In response to the NightFair Market call out for an Alice in Wonderland themed auction, I wanted to do something with the animals - I’m rather fond of drawing them, as you may know! I started with a couple of sketches of the white rabbit - who has turned to steampunk, and attempted to get the cat to pose smiling as my muse for the Cheshire cat - mixed success with that one! With a love of lino print and mini prints which look like book illustrations, i thought playing card sized images would work well. It would be nice to use them as art trading cards at some point.
So - What to do for each suit?
The cat? Obviously she is ace
The rabbit - traditionally the heart
The dodo - A spade seems to fit with the dead as a dodo…digging a grave and all - bit dark, sorry
And the flamingo - a club reference - club tropicana type reference - or croquet type club? Whatever takes your fancy.
I’ve cut the lino into vaguely card shaped pieces, I might even trim to playing card size. I printed the red and black all at the same time - not sure if that’s good printmaking practice , but it worked for me. I’ll print some just black as well as that’s my go to colour, but I do love the traditional colours. I’m so literal when it comes to colour, but I’m OK with that.
