Oh, to walk down into Hobbiton!

J.R.R. Tolkien's splendid illustration gives us an unforgettable view of The Hill from Hobbiton. Here, you can enjoy the same scene, in reverse as you walk down from Bag End into the village with Bilbo and Frodo on this fine afternoon. The chestnuts and elder are in flower, and there is so much to see. The opportunity to paint this special place helped me notice some interesting details I'd like to share with you in hopes that they will add to your sense of what it would be like to be there.

A Grain-based Society

As you follow the pony cart from the Grange to the Mill with wheat for grinding, and then hitch a ride back up on another wagon with flour for storing and baking, you are at the heart of how life works in this part of the Shire. It's centered on farming and eating well, and even if the Sandyman clan isn't the most pleasant, their role is vital. You can see one of them with a bag of grain over his shoulder and extra points if you spot the miller himself (hint: think of the White Ogre of Tolkien's boyhood Sarehole Mill.)

A detail I spotted for the first time in painting this view is that there is at least one dovecote behind the front building of the Grange. I wonder what the Professor might have been remembering when he included this, just as he included a little chicken coop down by the Mill. Our thoughts of Hobbiton can include the cooing of doves and clucking of chickens as part of the sounds there. As a symbol of peace, the doves seem especially fitting for this idyllic community and though I could not show where the dovecote is stationed, I've included some of the birds in the scene.

A Cheerful Market Day

Because even poor families like the Gamgees appear to have substantial gardens, I had to think about what might be sold at the market that's been set up for the day outside the Grange. Perhaps specialty crops and luxuries would tempt hobbits to spend their silver pennies?

At the foreground market stall, Bilbo and his adopted heir Frodo are sampling honey from a beekeeper who also vends candles, mead, clover, and red currants. The last of the previous autumn's hazelnuts are still available. Beyond, culinary and medicinal herbs and flowers are on offer. At the last booth, three dandy young hobbit bachelors are about to treat themselves to a large order of strawberries.

Good humor abounds, and as we know from the dwarves, hobbits do not haggle, so a market day is simply a chance to chat and buy treats that you don't happen to grow or make yourself.

Spot the Byrding

Some of the Gamgees are also in the village, having walked down from Number 3 Bagshot Row. The Gaffer gives gardening advice to a neighbor of his at the foremost cottage. It's the birthday of the youngest Gamgee lass, Marigold, making her the "byrding," according to Tolkien's letters. The Gaffer has brought her down to give gifts of flowers to her friends, including this very happy gammer in the cottage.

Meanwhile, young Samwise is surreptitiously hurrying back up The Hill behind the postman. The family has saved to buy Marigold a pretty red chicken for her birthday and Sam has been tasked with bringing it home.

The Good Life in Hobbiton

The neighborliness, abundance, a rational pace of life in this village make it a place so many of us would gladly live. There would be all the time in the world to visit at the market, wave to friends in the mustard field, cross the bridge, look at the river, and pay calls all around. Professor Tolkien truly knew how to describe and paint the good life in this unmechanized, green world.

And that brings me to my last note. The best artists are often the most observant ones. This is why I got rather excited about a photo of Sarehole Mill I came upon while doing research for this new painting. I had always rather wondered at Tolkien's illustration of clouds in his authoritative view of Hobbiton and The Hill. They are so round. Clouds don't typically look like this where I live. Imagine my delight when I saw this photograph:

Proof that Tolkien was a master observer! I no longer believe that Tolkien painted those cotton-ball-like clouds out of mere fancy. I would suggest that he saw such formations in his Birmingham boyhood and they do give a such soft, fresh feeling to the scene. As you can see, I made sure to incorporate some roundness into my own clouds. They really fit there.

I hope you enjoy reading about the little things I am noticing in studying Tolkien's beautiful artworks, as well as his brilliant words. Please, come enjoy two minutes in the Hobbiton he so carefully plotted and depicted for us via this video short.