By: Jonathyn Lopez
Deep within the libraries of Southern New Jersey, back behind rows of bookshelves and computer desks, surrounded by drawings of anything you can imagine, plus a few copies to spare, sits Ralph Stiles. He is a Vietnam War veteran and retired police sketch artist who delights in drawing cartoons for children, adults, and any restaurant server who has ever waited on him. Drawing is just what he does; since age six, he has kept a pencil and sketchpad close by his side. Ralph is one of several local artists involved in Tarot Stories, the Young Adult Fantasy book that has blended genres and broken itself through to the #1 Best Selling New Release slot on Amazon.
“Tarot Stories” is a book of short stories based on tarot cards, where each story has its own writings, illustrations, and design. One Tarot Story equals one tarot card. The goal of the book is to make each story unique to fit the symbols and themes of the cards, allowing the collection to have a broad audience while at the same time tackling a variety of themes and motifs. There’s a story for everyone, from Greek Mythology to the American West and even Santa Claus. Ralph had a hand in drawing everything, especially the parts with Santa Claus.
Tarot Stories didn’t start out as a finished product. Early in production, the illustrator was met by pure chance through author Christopher Polidoro’s brother at Staples. Since then, the two have consistently met at diners and public libraries to compose what would become a best-selling book today. Ralph came with a treasure trove of ideas, drawings, and designs, from DaVinci-esque contraptions to doodles of Cavemen playing poker with Dinosaurs. It would then be up to Chris to sort them out, archive them, and build cohesion from what Ralph had created, an ever-evolving portfolio that essentially spanned sixty years of Ralph’s life. This unique experience and age can be felt through the drawings themselves, giving Tarot Stories decades of wisdom before it came out.
Ralph’s style is a mix of American cartoons and profile sketches. He picked up the latter skill when working as a police officer but has been drawing cartoons his whole life. Recurring themes in his drawings are anthropomorphic animals and highly detailed sketches of faces and environments. Experience is essential in creating marketable art, as it refines an artist’s skills and deepens their understanding of their medium and audience. With time, artists learn from success and failure, shaping their unique style and improving their ability to communicate emotions and ideas. Experience also builds credibility, helping artists produce consistent, high-quality work that resonates with buyers and collectors. By mastering their craft and understanding market trends, experienced artists are better positioned to create art that balances creative expression with commercial appeal. He also gets joy from doing pieces for friends and family around the holiday season, which is how his involvement in Tarot Stories began. Because the book features multiple mythologies and well-known folklore characters, Ralph’s art fits right in and is spread across all chapters. Chris had over forty-five drawings of Santa to consider, along with various pictures of magicians, adventurers, and animals galore. There were so many drawings of Bears that the book adapted around it, and thus “The Patience of Bears” was born. While many of the illustrations were ones Ralph had stored up over the years, many were originals created for the project. Ralph drew a two-page spread for a story called “Three Sisters,” a tale about a very relatable sibling fight that is sandwiched between other stories about the mythological and supernatural. He even brought out his old police sketch artist skills to draw specific characters for the book, various imaginary people who make up the “Portrait” series within Tarot Stories. These read like reported events, and their writing style imitates the giants of late 20th-century American fiction. It is not simply that the book has all these styles. It is about how they blend so well and how Ralph’s art laid the foundation for other artists to join in with their own. A true master at work, Ralph’s skills gave Tarot Stories the edge the book needed to start and finish even more vital.
The title page of Tarot Stories lists every artist and their favorite tarot card. Ralph’s favorite is ‘The Hierophant,’ a figure symbolizing expertise and guidance. It wouldn’t be a small metaphor to say that was his role in the book, not just with Chris, but to an entire team of artists. The resulting product and its surprise success have gained appeal from other press outlets and mark an exciting read for fiction lovers late this summer. Tarot Stories is available at Walmart, Barnes & Noble, and other stores where books are sold. Ralph is probably drawing something as you read this, and he plans to open an Art Institute within five years to share his talent and help other artists realize their ambitions.
Published By: Aize Perez
