Something wonderful I noticed while painting Professor and Mrs. Tolkien

I am so grateful to the fine Tolkien scholars who continually share wise insights with all of us from their close readings of the texts. What I have to share today is a visual discovery - one which I was thrilled to come upon while doing research for this new portrait of J.R.R. and Edith Bratt Tolkien at home. I have a great interest in depicting both the works and life of the the Professor, out of my gratitude to him.

This is 76 Sandfield Road in Oxford, which my research shows was the couple's residence from 1954 to 1968. I spent time looking at any period photographs I could find of the house, as its appearance today is greatly altered. The photo that inspired me most was a lesser-known image from one of the Pamela Chandler sessions, but the versions I could see of it online were somewhat dim, a little fuzzy, and black-and-white, yet truly engaging. I hoped to pay tribute to the moment that had been captured by bringing the scene into living color.

I was doing my best to blow up and brighten the images to try to catch the charming expressions of this beloved couple when something in the background practically made me shout for joy. You'll have to squint, but do you see what I see here:

No worries if you are saying, "Huh? What am I supposed to see?"

There, behind the gate, and to the side of the door it looks to my eyes like a little topiary has been planted. It's a shape my eyes quickly translated, because I have painted Bilbo's dooryard trees so many times now.

You can see the pair of them in this painting:

And catch another glimpse of them at Yuletide in the snow:

I don't consider any painting of Bag End's entrance complete without those little trees, because the Professor rendered them again and again in his own drawings and paintings. I think they meant a lot to him, and I've even incorporated a similar pair at the Battle of Bywater Stone, planted by Sam, as a kind of spirit of Bilbo and Frodo in the scene and a hallmark of Bag End horticultural tastes:

In fact, I've thought so much about those two trees that I imagined an origin story for them in the sunny Southfarthing, where plants like cypress might be at home:

Perhaps it is eccentric to cry over photographs but I was feeling very tender towards Professor and Mrs. Tolkien while working on this painting. Their long devotion through many trials in life is moving, their Beren and Lúthien epitaphs have become famous, and the sweetness within their family life as evinced in letters speaks to my heart. I was feeling all this when I saw the little tree welcoming people to Sandfield Road. Tolkien's remark that,"I am a hobbit in all but size," became plain truth as I peered at the grainy image of the topiary. Can you feel the little tug at your heartstrings?

But, putting our hobbit handkerchiefs aside, I hope the painting gives you a sense of the honor and happiness it would have been to receive an invitation into this home. It seems so good to me to see the couple smiling and laughing in their little garden, true to hobbit form. I did my best to incorporate the plants I could detect throughout all the available images. There is a hydrangea, and what looks to me like a small spruce, and roses. I could not identify the exact varieties from photos, so I planted roses that would have existed at this time. There's a Dainty Bess behind Edith, an Alister Stella Grey behind Ronald, and overhead, a pale yellow Aglaia rambler. I've added the nasturtians for Bilbo's sake.

I hope the naturalness of the picture comes through of this older couple, hands entwined on the gate, sharing a laugh, full of life. Here's a little video short to help you imagine yourself there, being welcomed with grace and hospitality and kindness. May the lovely memory of these very special people never fade.