Middle-earth Journeys

I love this, too, Riv! it's got real character - the signage and the homely little details make sure of that!

These get more and more confident Riv. I love the things you chose to illustrate, taking us into Tolkien's world in a way that's not story driven - just introducing us to places we'd love to visit and put our feet up and rest a while.

You've got the framing down to a fine art now, the style really works well and, as always, it's packed with enjoyable detail that pulls you into the picture. I love the pipeweed sign, the comfy cat, and the glimpses of the welcoming fire and round window .

Thanks for all the comments ladies. Yes, I do like the gentle places of Middle-earth.

As I look at the piece I think that round window looks a bit Alan Lee-esque (my new word of the week ), and my favorite part is actually the big red crock where you can park your walking stick

Riv, I just love all of the little details, including the fact that someone needs to patch the plaster on the chimney!

Riv Res wrote:As I look at the piece I think that round window looks a bit Alan Lee-esque (my new word of the week ), and my favorite part is actually the big red crock where you can park your walking stick

Nah, the window's just fine - there has to be a round window somewhere and no matter who does them they will all look, well, round and somewhat the same!

More artistic ramblings around the world of Ents:

Entwives:




Treebeard



Along with my scribbled notes!

There may be more versions of Treebeard coming.... I'm trying not to be too hasty .

No, you don't want to be hasty . . . I love these Ents, Iolanthe! Treebeard is great, but my favourite is the dazed and confused one at the bottom of your sketch of three . . .

These sketches are wonderful Iolanthe. Treebeard looks like he's cogitated very carefully and is about ready to speak. Color will really bring them to life.

I especially love Treebeard himself, Iolanthe. Just look at the detail in those eyebrows...and that knotty face. Beautiful work!!

Glad you all like them . I think the bottom Entwife looks very jolly - Tolkien said the Ents came in all sorts of shapes and sizes which gives you free reign to do almost anything!

Treebeard's eyebrows are a mixture of peeling 'bark' and 'lichen' and the eyes are a bit owl-like.

My favorite entwife is the third one. They have been missing for a while, so we have to imagine them as aging. I love Treebeard, too! I think you have got their eyes just right, even without the color. I like these sketches with notes--they become a composition in themselves!

Remember the talk at Exeter on the Green Man that we didn't think was very good? Whatever the quality of the talk, I think you've got Treebeard channeling the Green Man in a way that's quite effective.

Channelling the Green Man sounds good to me, I've always loved that image (and, yes, the talk was dire wasn't it?).

All my sketches come with notes (I photoshopped them out of the Fimrethil one) so I can remember what I thought when I was doing it . Otherwise I end up changing things I decided on because I've forgotten the very good reason I decided it (like Tolkien said it was so ). If that makes sense...

These are wonderful.

Our challenge from the Trivia thread: to describe the scene from 'An Unexpected Party' wherein the dwarves pull out their musical instruments and begin to sing at Bag End--so that an artist might begin to depict it, right, RR?

I think this is an important scene in The Hobbit and I hope GdT and company get it right. It reveals a lot: the fact that these sort of vagabond dwarves would choose to lug their instruments around Middle-earth with them reveals that they have an aesthetic culture that isn't just about mercantile. And their music ignited something in Bilbo that was deeply buried. When I first read The Hobbit to the youngest nephew a few years ago, he kind of just endured the first chapter until the dwarves' song, during which I think he really got something approaching goldlust! He said, 'I like that!' and chanted 'We must away ere break of day' for about a week!

So the scene has got to be intense. Obviously the firelight is a big feature. The dwarves have got to be individuated for us, and not just by their brightly colored cloaks and hoods. But I think we have to begin to like the dwarves and care about their quest here. To me, this means that their faces can't be clownish--they must show some depth of feeling in this music, like Gimli's face when he described Galadriel's gift to him in the movie. Balin was the most compassionate of the dwarves in The Hobbit and so the thought of him with his eyes closed putting his heart into playing the viola could really help us make an attachment to him. (I'm sounding like Jane Austen here!)

I guess I'm just describing the feelings which the scene ought to invoke rather than what it would look like.

Artist Michael Hague did a beautiful illustration of this scene for the 1984 Houghton Mifflin issue of The Hobbit. He resolved the issue of two of the dwarves not being assigned instruments by adding an extra flute and an extra clarinet (which he depicted more like a recorder). Bombur's drum is a smaller lap version, more like a large tambourine without the cymbals than a big bass drum. Thorin's eyes are closed and his head has dropped back as he plays his lap harp. And yes indeed, Balin's eyes are also closed, his head dropped towards his chest as he plays his cello-sized viol (not viola). All of the dwarves are very caught up in their music.

Bilbo stands at Gandalf's side by the fire, a mug of beer in one hand and a rapt expression on his face. It is a gorgeous illustration. Riv, is there any chance you could find it and post it for us?