Well, getting the card Two of Hearts and drawing the graphics for it on Valentine’s day had a sweet synchronicity that of course had to inspire the theme and style. The two hearts on the card resembles red roses/rose pedals and it looks as if you can look into the chambers of the hearts. The hearts look soft, fluid, organic. All very romantic of course.

The karma for the 4 of diamonds is overcoming of self. We are 4 people at Foreal at the moment and everyone has their own approach and style on design and illustration. We are constantly aiming towards overcoming our egos and work together as a whole rather than individuals towards a common goal. As the reflection of the objects complete each other they become a diamond shape. It’s a symbol on how we reflect on each other ideas and thoughts to make them complete and a whole.

Club sandwiches are the fanciest of sandwiches because they not only have frilly toothpicks, but also 3 slices of bread. The 5 of clubs is an elite inner circle of that club, and the sandwiches contain even more pomp and circumstance.

The idea came from a biblical Word, where it explain how Jesus will come for the second time, he will show on a White horse with a White and shinny dress, with a sword in the hand and a Crown in the head. It speaks that the one that was called by love will come this time on a horse from the heaven with a White dress, a sword and a Crown to make justice, so we make a representation with our own style to describe this prophetic Word. With a research, we realize that the number seven it’s the number of perfection and the sword is associated to the divine Word.

I wanted to make an allusion to a figure of Don Juan, because he is able to collect as many hearts together. Therefore 9 hearts impaled on a sword and shrouded in a cloak.

To be honest, designing a ’high’ card is a bit of a challenge to me. I wanted to design a reversible card and the illustration can stand on its own without looking at the given pictograms showing what card it is. Nature has always been my favourite subject. Natural elements such as animals and plants are used to incorporate 10 bits of diamonds with two of them facing each other at the centre forming an “X” symbol which means 10. The resulting piece is a reversible design with two sides that are totally different from each other.

Perched high on the Dublin mountains lies The Hellfire Club, an 18th century hunting lodge with an infamous history of outrageous behaviour and depravity. Accounts of the club’s meetings claim that members drank “scaltheen”, a mixture of whiskey and hot butter, and that they left a chair vacant at each gathering for the Devil. One of these accounts tells of a stranger who arrived at the club on a stormy night. Invited in, he joined the members in a card game. As one player dropped his card on the floor he bent under the table to retrieve it and noticed that the stranger had a cloven hoof. At this point the visitor disappeared in a ball of flames ;)

Oddity :) I like to use pale colors. I think it’s make my illustration softer than real.