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Harmony

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Description

"Harmony," a.k.a "Nature Tarot: The Hermit"
5 x 7"
Watercolor on Watercolor paper
Commission/SOLD

Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
IUCN Red List Conservation status - Endangered

This piece has been entered in the Endangered Art Group's "Endangered Cuties" Contest: [link]

Thank you ahead of time for any favorites and comments!

This design is available on cards, ornaments, etc, at my online shop: [link]

Behold the never-ending panda!


My friend Pam commissioned me to paint Christmas presents for her family and, with her permission, I designed the paintings to fit into my long dormant Nature Tarot project. For her daughter, Pam requested something with pandas, bamboo, and purple.

I chose the Hermit Card for the panda because, contrary to how they are kept in zoos, pandas are solitary creatures, meeting only to mate. The hermit's hidden beauty and wisdom remains theirs and theirs, alone, unless they meet a traveler willing to journey with them through the mists of their mountain home and back again. The traveler here is a dragonfly, which the Japanese regarded as a symbol of joy and new light. Together with the Chinese panda, it acts as a guide to destinations far and near, within and without--the waking dream that is life.

Pandas, to me, represent the best and worst of dreams. By tending to our own demands, we endangered them, but we also seek to right our wrongs through their preservation. Evolution has it's purpose; we needn't help the selection along artificially.

As for the alternate title, this fellow turned out much too lovely to be eternally branded as "The Hermit"!

You can see my completed Nature Tarot designs here: [link]

My thanks to Sooper-Deviant [link] for his excellent collection of wildlife photographs.

***

Prints, mugs, and more are all available at my online shop, Arden's Miscellany: [link]

Visit my online gallery & portfolio at [link]

None of my images are to be used without express written permission. Woe to any who choose to steal, for so mighty is my art wrath, not even I know its bounds.
Image size
450x636px 60.5 KB
© 2009 - 2024 ArdenEllenNixon
Comments119
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IvyDevi's avatar
Beautiful!!! :heart: Looks real!!!