There are numerous fantasy artists out there, but there are also many artists who choose the works of J.R.R. Tolkien as a base for their artwork. They do this because of the sheer depth of the world Tolkien created, and also because of the amazingly detailed descriptions he wrote, so the reader can imagine, say, vast, rolling plains as far as the eye can see, or festering stinking marshland littered with corpses of dead soldiers. As a reader, what is essential is to be able to picture those landscapes in our mind’s eye and paint a vivid picture of what is going on within the plot. But, as an artist, you get to paint what you see, let your imagination go wild and create some really beautiful pieces of artwork…
A first example of a Tolkien-inspired artist is the incredible Jonathan Earl Bowser. His art is very beautiful and he uses a lot of beautiful women in order to create his works. One such picture is presumably based on a description of Varda Elentári, in which she is cloaked in stars. Many fellow Vardians love these portraits and I am one of those people. The colours seem to flow into each other, and the lines curve beautifully. Also, the stars included in these pictures are very bright and shine, almost glittering, a true and beautiful representation of what the night sky is actually like.
In addition to this, he has made a series of paintings which all hold a certain quality about them, making them beautiful and unique. Jonathan Earl Bowser has created a style of painting which will delight many Tolkien and fantasy lovers everywhere. At the realm of Varda, we love his artwork and there is even a thread about the artist in question, where Vardians like to discuss his art. Though he is not a ‘Tolkien’ or ‘Lord of the Rings’ artist, he is a fantasy and fictional artist who I think takes inspiration for some paintings from J.R.R. Tolkien.
Another Tolkien artist is, of course, the famous Alan Lee. Many of you may recognise his style of painting, as he was, along with John Howe, one of the conceptual artists on Peter Jackson’s movie “The Lord of the Rings”. His work can be seen on many Lord of the Rings-related items, such as stamps, postcards, calendars etc. One of his famous LOTR paintings is this one of Lady Galadriel of the Golden Wood. As you can see, there is an almost ethereal quality to this painting, and she appears to shine in the nighttime darkness. Also, her mirror is the other focus point of the picture, as it is the centre of the action, with Frodo looking into its depths and seeing that that which he has feared may come true if he fails. You can see from the expressions on the faces of the three characters (Frodo, Sam and Galadriel) that each has a different opinion and way of viewing the mirror and its “magic”. This painting captures very nicely the beauty and wisdom and light of the Lady Galadriel, as well as a pivotal point in the story, to the highest accuracy.
Another painting by Alan Lee is the tower of Orthanc after Treebeard and the Ents break the dam and release the river. As you can see, all of Isengard is then purged of its evil and Saruman and Wormtongue are trapped. I’m sure they weren’t too happy about that! Alan Lee has also done many paintings for The Hobbit, and we can see a few on the cover of certain editions of the book. One such painting is that of Smaug the Dragon, in which he is depicted guarding heaps of golden, shimmering treasure as he lurks in the dark of the caves. These 3 paintings are among the many, many paintings which Lee has completed, some for pleasure, some for profit and some for the movie of “The Lord of the Rings”.
John Howe is another example of a Tolkien and in particular Lord of the Rings artist. Like so many others, he is inspired by the words of this magnificent author and his work is quite distinguishable. He has a talent for drawing the evil beings of Middle-earth, and has also painted with ease places such as Minas Morgul and the Tower of Orthanc. In fact, Peter Jackson loved one of his paintings of Minas Morgul and therefore based the location in the movie on that particular painting. In addition to this, he also designed the statues, which sit on either side of the pathway leading up to the Witch-king’s home, which, ironically enough, look rather Balrog- like in nature. John Howe is even quoted for saying he would like two of those to sit at the front of his house!
But he does not just paint scenes and places from “The Lord of the Rings”, he also has a selection of many, many paintings from “The Hobbit” and “The Silmarillion”, which are extremely good and very accurate to Tolkien’s descriptions. Paintings from “The Silmarillion” include places, people and events such as sieges, drownings and battles. One quite famous piece is the Siege of Gondolin, which has a very sinister feel to it. You see from the painting that there is Gondolin, which is lying peaceful and silent amongst the snow-capped mountains, but then in the left hand corner there are the beasts that skulk and lurk, waiting to attack.
So, as you can see, I have just shown you three of the many Tolkien or Tolkien-inspired artists that are around today. Many, many more exist though these are just some favorites of both the Realm of Varda and myself. As you can tell, the artists discussed here have very different and unique styles of painting, original and fresh. From locations to objects, Minas Morgul to the Ring, creatures to people, the Balrog to Galadriel, there is one thing certain – there have been artists inspired by Tolkien right from the day the book was published, and there always will be…
by arwen_the_evenstar, images provided by Woodlandelfgirl87
