Shared with Ted’s Permission
Another new work in my productive summer; 'A Mallorn in the Shire' (gouache 19.5" x 12.75"). It's a private commission, and if compared with the recent new work 'Arrival in the Shire', they could be seen as LotR 'bookends' to a degree.
It is another opportunity to explore pastoral imagery, and I loved expressing the lands beyond, fading to a blue horizon, or the meadow flowers in the Party Field. The technical challenge for the artist here is to decide how tall a specimen it might be at this point where Sam and Rosie now have a large family, and whether to try to show the entire number of children or leave it as a suggested moment before all their children were born. I've gone with the latter, and I saw the situation as one where the old Party Tree's stump was left as a reminder of the price of their community's survival under 'Sharkey' and his thugs.
Shared (as always) with Ted’s permission.
A new painting and another private commission from me, titled "Departure From Lorien". I wanted to try to capture the enchantment of Lorien's majestic Mallorn trees and woods, while following the description of the opposite bank of the Anduin river as bare and rocky, with tangled forests and trackless wilderness. It's meant to be late afternoon, following the farewell feast and gift givings, with the sun slanting in sending golden rays amid the leaves and sparkling waters of the Silverlode. Galadriel waves farewell as the Company drifts into the current, refreshed from their stay within the bounds of the realm. I've always found this part of the story particularly enchanting. The size is 27" x 18", rendered in gouache on board.
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