Lucky horseshoe

George Bain enjoyed creating new card designs that were then printed by W LacLennan Ltd of Glasgow. They are all based on Celtic art from across Britain and Ireland, including Pictish motifs. The messages are usually bilingual, in both Gaelic and English.

During his studies of Celtic art Bain drew various Pictish horses. The Inverurie incised Pictish stone was clearly the model for this design. He found here that he could create a roundel with three horses. A lively, continuous line of golden knotwork interweaves with three of the legs of each horse. But their straight forelegs are linked centrally.

The colourful, surrounding horseshoe is filled with interlaced birds and snakes. They are inspired by zoomorphic manuscript art such as found in the Book of Kells.