Middle-earth Journeys

Oh yes, now that is very good. I think I've just found my favorite of yours thus far.

Thanks Philipa. That one actually came together pretty fast.

The colours are lovely, Riv! I think that sometimes paintings work best when they come together quickly (personally I can lose focus if too much else intervenes). I like it a lot!

You know what it is...I think it appeals to me because it is less busy than some of the other paintings you've done. It's ... I don't know...cleaner looking?

I like how you can see layers of trees. It's very cool.

Yes, I know what you mean, Philipa. It has a very peaceful feel, which is what Lothlorien should feel like. The colors are lovely, RR, and good original vision of the gazebo.

But I have some problems with it, being a 'purist'. It's not how Cerin Amroth is described in the book: there should be a ring of white, leafless trees in addition to the mallorns, no gazebo, and the flets were reached by ladders (although it's hard to imagine Lady Galadriel hauling herself up and down a ladder!). Also, where are the elanor and niphredil in the grass?

To me, this kind of draws me out of the picture, thinking of the differences. One solution, maybe, is to call it 'Lothlorien', where it could be a place that is not so specifically described in the text.

Anyway, I could enjoy looking at this all day long--as long as I didn't see the title!

I thought about those leafless trees and decided that they were hidden at the bottom of the hill, both front and back. Any time I have seen them painted, they are stark objects in a gentle and rather mysterious landscape. He may have written them in, but to me they don't fit. LOL...the steps are also my interpretation of Tolkien's ladder to the flet (not pictured).

Like I said before, Tolkien doesn't mention the pavillion, but I guess that doesn't mean there wasn't one (just as Bilbo's Poet's corner isn't mentioned )

I guess art isn't quite literal. At least...mine isn't.

Bottom line is that I have always envisioned a special place on that hill where Aragorn could properly propose to Arwen, and where she could properly be buried. Voila!! The pavillion!!

It's just me I guess.

ps: Maybe this makes me a wee bit like Peter Jackson.

I thought about that: the possibility that later on, Aragorn and Arwen had a structure built on Cerin Amroth to commemorate the spot. But then Tolkien tells us that he never returned there.

Don't get me wrong, RR: I really like the picture! Maybe this is just a philosophical difference: I think there is a distinction to be made between art and illustration. Art does have the kind of freedom you mention, but I think that if one is alluding to a story, that places certain limitations on that freedom. I don't think that either mode is better than the other--in fact, I often prefer the craft of illustration to art. So when I say that illustration is not art, I don't mean that it is less than art. It's just that it is a different kind of endeavor. And I realize that not everyone makes the distinction between the two that I do, but this is the way of understanding it that makes the most sense to me.

The Hall of Fire isn't described very specifically by Tolkien, so I guess it seems more possible to play with what is there. But Cerin Amroth is described in detail--a real word picture, right down to the invented flowers. I guess one of the things that appeals to me about Tolkien is that natural places, like Cerin Amroth and the Field of Cormallen and the Pelennor Field, are the scenes of the most sacred events--even the Coronation--places that might not have been thought of as proper.

Anyway--whatever! It's just me, I guess, too!

Oh see...I, in my imagination, thought that the Elves had built the pavilion for their own reasons...centuries ago.

And yes...I should probably add the elanor and niphredil.

It's very beautiful, Riv! I've always wondered how Galadriel got gracefully up and down those ladders, too, and much prefered PJ's elegant solution when I saw it.

With the pavillion set to the side of the top of the hill (as you've done) it still leaves the great Mallorns as the centerpiece. We can always imagine that the Fellowship climbed up the hill from the other side and the little pavillion is hidden .

The flowers would enhance it, of course, but it's such a calm and beautiful place that I'd love to linger there. If Aragorn happened to pass by, so much the better!

Btw... the colours are glorious

I've just finished my painting.

I am not happy with my scanner. It clouds everything I scan. But at least you can see I actually painted something.

I like your style Philipa. I know we all struggle with getting out jpgs and pngs to show up the way the original piece looks.

I think your masking works well and is that salt you are using on the indigo? VERY interesting results. I like your crow the best.

The three ages of the moon . It's the sort of symbolic interpretation that really appeals to me (and marbretherese knows I'm very into crows and ravens at the moment ).

I'm so glad you've got your paints out and given it a go - no masking disasters and the salt effect is lovely. It's fairly new to me (marbretherese picked up the tip at one of her classes and I couldn't wait to try it) and I use it sometimes on imaginary landscapes. But it creates beautiful stars. You must keep going and do some more now you've started. And that crow head is great!

This is great, Phillipa, I really like it. And I certainly identify with the Cro(w)ne!!

Scanners never quite catch the correct colours. Most of the pictures I post here are too big for my scanner at home so are photographs, which is even worse