Members' Art, Prose and Poetry

marbretherese · Post by **marbretherese** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 12:56 pm

Iolanthe wrote: Philipa - get those paints out and dust off those brushes .

Iolanthe, you took the words right out of my mouth. Come on, Philipa, the more the merrier!!!!

Airwin · Post by **Airwin** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 3:59 pm

That is a beautiful tree marbretherese!

I love the textures. Looks like the course is definitely worth while!

Riv Res · Post by **Riv Res** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 8:02 pm

marbretherese wrote:media & techniques: watercolour, gouache, watercolour ink, salt & scratching

Told you it was an experimental course!

I really like the effect. Beautifully done for an experiment.

Runs off to experiment on my own.

Merry · Post by **Merry** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 5:09 am

I like it, too, marbretherese--it's more 'watercolory' than some of your other paintings. Does that make any sense?

marbretherese · Post by **marbretherese** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 10:06 am

Merry wrote:I like it, too, marbretherese--it's more 'watercolory' than some of your other paintings. Does that make any sense?

Yes, I know what you mean, Merry, that's what the tutor was getting at when he encouraged us to 'loosen up' and 'go with the flow' - some of his paintings are quite messy!! the whole point of watercolour is to let the layers shine through each other, and I think in the past I've been a bit heavy handed.

The textures day got all the students excited. When he showed us what to do with the salt and the clingfilm you could just tell that everyone was impatient for him to finish so they could start practicing on their own stuff - we ran out of salt within an hour and had to go out and get some more!!!

Lindariel · Post by **Lindariel** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 1:37 pm

Sounds like such a fun course. I like the golden tree very much.

marbretherese · Post by **marbretherese** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 12:14 pm

This has been sitting (by mistake) on the Rabbit Ridge thread for a couple of days. So here it is again, in it's right place this time!!

Here's my latest Tolkien-inspired picture, and a trivia question to go with it:

Which Tolkien character is this, and why would a Gilbert & Sullivan fan such as myself be particularly fond of her?

Iolanthe · Post by **Iolanthe** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 8:53 am

Sorry we missed your painting on the Rabbitridge thread

. Put it down to a certain ex-Aragorn and his premier shennanigans

.

I love it - it's full of character (that face is really well drawn!) I can see all your new watercolour technique there mabreterese

. It's much freer than the last ones and there's lovely colour blending to get the modelling in the figure. In fact all the colours in the painting are beautifully clear and pure. I also love her pretty pink scallop fan But what character is she

?.

I can't remember any shortsighted Tolkien mermaids

. For the moment I'm completely stumped but it's a good kind of stumped. I shall mull it over through the day and then I expect I'll be kicking myself.

marbretherese · Post by **marbretherese** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 12:56 pm

Thanks Iolanthe! the painting's so large that I can't scan it - a photo isn't the same somehow - but I am pleased with her.

As for who she is: Tolkien doesn't specifically say she's short sighted, but that she's getting on a bit (can't say too much without giving away the G&S reference, which you'd get like a shot if you knew where to look

). So I've given her reading glasses, a bun, and slightly thickened upper arms, along with an alternative title: "the menopausal mermaid".

He describes her as having golden hair with a black comb in it (that's what she's fiddling with at the back

), and being capacious (hence the shell, to preserve her modesty). She's also extremely kind to dogs. That's a HUGE clue!!!

Iolanthe · Post by **Iolanthe** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 5:33 pm

I'm still completely stumped but as for G&S she remnds me or Lady Jane

.

Capacious and very kind to dogs...? Don't say any more, it's intriguing. I'm getting ready to kick myself, I know. Maybe one of our other members will come to my rescue....

Philipa · Post by **Philipa** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 11:11 pm

marbretherese being not a R&H fan I'm completely lost but as for the dog reference would that be a hound?

marbretherese · Post by **marbretherese** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 8:37 am

Philippa, I',m embarrassed to tell you that I can't recall off the top of my head whether Tolkien referred to the dog as a hound or not

I seem to remember he was a sheepdog & that she gave him some cake) The mermaid also had a dog of her own, and the two dogs became friends. Her husband was a Persian wizard who put a spell on the dog.

Iolanthe, your reference to Lady Jane is the wrong G & S operetta but the right kind of personality. Tolkien uses a passing phrase in describing this mermaid which is a direct reference to, and a parody of, a phrase in G &S. Maybe you haven't read the Tolkien book in question, because I think you'd recall it (particularly as the G&S link is mentioned in the foreword).

Airwin · Post by **Airwin** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 6:54 pm

marbretherese wrote:"the menopausal mermaid".

I couldn't begin to guess who it might be, but I do like the painting very much!

marbretherese · Post by **marbretherese** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 12:09 pm

thanks, Airwin!

I think I've kept everyone guessing long enough so here are the answers to the question I posed earlier:

- her true identity is Mrs Artaxerxes from Roverandom.

- the Gilbert & Sullivan connection comes in the phrase Tolkien uses to describe her: the mer-king's elderly, lovely daughter. As Iolanthe will recognise, it's a direct play on words from a similar phrase in Trial by Jury, where Gilbert describes someone as a rich attorney's elderly ugly daughter - G goes on to say she could very well pass for forty-three in the dusk with the light behind her. I've always thought Gilbert was being a bit harsh in writing that and I like to think that Tolkien was trying to redress the balance & strike a blow for middle-aged women everywhere! apparently it's the only reference to G&S in all of Tolkien's work, although we know that he and Edith enjoyed G&S.

Iolanthe · Post by **Iolanthe** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 12:42 pm

Well well! I haven't read Roverandom but I bought myself a copy at the Oxonmoot because there were quiz questions on it!!

And by another huge coincidence a group entered the costume parade dressed as these very characters - including the mermaid. I couldn't believe my eyes! It's a small world. There will be a picture to come so you can seen them all

.

I never realised there was any reference to G&S in Tolkien's works - that's great mabreterese

. No wonder you like Mrs Artaxerxes! You're right, if I'd have read it I would have remembered. In fact I asked several people at the start of the Moot if they knew of any Tolkien mermaids and they were all stumped

.