Paige Rajnus Art

Paige Rajnus Art I am a fine artist with a BFA from Oregon State University. If you like my art here, check out my online portfolio at flickr.com/paigerajnusart

I work in watercolor and graphite pencil, and I am passionate about creating memorable depictions of pets and wildlife!

The Magician card is none other than a coyote! So I actually adore coyotes, I think they are so pretty and so fun to wat...
10/08/2025

The Magician card is none other than a coyote! So I actually adore coyotes, I think they are so pretty and so fun to watch. They are also a very successful species, having adapted to pretty much every environment across North America and beyond. Urban coyotes even exist in many cities!

The coyote's amazing versatility is part of why I chose it to represent The Magician. This card symbolizes resourcefulness, skillfulness, and the ability to harness one's talents to achieve goals. The coyote definitely has always had a trick up its sleeve to conquer most of the continent, despite all adversity. 💪

Quick pic to update you on the chipmunk drawing! You can see some texture developing now on the trees. Can't wait to hav...
10/06/2025

Quick pic to update you on the chipmunk drawing! You can see some texture developing now on the trees. Can't wait to have more of this done!

As you can see, I am working in sections starting on the right side. I'm left handed, so it helps to keep the smudging down by working right to left. 😉

Another bird card for you all! This is honestly one of my favorites and it feels like it fits right into the October spo...
10/05/2025

Another bird card for you all! This is honestly one of my favorites and it feels like it fits right into the October spooky season. 👻 I was going for a bit of a dark and mysterious look, and I had a picture of a barn owl that fit that perfectly! Barn owls are incredibly beautiful, and I think the purple background helps complement it. 💜

The High Priestess tarot card symbolizes intuition, introspection, and the subconscious. Owls have often had spiritual connotations across cultures, both negative and positive: they've represented wisdom, prophecy, darkness, and the supernatural. I've always been fascinated by owls, and I think their nocturnal nature only adds to how mystical they seem to be. A perfect animal then to represent the invisible inner self and hidden mysteries! 🦉

I think this card is just so sweet! I based it off of a picture I took of a pair of trumpeter swans that were mingling i...
10/03/2025

I think this card is just so sweet! I based it off of a picture I took of a pair of trumpeter swans that were mingling in a lake at sunset. The light was so pretty, with a warm sunset glow contrasting with the cool blue water. Swans are, of course, a famous symbol of love and romance and I had to continue that beautiful tradition with The Lovers! 💕

The Lovers card in tarot represents unity and harmony in relationships, and can symbolize a deep bond or connection between two souls. 💜💙 It can also be a good prompt for self-reflection, encouraging consideration of beliefs, values, and choices in relationships.

I must say I am so grateful for the relationships that I have in my life! I also feel blessed to be able to witness such deep bonds in nature, and share a little bit of art about it. 🥰

A couple pics of the drawing as it's going through those early stages! Some close ups of Chipmunk #2 and then a wider s...
09/30/2025

A couple pics of the drawing as it's going through those early stages! Some close ups of Chipmunk #2 and then a wider shot that actually only shows half of the full drawing! Sometimes I feel like this is the "ugly stage" as I am just working out where to put things and starting to flesh out shapes and lighting. But I am happy with how the critters are looking so far and that gives me the motivation to keep pushing through. 😂

09/30/2025

Here's a quick video showing the early steps of a drawing! Here I'm starting to fill in the background. Step one involves layering down graphite, step two is blending to smooth out the pencil marks, and step three is using the blending tool to add some darkness and depth. Stay tuned for more as the chipmunks (yes there is a Mr. and Mrs.) come to life in their little world of trees and mushrooms! 🐿️ 🌲 🍄

Chipmunk sneak peak! 🐿️ He's gradually taking shape and looking pretty cute I must say. I'm really excited about this dr...
09/29/2025

Chipmunk sneak peak! 🐿️ He's gradually taking shape and looking pretty cute I must say. I'm really excited about this drawing and look forward to seeing it come together, and I'll be sharing pictures of the process as we go so stay tuned friends!

The elk card is done! I'm super happy with how this one turned out. Really enjoyed the textures and colors, and of cours...
09/28/2025

The elk card is done! I'm super happy with how this one turned out. Really enjoyed the textures and colors, and of course the subject matter is hard to beat!

You may be wondering, what exactly does The Hierophant mean? Well great question, I had never heard the word before starting this series! 😂 But it actually has a really cool meaning: the Hierophant archetype represents tradition, such as established customs, institutions, and spiritual knowledge. The word comes from Ancient Greece and was a title used in the priesthood in Attica. I felt that a bull elk was a great representation of the Hierophant, as every year they prepare for and participate in the grand spectacle that is the elk rut! It's a tradition that's central to their way of life and there also lots of people that follow it (for hunting, photography, etc).

What kind of traditions do you or your family follow? Any nature-based ones? Feel free to share in the comments!

A card in progress! Here you can get an idea of the scale of each card, which measure approximately 4.5x6" and have a ha...
09/25/2025

A card in progress! Here you can get an idea of the scale of each card, which measure approximately 4.5x6" and have a hand-torn edge where I carefully tore a larger piece of watercolor paper in half.

Fun fact: all of these cards are made using references photos I shot myself! The picture for this painting was shot in none other than Yellowstone National Park, my favorite location for wildlife. One of the best places to watch elk rut is in Mammoth Hot Springs, and I try to go every September to witness the magic and try to capture some of it! This six pointer bull just looked so majestic and I'm thrilled to bring him to life on paper 🧡

Another card, just have a few more letters to fill in and it's complete! This is the Empress, an archetype representing ...
09/22/2025

Another card, just have a few more letters to fill in and it's complete! This is the Empress, an archetype representing fertility and the divine feminine. I picked a mule deer doe to exemplify this because, well, it just felt like a natural choice! Does are so elegant and graceful, and have often been used in art to represent gentleness and femininity. And it is so precious seeing them with their fawns every spring, bringing new generations into the world each year!

As a side note, I wanted to publish this card with its lettering half finished on purpose. I've been doing some personal work on being less perfectionistic, which is a long and hard battle! Working on these cards has been a part of that journey, as my aim is not to make them perfect. For example, I could have made the lettering extremely precise by tracing script or using a ruler to line every part out. But I've chosen instead to just loosely "wing it," and that means some of the letters might be big, or small, or slanted, or not match, and that's ok! Imperfection is a part of being human and I want to embrace that in my life and in my art!

What is this? A new drawing in the works? You betcha! This is going to be a big graphite pencil drawing, and I am so exc...
09/20/2025

What is this? A new drawing in the works? You betcha! This is going to be a big graphite pencil drawing, and I am so excited about the concept! Here you can see me working out the composition and starting to flesh out our main character, Mr. Chipmunk.

I recently took some great reference pictures of a chipmunk on a charred log, and was inspired to play with similar themes seen in my bear drawing. I want to show both the damage and the bounty that results from forest fire. The idea is to have a mini burnt landscape, but with some beautiful morel mushrooms sprouting up from the ashes (which has attracted some chipmunks looking for a delicious snack)! 🍄 🐿️

Here is the finished watercolor of the Chariot (pika edition)! This archetype represents determination and overcoming ch...
09/19/2025

Here is the finished watercolor of the Chariot (pika edition)! This archetype represents determination and overcoming challenges; I felt like the pika was a perfect example of this, because they live in such difficult environments and yet manage to thrive. For instance, the Himalayan large-eared pika lives at elevations of over 20,000 feet! To make it through harsh mountain winters, pika collect plants for food and store them under rocks to munch on later.

In this painting, you can see the little bunch of grass and leaves the pika has gathered. What an inspiring example of conquering difficulty and mastering one's environment! Go little pika, go! 👏

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