Lady Luck

Lady luck is an old and interesting design; the most concise definition is –

‘Lady Luck is a personification of luck that is often involved in gambler's superstitions.’( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Luck)

The image of lady luck has been adopted as a personal good luck charm and it is not uncommon to see it tattooed on to someone.
The drawing of the traditional lady luck image is strongly liked with the old school tattoo style.

You can see the similarities between them, in the way the image has been constructed, for example the use of the scrolls and symmetry of the image. This is a very common trait in a lot of hardcore or old school tattoos, as is the use of the theme of luck and chance in the designs. The image of the woman herself is a clearly a 50s style theme, in a seductive pose wearing underwear. She has become a object of lust and fantasy. Though this subject is seductive, because of this use of cartoon character it gives it a lighter and more humorous side. You may notice that the woman herself has not been been left in negative space, she is surrounded by other easily reconisable symbols, such as a horse shoe and clovers. The use of simple pen and ink illustration has really complimented the style of drawing, and also gives It strong lines and great contrast.
This is similar to the tattoo in how the lines and designs used looks very illustrative. And though it is on a different medium it is still using simple ink work, yet still has a vibrant and classic effect.

This use of a woman that symbolizes luck is derived from ancient roman mythology, from the goddess fortuna.

Fortuna was the goddess of luck and fate, Romans used to pray to her for a safe journey or a good harvest.
As you can see the imagery of the goddess is very different to her modern day equivalent. She has been sculpted in a classical roman style, reflecting more of a higher being other then a seductive almost dangerous woman like today. The style is realist using oil paints, it gives it a really powerful image, which is suiting for a goddess. This progression of character is of course due to being centuries apart and being influenced by what is popular at. However it is still interesting to see the progression from an almighty god, who was respected and admired, to later become an object of desire.

This is my attempt of recreating the hardcore old school style of illustration, like in the lady luck picture I have used simple ink work and a illustrative design using the pen line work, i did not use shading, only simple shapes and curves. I used the scrolls with words for the literal meaning and used my own symbolism in the heart shaped lock. It personifies what I am trying to put across, the representation of her locked heart, this is very similar to the hardcore old school style of tattoo. It’s a trend to use obvious symbolism in the designs along with literal, like scrolls.