MYSTERIOUS Things Can Happen on an Illustration Caturday
Anyway, so this IF Friday topic is actually an old one from 3 years ago, I believe. I was going to participate in that week's IF Friday, but for whatever reason (likely health-related as I was really sick in 2019), I didn't end up getting the piece I had planned completed. I had all the groundwork and planning work done. I knew what I wanted to do for this topic and I had all my reference research pulled for it and ready to go. However, I think I probably got sick as was forced to "recover" instead of "discover" my art that week. I actually have a small handful of IF Friday "leftovers" that come from a similar scenario. I'm thinking of pulling them out of my bag of tricks every so often when I need a fun yet quick project to work on (not that I don't have plenty of projects that I should be working on... lol.) But... you know what I mean.
So, let's talk about MYSTERIOUS things and what sort of things we associate with that word. Often, the first things that come to mind are a clever, well-thought-out, well-written, on-the-edge-of-your-seat Who-Dunnit murder mystery. But I also think of the mysterious parts of our world that we can't see; the occult and all the things we associate with that. I think of seances with Spirit Boards and communing with the dead. I think of the spooky folk that hang-out in cemeteries. I think of ghost stories shared around a campfire. I think of some of my favorite spooky movies like Poltergeist (1, 2 & 3), Haunting in Connecticut, Oijah, The first 2 Conjuring Films, Dead Silent, The Exorcist franchise, The Possession... etc.
Of all the things that I think of when I hear the word "mysterious" the thing I think of most of all is a gypsy fortune teller. The one you can find at a county fair, the one you see in a traveling circus. I think of a covered wagon caravan traveling across the country through wooded areas, setting up camps on the outskirts of town. I think of a very archetypal version of this sort of figure, and it's no wonder. This mysterious figure is one you see in so many films and TV shows. Some of my favorite gypsy characters include (but are not limited to) Madam Ruby in PeeWee's Big Adventure, Esmerelda from Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame, Professor Trelawney from the Prisoner of Azkaban (played hilariously by the lovely Emma Thompson), Rita Marks from Shut Eye & Lisle Von Rhuman from Death Becomes Her (both of these characters played by the fabulous Isabella Rossellini.) I think of the famous scene in Disney's Robin Hood where Robin Hood and Little John dress up as old fortune tellers to trick Prince John. I even think of the animatronic Fortune Tellers in their coin-operated Oracle Boxes, such as the one in the movie BIG that transforms a young boy into a fully grown Tom Hanks.
The term Gypsy (short for Egyptians) refers to the English mistaken origins of the Romani (gypsy) peoples. "Gypsy" is considered pejorative by Romani people due to its connotations of illegality and irregularity as well as its historical use as a racial slur.
The Romani peoples, colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, not Egyptian. They are the descendants of diverse groups of people who were assembled in northern India as a military force to resist the eastward movement of Islam. Though this may be their origin, the Roma have many dispersed populations all over the world. They are a very traditionally nomadic people. Over the centuries, they moved westward into Europe and northern Africa, adapting their language and culture in their migrations. Gypsy Americans represent family groups from England (Romnichals), Eastern Europe (the Rom, subdivided into Kalderash, Lovari, and Machvaya), Romania (Ludar), and Germany. They sometimes entered the United States after residing in other parts of the western hemisphere for a period of time. An accurate estimate of their numbers is difficult to achieve. If counted in a census at all, it is typically by their country of origin. Estimates of the total population of ethnic Gypsies in the United States range from fewer than 100,000 to one million.
The traditional stereotype of the Gypsy is the wanderer. Great families traveling across all the areas of the globe in their covered wagons sticking to the outskirts of cities, towns, and villages; on the outskirts of society and societal norms. Some modern Gypsy Americans continue to travel in pursuit of their livelihoods. Rather than wander, they tend to move purposefully from one destination to another. Historically, some families have reportedly traveled in regular circuits, often returning to the same places; others have ranged more widely, following no set route. Awareness of the best cities, small towns, or rural areas as markets for their services has guided all travel. A group might camp for weeks, sometimes months, in especially productive urban areas, returning to these spots year after year.
Gypsy Americans might maintain a sequence of home bases; they often live in mobile homes, settling indefinitely in a trailer park. They may tear down walls or and enlarge the doorways of their homes to combine rooms or make them larger to create a wide open space suitable for the large social gatherings that occur in Rom home. their history is long and winding, perhaps as long and winding as we imagine the travels of Roma peoples in the past.
I also feel a kindred spirit with the traveling gypsies of the past. Though, as far as I know, I don't have any Roma blood. I have yet to do a "23 and Me" test, and my mother's idea of family heritage research is dodgy at best. "Oh, they have the same last name as we do... We MUST be related to them!" No other evidence is needed. My mother said we were related to so many famous people it was kinda a joke. Napoleon? Really, mom? Probably not. I don't know if I have Roma blood but never say never. Maybe that is why my family decided every few years to up stakes and all move together to some new state and new town. A traveling caravan of U-Haul trucks, Vans, all lead by a crisp-white Lincoln Towncar (mint interior.) My grandmother drove a Lincoln and we always moved to be close to her. Most every year of my life was spent in a new town, likely a new state, a new house, a new school. I was always the new kid. I used to make a joke about this part of my childhood in my artist bio.
My mother always needed to be near her mother. So when my grandmother would get the itch to move, my family would follow. I can't exactly tell you why my grandmother moved so often or even wanted to, given her age, but she definitely had a wanderlust in her.
This might be why I identify and gravitate to the iconic image of a traveling group, a traveling family, and why it mystifies me and captures both my attention and imagination. I kind of have a healthy obsession with Fortune Tellers. Over the past couple of years, I have been learning a few forms of divination, myself: Astrology and how to read tarot cards. I'm still very much learning as there is a lot of material in both subjects to learn and the more I know about each one, the more fascinated I become with them. There is this fascination with the world of the unknown (the occult,) and it makes it's way into so many areas of our lives.
A few years ago, when I first moved to New York, I found myself sitting in a chair across from a fortune teller telling me my life. It was late October and I was in a very Halloweeny kind of mood. Jackolanterns were in street-facing apartment windows and on stoop stairs outside of the brownstones. There was the scent of wood burning in the air and it was chilly outside. Fall was certainly in full swing and I am ALL about some Autumn weather and festivity. I didn't really know anyone in the city except for maybe 3 people so the chances of being invited to a Halloween party that year were pretty slim. So, I decided to participate in a costumed bar crawl. I was very excited because I used to take visitors on a haunted pub crawl when I lived in Savannah. Unfortunately, there would be no guide to tell us ghost stories on this tour. It was self-guided and at check-in, you were given a map, a stamp on your hand, and a time frame to get from Bar A to Bar Z.
I had decided to re-use an old costume from several years previous. I was dressed as Max from Where the Wild Things Are and I was READY for some sort of Halloween adventure. The bar crawl was through several bars and pubs located in the West Village (where all the FRIENDS lived) and my knowledge of the city geography was really very green. I mean, my sense of direction on my best day isn't all that great, but that's why we have Google Maps now, lol.
I began my track from bar to bar trying not to drink too much at each place so that I could pace myself to at least make it to Bar Z by the end of the night and after that, I could be more wasted. Trouble is, I'm kinda a lightweight and the combination of shots and beer and cocktails over the course of my journey began to make me quite susceptible to distractions. lol. I stopped to watch a free comedy show of local wannabe up-and-coming comics. They were quite funny and that was fun. I also made a new drunk-best-friend out of a bride-to-be celebrating her bachelorette party at the Coyote Ugly (which looked a little different from the one in the movie.) We were great friends for that hour and a half (or however long) I was there. I eventually told her I was on a mission to complete the bar circuit and she gave me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. She wished me good luck on my journey and I said, "Congratulations! May you both be happy for the rest of your lives." I wonder how she is and how they are doing sometimes.
I remember making it all the way to Bar Z that night. However, I did not make it within the time frame. Not that it was a race or that you received some sort of prize for completing the crawl (a huge oversight and missed opportunity on the planning committee's part, I think.) You did, in fact, receive certain Halloween-themed drink specials that were only associated with the event. The only stipulation was that you had to make it to each bar within your time frame. Otherwise, "You're paying full price for those shots, Sweetie..." It was fine. I was trashed and I had a lot of fun that night.
The next thing I remember was the trek home. As I was walking home... or trying to... At this point, I was really confused as to where in the city I was, what train I needed to take to get home to Brooklyn, and exactly where that train station was. I did, however, know how good the food smelled as it was wafting out of some diner nearby... I had no idea where the diner was but I began to let my nose do the navigation. I followed the delicious scent of pancakes and sausage. This is when I stumbled upon a Fortune Teller sitting at a quaint little cafe table with her cards, a smile, and a sales pitch. lol. She was selling 5-dollar readings, a Halloween Special, and she convinced me to sit down and let her read my cards. Of course, the 5-dollar reading is cursory and the goal is to get you to come inside for a full-priced reading, which she convinced me to do. I was wasted and in an adventurous mood. Carpe the Noctem. The Madam was very good. She literally read my life. She knew things about me that she couldn't possibly have known. It was amazing and, honestly, a little scary. I was kinda getting freaked out. I'm a pretty private guy and only like to share things about myself when I'm comfortable sharing them, if at all. So this absolute stranger picking out details from my life, as if she had opened up my head and picked them directly from my brain, was just absolutely wild to me. Just so wild...
All I could think about was that scene from Pee Wee's Big Adventure when Pee Wee stumbles upon the little shop of Madam Ruby and she gazes into her crystal ball to see where his missing bike has gone to. The basement of the Alamo is where it turns out the bike is hiding. A lot of us fantasize about going to see a psychic and them telling us that the deepest wish of our hearts will come true, as in the film Only You (which descends into hilarity and madness as the protagonist follows what a fortune teller tells her is her destiny. We all have wishes that we want to come true. That is why we throw coins into fountains, make wishes before blowing out the candles on a cake, make wishes as we blow dandelions into the wind, or blow an eyelash from our fingers.
I've been reading (or trying to lol) Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse and so far I have really been enjoying it. In the book, the lighthouse is a metaphor that represents what each character truly and deeply desires most. Even the bike in Pee Wee's Big Adventure represents the same thing. We would do most anything to chase our dreams, even if that means going all the way across the country to the basement of the Alamo to find them. Perhaps, that is where all our dreams are hiding, in the basement of the Alamo. That is what the bike actually represents, what Pee Wee desires and treasures most in the world. His life's wish; his dream. There is a card in the tarot that represents this. It is the Star card. It represents what we want most in this world. The truest and deepest desires that live in our hearts. Some that are even a mystery to ourselves.
So, the art, right?! So, you know now why I might have chosen the visage of a gypsy fortune teller, but why a cat? Well, aside from being a cat dad and just loving the opportunity to draw cats when it fits (and they sits), I think cats are very mysterious creatures themselves. In many ancient cultures, cats were worshiped as little gods/goddesses. Some people would actually bury their cats with them as a form of afterlife security system. I LOVE a good allegory (a story or poem told with animals as the main characters that reveals a hidden meaning or moral) One of the most famous allegories that we would be familiar with is the story of the Tortoise and the Hare or the Grasshopper that Sang All Summer. Also, I LOVE to see animals dressed up and personified like humans. This is why you adore films like Robin Hood, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Winnie the Pooh and Wind in the Willows, etc To be perfectly honest, I likely picked a Siamese cat because of my affinity for the Lady and the Tramp. The sequence with Si and Am is one of my favorites. That particular cat breed just always looks like it plays its cards very close to its chest. What are they REALLY thinking? Right?! Aesthetically, I felt they look the most mysterious and they originate from across the oceans, much like the Romani people.
The frame I used around the image is meant to echo the doorframe of a traveling wood carriage that you might see in a traveling caravan or part of an ornate pattern that might decorate the back of a tarot card. Other than capturing some of these details, the creative and execution process for this illustration went the way many of them do. I always start with traditional drawing. I ink the drawing, then I scan it in to work a digital collage underneath my linework. Most of the thought work for this one was already completed ages ago. It was just shelved, to be completed at another time. Most of the work for this illustration that wasn't previously planned out was just all the little details, what type of candle? what colors should I use? What would her robes look like? Does she wear a bandanna? What else is on the table? Should it be completely cluttered? Should we see what is behind the beaded curtain? Would that distract and take away from the main subject? etc.. etc...
Tom Hanks and Zoltar from BIG 1988 20th Century Fox Pictures
I am very pleased with how she turned out. She was a fun project that I pulled from the shelves. I'll be doing a little more of that in the recent coming months in regards to what art I have been planning to work on. Stay tuned for that. In the meantime, share with me what you have waiting for you in the basement of the Alamo.
We ALL have this desire to see our innermost dreams and wishes fulfilled. It's part of this universal human experience. And for that reason, we will continue to toss our coins into the water, blow our candles out, spread the seeds of the dandelion to the four corners of the world, and even spare 50 cents to put into that Oracle machine at the county fair... just to find out what our destiny truly is and if the deepest desires of our hearts will finally come true. It is only then that we can begin to lift that Mysterious veil between our world and that ephemeral world of "other"...
Until next time, friends...
Keep dreaming, keep sketching, keep thinking, keep laughing, and most important of all, keep making art.
*History of the Roma People sourced from Wikipedia and Gypsy Americans by Evan Heimlich
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