Illustrated Blog Posts

Glory and trumpets, as Sam Gamgee was wont to say! I am so deeply honored to have been chosen to design the 2026 logo for The Tolkien Society's Oxonmoot - an annual event that is cherished around the world. The artwork will be available on the famous Oxonmoot t-shirts attendees love to sport, as well as on other merchandise. You'll be asked if you'd like to order shirts when you register for the event here and there is further information on the event FAQ page here under "Ot

“The one small garden of a free gardener was all his need and due, not a garden swollen to a realm; his own hands to use, not the hands of others to command.” - The Return of the King, Book 6, Chapter 1: The Tower of Cirith Ungol The sense of guarding is philologically rooted in the word "garden" and Sam's humble wishes not only protect him from the self-aggrandizing lies of the Ring, but are met with the happy fairy-tale ending reward of what may be the best garden in all th

The wistful part of my heart is always hoping to see a new Bree arise in our present Age and to go live there, where the Little Folk and Big Folk are good neighbors once more. There would be Men close enough to nature that they take their surnames from it, and Hobbits with enough of the green world all about the community to feel at home. But, while I continue to wait to accidentally find myself the lucky guest at some modern Prancing Pony Inn, I thought it might be encouragi

Is there any setting more inviting of enjoyment than a country walk? Birds and frogs harmonize when noisiness backs away. Wildflowers of infinite delicacy float in a mauve cloud of Yorkshire fog grass. There are fragrant streams, nests in shady concealment, and shafts of light alive with tiny, gilded beings. The observant hobbit authors we know best knew all such things and more. Some disgruntled modern readers are wont to say that hobbit tales contain too much description of