4 Seasons Playing Cards
Colours of the Four Seasons - Playing Card Art Deck
Colours of the Four Seasons - Playing Card Art Deck
52 cards + 3 jokers in sturdy tuck box.
This collaborative pack of playing cards involves the work of 26 artists. The list starts with Arnell Ando and ends with Peter Wood …55 pieces of beautiful art… a stunning showcase of versatility and creative design.
Many of the cards are semi-transformational: they are all highly aesthetic in a variety of ways. The art - and the dominant colour in each suit - is based on the temperature of each of the four seasons.
The deck is poker sized and is designed functionally as well as artistically. Indices are placed inside the corner pips, and the colour for each season is incorporated into the design of each card. It is perfectly usable for play, but it's main attraction is the sheer wealth of imaginative expression and originality.
Techniques used to create the cards include watercolour, acrylic paint, pen and ink, line drawing over colour washes, silver pen, collage, markers, metallic pens, textured iridescent papers, rubber stamping, coloured pencils, water soluble crayons, polymer clay which has been treated with rust and patina, embossing powder and cut out - to mention just a few!
Several artists availed themselves of Adobe Photoshop, using the tools, layers, transparency, masks, textures, filters, blending and so forth. The chequered border acts as a frame to unify the whole pack.
By Simon Wintle
Spain • Member since February 01, 1996 • Contact
I am the founder of The World of Playing Cards (est. 1996), a website dedicated to the history, artistry and cultural significance of playing cards and tarot. Over the years I have researched various areas of the subject, acquired and traded collections and contributed as a committee member of the IPCS and graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal. Having lived in Chile, England, Wales, and now Spain, these experiences have shaped my work and passion for playing cards. Amongst my achievements is producing a limited-edition replica of a 17th-century English pack using woodblocks and stencils—a labour of love. Today, the World of Playing Cards is a global collaborative project, with my son Adam serving as the technical driving force behind its development. His innovative efforts have helped shape the site into the thriving hub it is today. You are warmly invited to become a contributor and share your enthusiasm.
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