The Enchanted Lenormand Oracle

  

Look into my crystal balls. Let the Enchanted Lenormand Oracle tell your fortune!

 This has been my most recent commission- to illustrate a set of 39 divination cards in the style of the petit Lenormand method. It is named after the fortune teller Marie Lenormand in early 19th century France, who famously used it to give readings to Nepoleon and other notoriety of the time. Linked to cartomancy its popularity was widespread throughout Europe but has only recently become popular in the English speaking world. The appeal is in it's simplicity of use. Unlike the tarot where the cards are multi-layed and metaphorical in meaning, the symbols of the Lenormand are basic and can be interpreted in a more literal way. It differs from tarot in many other ways and there is plenty more information about it on the web if you'd like to know more.

The instigator of this project and expert on the Lenormand method is the marvelous Caitlin Matthews who has written a book that accompanies the cards explaining the method, its history and the meaning of each card. There are no other Lenormand decks on the market at the moment that can boast this.

 Here are a set of cards that I printed myself, spread out in numerical order along with close ups of a few of them 

Along with the cards and book there is a large diagram which has numbered places for the cards to be spread out on. I designed this intricately woven tableau so that when the cards are placed they all link up...

 like this-

I predict that The Enchanted Lenormand Oracle will be published by Watkins and released into the world in October. 

Happy divination!

Vernal awakening

pastel on paper

6'' by 8.5''

These first rays of spring rouse me

 from seasons of dreams

 held within swelling seed

 beneath wintry quilts.

 Reaching for their warm caresses

 to touch new skin

 they unfurl my inner workings

 to the world again

Nutivity

'Nutivity'

(do excuse the pun)

Pastel pencils on pastel primed paper

4''by 6''

My Christmas card this year has taken a decidedly nutty flavour, and should sit well alongside the numerous other 'sproutings' that have emerged from nut in months past.

Wishing you all the merriest of Yuletides and the happiest of new year beginnings!

Virginia

Pen and ink

It has been many years since I last dabbled in medium of pen and ink. Not since my college days and even then I was disconcerted by its unforgiving nature. Also the difficulty it poses with not being able to render in the subtle tones akin to my pencil work, especially when it came to drawing faces.  But in an attempt to broaden my repertoire of skills and cater for potential black and white commissions that could come my way, I have been dusting off my nibs and this is what flowed out. Being so accustomed to working in a laboriously layered fashion, I have to admit to enjoying its immediacy.

 

 Beauty and the beast

 

 A cat collector who was initially inspired by the character of 'Gertrude' from Mervyn Peake's 'Gormanghast'. It is however very loosely based on her and I might portray her quite differently if the opportunity to illustrate her came my way.

One of my 'Sproutings'. 'The Chestnut Nuptials' came into being as an idea for wedding gift. Thank you to Ari Berk for his suggestion for a title. Prints are now available of this in my Etsy shop- http://www.etsy.com/shop/virginialeeart

Underwater Beauty

 

  

Earlier this year I  was commissioned to do an imaginative portrait of a client’s wife as a surprise birthday gift. So with a couple of wedding photos as reference and a few snippets of information on the subject’s life and loves, I came up with this unusual underwater scene. It has elements of her past, present and hints of the future all amalgamated into one moment. I created it with pastel pencils on a board primed with pastel primer. It is my largest piece to date, measuring at roughly A1 in size. Doing it in pastels means that embarking on something of this size isn't quite as daunting or as time consuming as it would be to execute it in oils. When the big day arrived I was relieved and flattered to know that the subject was pleased and that it moved her to tears when she looked at it, a satisfying reaction indeed.

                                                                               

 

 

I just want to thank all those who have taken time to write generous comments on my blog over the last  year and apologies for not responding to them, its just because I haven’t worked out how to yet. I will try to soon.

Recent Sproutings

The Liberation of Lady Sprout

To bring you up to date with some of the recent sproutings that have emerged from my nut, I introduce to you this burgeoning lady of the forest. She is currently residing  in the Forêt de Brocéliande in Brittany, where for the next two months she graces the wall of the Chateau de Comper along side a few of my other creations, including the Three Hares tor and amongst a selection of fine contemporary French illustration. 
http://www.centre-arthurien-broceliande.com/

 The Arrival 

A birthday gift for my dearest friend

 

Three Hares Tor

  Many apologies for my absent blogging of late. Amongst other distractions my computer was in need of some extra RAM to assist me in the flow of my workings. Having implanted the horned mammal inside my machine I am now able to reveal one of my most recent creations of another mammal , the HARE, or rather the THREE HARES SYMBOL to be more precise. As we have entered the Chinese year of the rabbit as well as the three linked Hares or rabbits being the symbol associated with the Dartmoor stannery town in which I dwell, it was certainly a timely and locally significant subject matter to explore. To read more about the symbol’s history and link to Dartmoor and China, 

the Three Hares project by photographer Chris Chapman is worth a look.. To my knowledge I’m not aware that the symbol has been depicted in the form of a granite Tor set in a landscape before so I thought it wise to pursue it with my pastels and capture it on paper before another artist got there before me..

 

 

 I managed to complete it in time for a little exhibition I had in the Courtyard (local Organic Café) in March, it sat amongst other originals, some old, some more recent and a number of framed prints.