In celebration of the Year of the Golden Pig (a pig year coinciding with the element of gold happens only once every 60 years and signifies an extremely prosperous and lucky year), here's a pen and ink drawing of a pig and lucky rabbit that I did, in the style of a classic Chinese paper cutting.
Traditionally, the pig is already considered an animal of fortune, living a comfortable and carefree life. In the Zodiac story, the Pig takes a nap and indulges in a snack in the middle of the race, yet he still manages to be one of the twelve winners.
The pig is paired with a rabbit not only because there's a new Rabbit in my life (I'm a Pig), but because this year is particularly auspicious for people born in the year of the Rabbit. Rabbits have the Midas touch this year; their careers will boom, bringing them new levels of wealth and success. Fortune on top of fortune. So my father (a Rabbit) tells me. And, of course, red was my color of choice for the illustration - according to the Chinese, the color red is the very embodiment of luck and fortune.
I had actually initially planned to illustrate something like this back when the Illustration Friday topic was "Red". The concept was floating around in my head since then, but it was the "Fortune" topic that brought the idea back to center stage. I think I may just use this illustration as a template to make a real traditional paper cutting. *Adds yet another item to an ever-growing 'To do' list and laughs like a maniac*