The Eye of Horus

Horus is a lesser-known god in the pantheon of ancient Egypt.  He was sort of the B Team.  However, he did contribute one great symbol that often adorns the walls of tombs and temple pillars and obelisks.  That symbol is known as the Eye of Horus.   It is recognized as a symbol of protection, royal power, and good health. 

Back in the seventies when King Tut was becoming popular this symbol was often used as the motif for articles about the king.  I liked the look, it struck me as cool and jazzy.  I assumed it was a modern creation by some hip graphic artist in Greenwich Village or San Francisco.  I was surprised to learn that it's a symbol thousands of years old.

I drew this with Adobe Illustrator.

Back to Work: Tax Season Starts Today

 Bummer, I have to start work today, doing taxes.  With Covid and Newsom's ridiculous prohibitions, it will be a challenging tax season.  A lot of tax returns will be prepared virtually, with clients sending their tax documents to us through a secure server, with reviewing and approving the completed return the same way.  Many clients will not have to come into the office.  Face to face meetings will be rare, or conducted via video camera.

I'd rather stay home and work on Adobe Illustrator projects, but that doesn't pay the bills.

I have my biggest and best Illustrator project in progress and I hope to post it this week.  It will feature King Tutankhamen.  

I find ancient Egypt fascinating, mainly because of its art and sculpture.  Massive temples and statues carved out of stone with primitive tools, boggles the mind.  Many of these artifacts are thousands of years old.  The massive Great Sphinx was staring out across the sands two thousand years before Christ walked the Earth.  King Tut was dead a thousand years before the same event.  Wow.

Making My Own Clip Art With Adobe illustrator

 I thought of another great use of my growing skills in Adobe Illustrator:  making my own clip art.  

Here is my first effort.  It is an Egyptian Scarab Beetle.  What are the red spots?  I believe they are meant to represent the Sun God that was pushed as a new religion by Pharaoh Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV, 1364-1347 B.C.).  Egyptians didn't like having a new religion forced on them, but they had to put up with it until Akhenaten died.  

Scarabs have been religious symbols in Egypt both before and after Akhenaten.  I remember when I was in the fourth grade a lady showed up in our class to tell us about ancient Egypt and scarabs, and to show us her green scarab ring.  I have liked scarab depictions ever since.

Egyptian Fantasy: LOOK MA! ART! (#photoshop #sphinx #egypt)

One of the neat things about Photoshop is that you can reuse your creations to make new ones.

I did this Photoshop art this morning just for fun.

The Sphinx: Beard or No Beard? You Decide!

While waiting for my boss to get out of a meeting, I decided to answer the most stirring archaeological controversy since John Kerry's claimed trip to Cambodia: did the Sphinx have a beard? Some scholars say yes, pointing to the remains of a giant beard found in the vicinity of the Sphinx. Others say no, pointing to a giant safety razor also found in the vicinity of the Sphinx (still others claim the razor to be a cleverly fashioned hoax). Now you can decide: Did the Sphinx have a beard? And if so, should he shave the darned thing off in order to be more popular with the ladies? YOU DECIDE.