Bilbo Baggins – There and Back Again

‘I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led. And through the air. I am he that walks unseen.

I am the clue-finder, the web-cutter, the stinging fly. I was chosen for the lucky number. I am he that buries his friends alive and drowns them and draws them alive again from the water.

I came from the end of a bag, but no bag went over me. I am the friend of bears and the guest of eagles.

I am Ringwinner and Luckwearer; and I am Barrel-rider.’

Bilbo Baggins is a character from Tolkien’s legendarium who has fascinated me since my first encounter with him in the opening chapter of The Lord of the Rings, which I read quite some time before The Hobbit.

Recently I was inspired to again pick up my copy of The Hobbit and have another read through; also to further explore the character of Bilbo and get some artworks done in the process.

Advertisements

Tolkien Reading Day – Home and Hearth

Concerning Hobbits…

Happy Tolkien reading day to you all!

With this being the first year that I’ve been aware in advance of Tolkien reading day, not only do I get to read, but I also have the time to get a bit of writing done and share fully in the excitement and joy of the day!

For this years theme of Home and Hearth: the many ways of being a Hobbit there are countless different options of reading that fit in to the theme; for me I have chosen to spend my reading time in the prologue of The Fellowship of the Ring; Concerning Hobbits.

The Road Goes Ever On – Limited Edition Fine Art Prints

My dear Bagginses and Boffins, Tooks and Brandybucks, Grubbs, Chubbs, Hornblowers, Bolgers, Bracegirdles and Proudfoots!

The Road Goes Ever On – Still Life

My latest venture into the beautiful world of Middle-earth has drawn to a close and I now have a new piece of artwork to share with you all!

This piece was inspired by the song of the same title as recited by Bilbo Baggins when he leaves the Shire to head for Rivendell in The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book One, Chapter I: “A Long-expected Party”

The Road Goes Ever On – Prints Have Arrived!

I just had to publish a quick on the move blog post to say that the first batch of Limited Edition Giclee Prints of ‘The Road Goes Ever On’ have arrived!

Tomorrow I’ll be opening my Etsy store and these will be available to buy until the limited number have gone!

I’ll be back tomorrow with a much more in depth post!

Until then, farewell!

JGlover

An Elven Seductress and the Sword of the King

Elves, swords and kings… Staples of fantasy

The past couple of weeks have been more hectic and upside down than they usually are, which is saying something; between the massively unsociable hour shifts I work and decorating/upheaval going on at home; art life and blog posts have been a bit of a mythological prospect.

However, there hasn’t been total radio silence on the artwork front.

The Road Goes Ever On – Ink Drawing WIP

The Grey Pilgrim

“I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it’s very difficult to find anyone.”

–– Gandalf

On what started out as a seemingly ordinary day just over seventeen years ago, I happened to encounter an old wizard riding into Hobbiton on his cart that had been filled with the most amazing fireworks ever seen even by the oldest of Hobbits.

It’s strange to think of how long it has been since I was first introduced to Tolkien’s incredible world, initially through the vision of Peter Jackson but that first movie whetted my appetite and I moved onto the books pretty soon thereafter.

One of many characters that I immediately warmed to and still hold close to myself even today; is Gandalf.

” He wore a tall pointed grey hat, a long grey cloak, and a silver scarf. He had a long white beard and bushy eyebrows that stuck out beyond the brim of his hat.”

— The Fellowship of the Ring, “A Long-expected Party”

Sketchbook IV – Bilbo Baggins

Welcome to Part IV of my Sketchbook series; this one is a bit of a double-barreled post, both a sketchbook piece and the beginnings of a new project inspired by Middle-earth!

In last week’s post I had shown the small ink sketch of Bilbo that I made, I have now worked up the composition for the final artwork as well as done some experiments and have got the final piece drawn up and ready to begin.

But before jumping straight into the current form of the art, let’s see the journey!