08.19.14 Sock Monkeys!

Hey There,
This week is all about sock monkey art!  I have always loved sock monkeys--and I have found that you can replace any character with a sock monkey and it will always make the story better!  I used to do a lot of sock monkey themed work and my favorite illustration project, which is still on-going, is a deck of sock monkey themed tarot cards.  I'm only sharing a handful because I made about 20 of these, mostly of the Major Arcana.  Tarot cards are a really project because each card has a traditional design but you can add your own twist to it, based on your theme.  Along with having fun with symbols, this was mostly a color exercise for me. FYI, I used all sewing supplies to replace the traditional symbols:  Wands=Needles, Swords=Scissors, Pentacles=Buttons, Cups=Mugs of Coffee.  ...mugs full of coffee are essential sewing tools, you know.  
  These are all hand-painted, these were the last things I did before I switched to digital painting.  These are all acrylic and ink on board--here is a small sampling:

#11 Justice

"#8 Strength"

 

#19 The Sun

#18 The Moon

#5 The Heirophant

#15 The Devil

  I have many more of these so I may post some more, one at a time--they were really fun to make and I still love how they look.  Of course, I want to re-do them now, so I'm working on the sketches for the rest of the deck.  Forthcoming project!  Moving right along.... 

  ....Another thing I loved doing with sock monkeys was comics of Greek Tragedies--they are so much funnier with sock monkeys!  I will show you my favorite part from my sock monkey "Hero and Leander":

Leander's Death

That one was in crayon and it's been deteriorating over time, so here is a cleaner and easier to read version:

Leander's Death, Inks  

And, of course once Hero sees that Leander has drowned, she flings herself from her tower--there is no other way to consider!!!!

Hero's Death

So tragic! But not really because they are sock monkeys. This is another project that is on the back burner, so to speak.  I still have other plans for it but right now I'm working on Joseph so it will just have to wait. That's what a back burner is for, after all!
  Thanks for checking out my sock monkey retrospective!  It's been such a long time since I looked at these, it's like saying hi to old friends! I hope you enjoyed it, too. (:
  More to come!
Love, Beckaroooo!!!