Concentration: The High Priestess

My friend Alice, pictured here, has, out of all of my friends, the strongest connection to tarot cards herself. The High Priestess is also another card that is associated with strong femininity and the power that is associated with that, and that was why I chose this card for her.  The symbol behind her head is one that is very common in pagan religions, that of the maiden-mother-crone, or the cycle of life as it relates to the moon.
     Another interesting feature of this card is that it features black and white "pillars" which are also commonly featured in The High Priestess card. Although in Alice's case it's the white of a wall and the black of the doorway, the background mimics the traditional set up for the card.
     I chose to do Alice in pastel for the same reason that I chose to do Aiyana in chalk pastel--the colors of chalk pastel are strong, but I feel that the medium itself is unbound.  The lines can be softer and more organic, while the colors are still impactful.

Working on the face

Completed face

Again, halfway through the picture 

Okay, so, for some reason it's not letting me put a caption on the final image, but the final image is here.  I forgot to take pictures while working on this piece because I finished it really quickly. It's a pretty tiny piece. But, as you can see here, I took some of the things that I learned from prisma colors as well as the watercolors and used it here. I used red and orange under the skin first, before putting the pastel skin color over top. And Alice's shirt has multiple different colors, such as purple and neon green, though in the picture it is only brown. I feel like this piece is a strong example of how my techniques have been building on each other.
     Another thing I really like about this piece is her facial expression. It doesn't look exactly like it does in the photo she sent me, but I think that her facial expression captures a lot of expression as well as looking like a plausible face. Which is a really big jump for me.
    This is one of my favorite pieces overall, because of those qualities.  It shows a lot of growth, and maybe not mastery, but growth is all that I aim for. And Alice likes it too, which is always really gratifying!