diptych

final project for painting 3: two related paintings.

i like beauty, i like allegories, i like mucha, i like lavish fabric and aestheticism and rich colors and a lot of information
i'm thinking 2 paintings that would fit on either side of a door or wall opening, so about 72" tall and 44.5" wide (6'x3.7') - golden ratio style.
the golden ratio itself is interesting a concept that spans from math to art and, most importantly, in nature.

but that's somewhat arbitrary to what i'm planning on.  well, i might incorporate the spiral into the composition of the painting somehow, but that's much further ahead than where i'm at.

my subject matter i want to be two complimentary or contrasting ideas.  after running through a long list of ideas, i fell upon two related cards from a tarot deck: the magician and the high priestess.  i'm not overly knowledgeable regarding tarot cards, but i've always liked how each card is a representation of a larger idea, to be interpreted in various ways, and able to be represented in even more ways.  looking through different decks show endless interpretations of the different cards.  i've always liked the differences between decks, and even more i've liked the similarities between the same card in different decks - the essential information that makes the card identifiable despite having completely different images between sets.

the magician: (based off of various internet searching)

• meaning: powerful, charming, male creation by willpower and desire, charismatic, clever, provides an easy solution to problems, persuasive, possible doctor/scientist/inventor, revelation of new ideas, manipulation, creativity, practicality, recreation, scholarly knowledge, potential of a new journey, 'bringing the fool from the cave of childhood into the light of consciousness'
• visual characteristics: halo, wand (club, of one of the suits) pointed to heaven & finger pointed to earth, table with items that represent the other suits (cups, coins, swords), youthful and attractive, infinity sign over his head, ouroboros belt (snake eating its tail), roses and lilies at his feet, sometimes crowned by snakes, richly dressed (back in the day he wore a hat, red leggings, red undershirt, yellow vest thing, and blue trouser things, more modern depictions show him in a red robe with white underclothes)

awesome site with historical images of the magician

the high priestess:

• meaning: quiet, omniscience, secret knowledge, instinct, solitary investigation, obscure information, wisdom, serenity, inner voice, faith
• visual characteristics: blue/white/black, pomegranate curtain behind her, crown of isis, veil, crescent moon by her feet, lotus, 2 pillars (one w/ b=boaz, j=jachin), scroll in left hand, staff (maybe w/ cross) or key in right hand, sitting, night, wearing a greek cross, 

and, of course, some pretty art nouveau tarot as examples

i think i'll be going less on the design-route, though.  probably something closer to mucha's paintings - still art nouveau but not so stylized.  no frames or anything.  much more lush and glowing.