Sketches from my artistic process of illustrating from Tolkien

Last weekend I had the wonderful experience of presenting at Signum University's Cascade Moot, and a very kind audience member asked if I could speak a little about my artistic process of illustrating from the masterpieces of J.R.R. Tolkien. I've been asked this very good question a few times, and wondered if you might enjoy seeing a little of my process here on my blog. The above photo shows some sketches you might recognize as relating to some of my finished paintings, though one you won't have seen unless you are subscribed to my Patreon.

How a painting ends up being fully realized can differ, but my process always begins in the same way: I think of something I might like to paint and then go to the sources. Tolkien's own books and other treasured volumes that have been written about him are my primary sources. My love of the Professor's creations make me want to do the very best I can to see what he is describing. If I am aware of any artwork of his, I adhere to it closely.

Everything I end up painting begins its life in an ever-growing pile of black-bound sketchbooks. I use them both for drawing but they are also where I take down all the notes I need to help me see any details I am lucky enough to have in the texts. If the Professor described it, I want to paint it faithfully. Here you can see me taking notes on the second dinner at Tom Bombadil's house while I am quick-sketching the idea of Goldberry that comes to me in reading the related passages. Sometimes I begin thinking about small details, too, like what is on the dining table.

Some paintings take so much planning. Here is the beginning of my painting of "An Unexpected Party", with abundant notes and a diagram of my trying to figure out how to fit 14 different people into Bilbo's parlour:

This then moved to a next stage of trying to see Thorin and Bombur in my mind as I realized I needed to foreground some of the figures to have both close-up details and room for everyone at the party:

As you can see, my initial drawings are very loosely done. I am trying to get expression, energy, and form down very quickly so that I can capture the feeling the scene gives me, just like when you read and have an impression in your mind of how everything seems to you.

While I'm devoted to getting any authoritative details right, anyone who illustrates from Tolkien's works will be able to tell you that there are so many blanks you have to fill in. For example, we know some of the things that are in Bilbo's parlour, but what would be on the walls? We don't know.

This is where I try to bring my sense of hobbit culture and my own study of history to bear. I thought Bilbo might display decorative local pottery in this fine room, as people did in the Georgian era of England. So, the question arises, what does luxurious hobbit pottery look like? I have many thoughts about this and did some little colored drawings like this one, based on historic ceramics I feel go well with hobbit aesthetics of loving flowers and the colors yellow and green. I'm always putting umbellifers in my Tolkien-inspired work, as an ongoing tribute to Professor Tolkien's memory of the day on which his wife danced for him amongst the hemlocks.

Eventually, all this research and sketching ends up as a finished painting:

Sometimes, I work with models who allow me to photograph them. My idea of Haldir is based on a real person I met by chance. To my eyes, this very tall young blonde man looked as close to an elf of the Golden Wood as almost any human I've ever seen and he was gracious enough to let me take a few photos of him:

More often, though, a character comes to my mind like a mental photograph of them. I've never yet painted from this sketch of Théoden King, but because I managed to capture him when he appeared in my thoughts, I will have this drawing for future use:

I'll often sketch somewhat carefully while listening to a favorite program like The Prancing Pony Podcast. It's a relaxing, quiet process with just a sketchbook and pencil. At other times, an idea comes to me so quickly that I seize the nearest pen and scribble it onto a page before it's lost to me. Here is a 1-minute doodle of Bilbo in his dressing room, which is, perforce, a mess, but has the happy feeling in it I thought I could work up later:

And here is the finished painting, with all my research done, all my ideas worked out:

As you can see from comparing the two pictures, a lot can change between the first notion and the final painting, but if you look closely, you might notice that the feeling of the picture is already there in the scribble. Expressions and moods are something I really care about in my work. I am almost always trying to create an experience for the viewer of really being there, up close and intimate in the scene, as the next-best-thing to getting to actually go back in time to Middle-earth of old.

A last thing I thought it might be fun to share is that my sketchbooks are filled with one version after another of a scaled sketch like this:

Every scene with different kindreds in it means another challenge of trying to get the size of everyone as accurate as I can. I'm sure my fellow artists can relate to this! It can be quite a feat when you have little Bilbo, humbly-sized Gandalf, tall (but maybe not the tallest) Wood-elves, and giant Beorn all in one scene:

But that, of course, is the honor of trying to paint from Professor Tolkien's wonderful, beloved words. It's a pleasure, a joy, and a sacred trust. I hope you enjoyed this little peek into my process. New paintings coming soon!