COMMISSION — ‘Bethany Black’.

“Little is known about Bethany's past as she never speaks about it. But the little that is known about her past is that she has been through hell and survived. Bethany's only weakness is Adelaide Fogg-Prescott, a delicate British doctor, who saved her life when she was at death's door. Bethany from the outside is very cold and rarely keeps up a conversation as she prefers to work and are not someone who indulge in small talk. She is protective over the ones she cares for and she will strike fear into the heart of anyone who cross her or harms people close to her. Bethany is a firm believer in an eye for an eye and will wait for the right moment to strike down her foes. Bethany's snake is a symbol of how calculated she is as her venom will only be released through her guns by cold calculation.” — Description of Bethany by the client.

Bethany is an older, powerful matriarchal figure, similar to famous gunslingers like Annie Oakley or Calamity Jane. I have designed cigarette cards in the past for these 1800s characters, but for a darkly feminine character like Bethany Black I decided to design the card around tarot. The card I chose was “The Empress”, which card symbolises divine feminine, sensuality, abundance and nature.
Her colour scheme is black and red, which I leaned heavily into for this piece, as well as the snake motif.