PRINTS ARE AVAILABLE! SEE BOTTOM OF DESCRIPTION!*

Alchemists in the western world tended to spend their time in useless pursuits, tinkering with virgin's milk and mercury, trying to make the philosopher's stone and generally being of no use to anybody.

Alchemists in the east, however, learned early on to turn their powers to trade, and became wildly successful in business. Silk-charmers capable of creating magical dyes were the most highly sought after, but running a close second were the wizards of tea.

Turning lead to gold was for chumps. A tea wizard who could transmute ten bushels of inferior green into ten pounds of the delicate and extraordinarily expensive "Dragon's Eyelashes" blend could build a whole house out of gold--or lead, were she so inclined and didn't plan to spend much time at home.

Eventually, of course, the East India Tea Company figured it out and started recruiting starving young European alchemists and sending them around the Cape. Most of them were only good for keeping tea from rotting on the docks, but a few turned out to have a real flair and a gift for "reading the leaves" and the rest, as they say, is history.

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Aggghhhh! Big-eyed cartoony girls! Sparkly magic! Inner teenage girl squealing! I could actually feel myself going to the dark side as I painted...

Still, I regret nothing. Except perhaps that I drank a LOT of tea during the day and a half this painting took. The painting could probably have been done several hours sooner if I hadn't been spending so much time in the bathroom.

Anyway! Prints are available, for $10 and $20, (8.5 x 11 and 13 x 19 respectively) plus shipping. I take Paypal, check and money order. Send me a note, or visit [link] for details!


*Sorry, crass I know, but many people apparently don't actually read down to the bit where it says "You can buy this stuff!"