Middle-earth Journeys

Thanks for all the kind words ladies.

Iolanthe, the tip on that hind quarter shading should vastly improve the depth and value there.

Lindariel, I never thought of the Sea, but what a great analogy. I was just envisioning tall waves of grasses.

I think that this is a moment in the book that Tolkien filled with hope (Estel ). Maybe that is what inspires the scene.

Wow! Fantastic ! It really is a rainbow curtain. I love the way you've let the colours run across each other into ever subtler shades so they blend like they do in a real rainbow. Hoorah for watercolour, you can get such interesting effects from it. And the figures are much more confident - the most confident you've done. This is another favourite moment in the book that's great to see illustrated.

How many colours did you use for this one? I hope this is one for Oxonmoot! And perhaps that Open Studio....

Another stunner marbretherese! The play on color is amazing. Again you let the medium lead your effort. Very, very nice indeed. Bravo!

thanks! I'm really pleased with this one - the original is much more vivid than this photo (even though I've adjusted it). It's definitely going to Oxenmoot and probably into my Open Studio as well - I see it as a companion piece to Forbidden Pool.

I've wanted to paint Henneth Annûn for ages - I looked at the idea around the same time as I did Forbidden Pool, but couldn't work out how to portray the rainbow/water effect. Once I sorted that out it was relatively straightforward. I've used five colours throughout.

Much of it evolved from the "let's try it and see what happens" school of watercolour. For a while I had the whole thing sitting in my studio (boxroom) without the figures in it. As soon as I added them in the whole thing came to life . . . I'd already painted the light effect on the floor before deciding where the figures were going (or even which characters I was going to include). Once I'd put them in I discovered that their shadows were already on the floor. How wierd is that?

It's fate - your Muse knew you were going to put those figures in at some point!

I suppose that watercolor is the perfect medium for a waterfall! I like the watery effects very much, marbretherese, and I agree that the figures are some of your best. Great choice!

The new Amon Hen cover !

Fame at last...

WooHoo Sue!!!! Simply wonderful!!!

I feel SO smug. I have a print of that very painting on my office wall -- along with four others by our very talented Iolanthe.

Congratulations!

Ahem . . . now when can I get my mits on prints of the Tolkien paintings you haven't posted to the Marketplace yet? I'm particularly anxious to acquire the "Telperion" print.

Congratulations! It's wonderful, including the matching Amon Hen title!

I'm looking at this through a different computer screen (visiting with my sister in St. Louis) and I'm shocked at how different the art on this page looks in comparison with my little laptop. If I have time, I'm going to look at everything in the gallery again to enjoy them all more!

Every screen is different Merry! When I get something just right on mine I know nobody else sees it like that .

Lindariel - I'm slowly getting there with my own website and the Telperion painting will be one of those on offer. It's not been easy putting it all together!

Back to the cover, for some reason Andrew has filled the title box in with a weird grey that has interference spots on it. I think he cloned it from the trees taking some of the variations in the paint with it. If only he'd asked me I could have done a much better job! Hey ho.

I did wonder about that grey behind the title (Editors do like to meddle don't they!).   But on the whole I think it's reproduced very well - congratulations!! 

At least it's all original - there's a snitty letter in this edition from someone complaining about people doing illustrations from Peter Jackson's films and specifically naming two artists in Bulletin 211 (the edition I had the Gandalf drawing in). They didn't like the Gollum cover or the drawing of Boromir and Galadriel inside.

Thank goodness they didn't think my Gandalf was Ian McKellan. I can see their point but not everyone can make it up without a strong visual reference and it's all art and done with love. The artists involved will feel really miserable when they read that and it might prevent them submitting again. Expect some sparky letters in Bulletin 213!

I've still heard nothing back from the guy who edits Mallorn and I need to know whether I can offer the paintings I showed him to Amon Hen. Must tackle him and find out!

I think I need to scan in the drawings I did as a boy... I'm no great artist, mind you, but I was considered rather talented for a boy. I have the Nazgûl, Gandalf, Aragorn, several pictures of Barad-dûr, other places...