The Great Gates to Thranduil's Hall

I think this piece turned out rather exotic, even for Tolkien, but then I have always thought that Thranduil and the Wood-elves were exotic too. Perhaps it is that they lived underground which seems to me to be an odd place for Elves to live, even during the dark times. Both Rivendell and Lorien evoke fresh air and communing with nature much more than caves ... even the wonderful ones in Mirkwood ... and especially caves that the Dwarves helped construct.

This piece is again done in markers and ink with the addition of shimmering gold acrylic that highlights the gates themselves. The 'shimmering gold' does not translate well to digital imagery, but I think you can get the idea. The gates hint of copper, but I guess that's OK. Not everything in Tolkien's world can be made of mithril, you know.

The Great Gates to Thranduil's Hall

Laketown

This piece was fun and a little tough all at the same time. I have been wanting to try a Laketown concept from The Hobbit for a while now and was at first a bit stymied on how to pull off the look I wanted (as is my style) for a town that was literally built on stilts. All those straight building and piers and decks. Well, once I had the drawing where I wanted it which eliminated all that ... WooHoo!! ... let the colors begin. My joy and enthusiasm was short lived when the darker colors I tried on the first incarnation made for a muddy mess. Too dark. No contrast or vibrancy. Live and learn. The second time around I stuck with bold colors and shading. I like the results much better. Here, then, is ...


Laketown

Bagshot Row

This piece turned out to be far more fun than I anticipated and I think the results are just about smack on where I wanted them to be. For the most part, Bilbo's Shire always seems to me to be a place of fair weather and green hills ... and of course, Hobbits. What could be more 'hobbity' than Bagshot Row with it's line of round doors nestled on the hillside. There is a saying that comfort is everything. It that is true then I imagine the Shire and Bagshot Row to be at the top of the comfort list. Here is my ...

Bagshot Row

Beorn's Hall

I have wanted to do this piece for a long time but I couldn't get the concept just right. The other artist renderings of the inside of Beorn's Hall that I have seen have either been way too detailed and all that wood planking looked like match sticks or the colors are all muddied up. The coloring is a challenge because Tolkien describes it as made entirely of timbers with a central fire and platforms at the side. So, I think my stylized version helps a lot to simplify the vision and control all those woody timbers and muddy browns. Here then is my version of ...

Beorn's Hall

Goblin-gate

This is one of those instances (and there are many for me in Tolkien's writings) where the simple act of Tolkien formulating the perfect word or phrase is enough to inspire a vivid image. So it is with his word, Goblin-gate. Placed in the story of The Hobbit where it is, it conjures up a scene that is crystal clear to me. Tolkien talks about it being 'high up' and there were landslides and steep valleys. Obviously (at least in my mind) there had to be a river running through it as well. Here then is my vision of ...

Goblin-gate

Lonely Mountain

I have been trying to get the right concept for a piece depicting the Lonely Mountain from The Hobbit. It is a little tough to do when you consider that Tolkien had his Lonely Mountain sort of sitting out in the wild by itself (hence the name). The characters in the story knew the treasure and the dragon lay within, and there was always imminent danger although it lay smoldering. Here I try to depict the beauty and the danger within ... if you could take a slice out of the mountain to reveal it's secrets.

Lonely Mountain

Tolkien Society

Sent the latest three pieces to the Tolkien Society for consideration in the next edition of their Mallorn. I figure I will have reached the big time if anything I create ever makes the cover. They seemed to like the latest three ... so am hopeful that they will appear in the next issue somewhere.

New Piece: The Hall of Fire

It took me a while to get the colors right on this piece as well as the overall design. I must admit that when I first read The Hobbit and learned about Rivendell, my initial visualization was more like the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park. Being from the American west, it was the first idea that came to mind.

But then along came Peter Jackson (and John Howe and Alan Lee) and the whole concept of Rivendell changed for me. It became far more ethereal under their combined influence, and to be honest, it is pretty ... but not quite as I would imagine it.

After this overload of Rivendell visions, I struggled coming up with a design for my favorite place in Rivendell ... The Hall of Fire. Visitors and Elves gathered there in the evenings for song and story telling and I thought that it was important to not only portray the pillars that Tolkien mentions, but also come up with a place for those activities to happen which is why the floor contains a seating in the round. My bow to the ethereal  comes with the canopy of stars overhead and my homage to the original Old Faithful vision was to make the pillars come from nature and the wooden tree trunks.

Many (most) of the colors used (another marker and ink medium piece) were 'washed' with several other colors until I had what I wanted. Here then is The Hall of Fire.

Getting Started

Well ... here goes nothin'. I have been thinking about putting a blog at Rabbit Ridge Art (RRA) for quite some time but I am not someone given to small talk and thought it would be a waste. From other artistic friends, however, I am beginning to see the light and the benefits of open brainstorming and jotting down thoughts on artistic subject matter and mediums and technique. So ... now I'm afraid you're stuck with me for better or worse.

Yesterday I re-worked the Home Page at RRA for 2011. Actually got all of my work to this date categorized and up for sale and streamlined the HP assortment and visual look with a couple of new (less busy) graphics. Still need to delete those items (cards, stationery, and posters) that I will no longer produce or sell. That shouldn't take long. Take a look and see what you think ... https://www.rabbitridgeart.com/

Am working on a new series based on Tolkien's The Hobbit. Am finding it a little tougher to get inspired than I always am with his The Lord of the Rings. Am hoping to get 12 pieces done for a 2012 Middle-earth calendar. LOL ... we'll see. Here's a sample to start. Medium is marker and ink ...


Middle-earth

Am thoroughly enjoying the surreal form format done with the french curve forms. Above is titled simply Middle-earth, and below, here is Smaug ...


Smaug

Will add them to RRA with a teaser that they will be available soon.

First blog done ... more to come. :-)