I had the pleasure of meeting Chaz at LepreCon. I enjoy his artwork and his passion. He's one of the good guys.
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I call my Patreon the "Ashelon Tarot Project" and it's been a long time coming. Ashelon is a world that my fiancée, Carolyn Kay, and I are creating. It's a blend of fantasy and steampunk and takes place in the mid 1800s. A comet struck what is now called South America and it had the effect of revealing all of the hidden faerie creatures the world over - no longer could they hide behind faerie glamour. Not only must they learn to co-exist with humans and their steam technology, but they must also deal with the most unscrupulous villain the world has ever seen... Queen Victoria.
The tarot deck will be divided into 4 courts of 13 cards each. Each of the cards will be a character in the world of Ashelon and will represent a virtue or a vice. You'll be able to read these cards to tell your fortune but the cards themselves will be much simpler to interpret than a standard tarot deck. For example: You ask the question, "Should I quit my job today?" You turn over a card, and instead of the card being the Chariot like in a normal tarot it will simply say, "Strength". You could then interpret that as finding the strength to stay because things will get better - or that you need to finally muster the strength to give your two-week notice.
Another thing that will set my deck apart from a lot of the others is that I'm planning on turning each card into its own art print that you can hang on your wall. So if you love the art on a particular card, you can purchase the art from me as an 11x14, 18x24 or even a 24x36 poster. As an illustrator, this is the thing that excites me the most, because I LOVE the idea of everyone having posters from my tarot deck prominently displayed on their walls. I'm even going to have a few exclusive pieces that will only be available to my Patreon members.
If all of this goes well, I plan on creating a booster pack of 26 cards next year which will have 2 new courts and all new virtues and vices that can be added to the 2016 main deck. In the not too distant future, Carolyn will be writing short stories and novellas within the world of Ashelon using the characters on the cards, which will be awesome. I'm also planning to turn the cards into a game and maybe even doing an Ashelon tabletop RPG down the road.
I have a ton of ideas and Patreon is giving me a portal through which I can really explore this new world that we're creating and it allows me to bring lots of friends along for the ride. This project really makes me happy and it's only just begun! If you want to see the project for yourself, take a look at: www.Patreon.com/ChazKemp.
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to tell your fans about my dream come true, Jennifer.
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Bram Stoker Award finalist Chaz Kemp embraces an Art Nouveau style that incorporates vibrancy and color into fantasy and steampunk art in a way that is rarely seen. As an illustrator, the influence of Alphonse Mucha is evident in his award-winning work that combines the artistic energy of the Roaring 20s with the untamed possibilities of steampunk and fantasy.
Chaz Kemp is a featured artist in steampunk legend Paul Roland's book "Steampunk: Back to the Future with the New Victorians". Amazing Stories magazine featured him in the November 2014 issue, and his work has been seen in other publications such as Steampunk Magazine, Savage Insider and Aurealis. Over the years Chaz has created art for game publishers, sci-fi/fantasy conventions and several book covers including the anthology "Cthulhu Passant" by Travis Heerman & the Oilman's Daughter by Local Hero Press. In 2012, he illustrated his first graphic novel entitled "Behind These Eyes" written by Guy Anthony De Marco and Peter J. Wacks. The graphic novel was a Bram Stoker Award finalist.
Patreon Page: www.patreon.com/ChazKemp
Portfolio: www.ChazKemp.com
Etsy Page: www.etsy.com/shop/ChazKempIllustration