor watercolor pencils, and metallic acrylic inks. The image is 5″ by 5″ square.

I have really become a fan of the Inktense watercolor pencils. The pigmentation is very highly concentrated, more so than any of the other watercolor pencils I have tried. If you enjoy working with watercolor pencils you should give them a try and let me know what you think.

Alchemy Notebook: Serpent

Ninth Wave — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:50:40 +0000

This is the most recent image in the Alchemy Notebook Project, created in my Moleskine pocket sketchbook. I used liquid acrylic inks, Prismacolor watercolor pencils, Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils, and metallic acrylic paints. The page measures 3.5 by 5.5 inches. It was created as a symbolic portrait of someone very close to my heart.