Illustrated Blog Posts

It takes a special kind of eucatastrophe to bring about any alleviation of trauma, and in J.R.R. Tolkien's writing of Éowyn and Faramir,...

"I still feel the picture incomplete without something on Samwise and Elanor, but I could not devise anything that would not have...

Only J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis could ever truly know the full contents of their friendship, yet the footsteps of these 20th century...

The Roots of Real Romance I know I'm not alone in cherishing the tale of Beren and Lúthien for its connection to the lived love story of...

When the "Scouring of the Shire" is at an end and Sam Gamgee has sprinkled the earth of Lothlórien all about his homeland, a spring of...

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is a perpetual font of inspiration for devoted readers, its Third Age wisdom evergreen in any era....

Ósanwe is the practice in J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium via which powerful figures can communicate in thought. It is an ability possessed...

A first-time Tolkien reader might almost miss it. The Fellowship of the Ring is moving along at its unhurried pace across the Shire. The...

It's been said that you can't film The Lord of the Rings without cutting out huge parts of the narrative and many characters in order to...

It has to be one of the most sparkling, thrilling scenes in all of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit in which Elrond discerns the moon letters...

"I'd dearly love to see some Elf-magic, Mr. Frodo," says Sam Gamgee as he sits in the heart of Lothlórien, quite surrounded by...

Can a hobbit garden contain secrets about its gardener? In a recent article, we looked at how a youth spent in "queer" Buckland might...

Patrons have been kind enough to say that my above painting of Buckland makes them wish they could vacation there. Let's do that today...

We cross the threshold of the old year into the new like the hobbits following Haldir over the rope bridge in Lothlórien, little knowing...

Have you ever wished you could memorize one of the most beautiful poems ever penned? In J.R.R. Tolkien's youth, the art of memorization...

"Many jewels the Noldor gave them, opals and diamonds and pale crystals, which they strewed upon the shores and scattered in the pools;...

What if you could enter "the perilous realm"? What if, like Bilbo in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, you strayed from the path of a dark...

Step away from the noise and clutter of the thing that's now called the "holiday shopping season" and step back in time to a winter long...

For serious Tolkien fans, the Tolkien shelf or bookcase is one of the warmest spots in their home. It is a cozy hearth, a jeweled hoard,...

October is the best month to celebrate the glory of Glorfindel! It's on October the 18th that Frodo first meets this figure who may well...