(Click second thumbnail above to watch video)
 
Museum-Quality Matte Paper Print available in two sizes:
12" x 16" (30cm x 40cm): $35.00
24" x 32" (60cm x 80cm): $48.00
 
“For he was come into a deep ravine with tall sheer sides, and it ran straight toward the West; and before him the setting sun, going down through a clear sky, shone into the ravine and kindled its walls with yellow fire, and the waters of the river glittered like gold as they broke and foamed upon many gleaming stones...the sun rose behind his back and set before his face, and where the water foamed among the boulders or rushed over sudden falls, at morning and evening rainbows were woven across the stream.” - Unfinished Tales, "Of Tuor and His Coming to Gondolin"
 
Tuor's young life has been full of grief in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion, but one day a spring bubbles up in his solitary refuge that leads him to a great rock wall, where two elves appear who show him an entrance to the tunnel which leads to Cirith Ninniach, the Rainbow Cleft. There, Tuor encounters incredible beauty and gulls guide him to safety and to the sea on this incredible hero's journey.
 
Details to enjoy if you bring a print home:
 
Tuor carries his short bow and you can see his axe handle and arrows on his left hip while his small harp is slung over his shoulder.
I had to do quite a bit of thinking about how to attire him. No doubt, during his enslavement, he would have been in rags, but by the time he follows the bubbling spring to the Gate of the Noldor, he has been living in his cave for four years in hiding.
He is a hunter, and we can see a leathern belt, straps, and archery bracers, but I had to suppose that in those long years, he might have encountered some Grey Elves who took pity on him and provided him with a simple cowled tunic and hose.
This shadowy attire is also my nod to his childhood amongst the elves.
Three gulls appear to guide him up out of the ravine before the ocean tide rushes in.
The storyline of Tuor is my favorite in The Silmarillion because it leads to the voyage of his son, Eärendil, to win the forgiveness and aid of the Valar. Not only is this tale filled with incredible descriptions of beauty, but Tuor is one of the greatest heroes in Men's history, and it is said that he is the one Man who becomes counted among the Eldar. Astonishing!
 
J.R.R. Tolkien famously said that his love of our natural world inspired his vision of Middle-earth. If you, too, take strength from beauty in this world, celebrate it with a museum-quality print of this original hand-done painting.