at Splendorporium

A little about my piece, “The Hermit” with Blue Cat, shown close up is a photograph of a hot press fine art print in indirect sunlight. 

I experimented with how to photograph stars on my phone when I was in Jerome, AZ and that become the sky of this piece. The mountains, my original work in pastel, appear in every card in the Windy Path Tarot, and have been shrouded in night for The Hermit.

The rocks are the main natural feature of this card. Taken in Joshua Tree National Park in full sun, the photograph underwent a transformation with black highlights, shadows, midtones, and HSL adjustments to become moon kissed. 

The lantern, which I photographed in the basement of a famous California mansion, had not seen a match in over 100 years before coming to life in this scene with a lot of yellow and careful application of the eraser tool. I love the brushes in my Sketchbook program and how I liberally create sources of light with them, especially in the Hermit, who is comforted by this light in his refuge. The thing about iPad paintings is that you’re literally using light as the media in RGB, which is a smaller spectrum than the human visible color spectrum but quite a bit larger than CYMK so it’s interesting to turn these into print images! I think Gango Editions did marvelous work.

Jeff drew me two cats in three poses each, which I have modeled and colored to suit the activities happening in the tarot. This one is close to the original, with only the tail bent forward to hold the lantern. 

The landscape of the Hermit makes this card amongst my favorites of the 78, as the desert will always be a part of me. 

Notes from Tara at the Gallery

Please join us for the opening reception of The Tarot Show, an October tradition, on Friday, October 2nd, 7-9 PM. 

This show features new work by collage artist Pamela Kieffer @unzyptcollage and 40 other local artists celebrating the imagery and themes of the Tarot in a variety of styles and media.

We will have: 
🍦Ice Cream and Coffee by Sinister Coffee and Creamery @sinisterpdx
🎸Live Acoustic Guitar and Piano by LANCINATOR 
♥️Dollhouse Tarot Readings by Ophelia Darkly @opheliadarkly
And
👻Tarot Readings by Ghost Terresterea @ghostofearth

Our Children’s Gallery will also be showcasing Tarot themed artwork created by students in our Art4Life afterschool program at Richmond and Abernethy Elementary schools. 

As always, this opening is in association with First Friday PDX. 
To see all participating galleries, visit firstfridaypdx.org
Link in bio @firstfridaypdx

This show is also proud to be a part of the first annual ADX fest, a region-wide art and design festival activating venues, studios, and spaces across the Portland metro area during the month of October. 
To learn more, visit adxfest.com
@adxportland

The show runs through October 29th. 

Gallery hours are 11-5 Monday-Friday.

★ Splendorporium ★ 3421 SE 21st Ave., Portland, OR 97202 ★ (503) 953-2885 ★