Shadows

A black cat lounges in her mistress’s workshop full of herbs, bell, book, and candle, a pentagram, and few tarot cards foretelling of a fine partnership. Where is the Witch, though? Don’t turn around, she’s right behind you. Have you been snooping where you’re not supposed to be?

Back in the 90s I had an agent, Harriet Kasak, and I’d regularly advertise in the Directory of Illustration with her agency group, and taking up a full page was common. HK Portfolio would cover half of the fees and I just had to come up with an image that would showcase my style and content.

I have to give Harriet credit for the image here, though. She was riding on the subway and came up with the idea for giving a character presence without actually showing them. So we came up with the plan to show a Witch’s workshop and all of her notions and potions as if she was actually there but unseen. (Or perhaps the viewer is the witch?)

So I prepared a little nook in my painting studio and made it look like part of a disheveled research library, part laboratory, part messy apothecary. Originally, I had a real candle burning to illuminate the scene, but as it burned and melted, it shortened and the shadows changed by the hour, so I switched to a wick in a bottle of lamp oil and fixed the problem.

I made a quick sketch of this which Harriet approved and then I painted most of it directly from the still life. The Cat is really just one big black shape to which I added a few details like the eyes.

The symbolism of the tarot cards is of partnership and trust and sums up my sentiment about working with Harriet who was a lovely person who influenced me greatly. She passed away later that year and I still miss her sharp intellect and kindness.

A print of this is available online at ImageKind.

I’d love to know what else you think might be contained in this work.