Drawings of the Major Arcana Tarot

The Drawings of the Major Arcana Tarot is a 22-card deck created by artist Steven Russell Black, focusing exclusively on the Major Arcana. Launched successfully on Kickstarter in 2023, the deck reflects Black's artistic inclination towards the "odd, fringe, or otherwise unappreciated." The artwork is characterized by intricate, hand-drawn illustrations that evoke a sense of the macabre and the surreal, often featuring skulls and other symbolic elements.

Each card in the deck is a unique piece of art, rendered in a monochromatic palette that emphasizes line work and shading. The imagery, as seen in the Death card, combines classical tarot themes with a distinctive, often unsettling, artistic vision. The deck is designed to be both a functional tool for tarot readings and a collectible art object, appealing to those who appreciate a darker, more introspective aesthetic in their divination tools. The inclusion of a guide and a tuck box ensures it is ready for use and display.

Beyond the cards themselves, the campaign offered various tiers including digital access, personalized readings, and prints of individual cards, highlighting the artistic value of the illustrations. The deck's focus solely on the Major Arcana makes it suitable for specific types of readings or as a complementary set to a full 78-card deck, offering a concentrated dive into the archetypal energies of tarot.

The artwork is characterized by highly detailed, monochromatic pencil or ink drawings, predominantly in sepia tones against a white or off-white background. The style is realistic yet surreal, with a strong emphasis on texture, shading, and intricate linework. The Death card, for instance, features a prominent skull emerging from smoke, with a reclining figure below, executed with a fine-art sensibility. The card backs display a symmetrical design of two interlocking skulls, reinforcing the deck's dark aesthetic. The overall visual mood is gothic and introspective, avoiding bright colors to focus on the expressive power of line and form.

This deck is ideal for experienced tarot readers who appreciate a darker, more artistic, and introspective approach to the Major Arcana. It will appeal to collectors of unique and limited-edition decks, particularly those drawn to gothic, macabre, or surreal art styles. Readers interested in focusing solely on archetypal energies, or those seeking a complementary Major Arcana set to pair with other decks, will find this offering compelling.

Steven Russell Black is an artist driven by an "obsessive compulsion to champion the odd, fringe, or otherwise unappreciated." This philosophy is clearly reflected in the Drawings of the Major Arcana Tarot, which delves into the deeper, sometimes darker, archetypes of the tarot through his distinctive artistic lens. The deck represents his commitment to exploring themes that resonate with his unique artistic vision.