Tag: Tolkien

It had to be done

Graeme Skinner

Tolkien and his works has been on my mind more than usual this week following the death of Christopher Tolkien, so I ended up scribbling Gandalf sketches, Gandalf hats, his staff…. you get the idea 😉 anyway, I decided I needed to practice sketching robes and folds in clothing a bit more so used the Hobbit movie poster as a reference for a Gandalf sketch. Now I need to start from scratch again and work on a larger Gandalf illustration, I just need to wake up and get some energy…

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Starting Again

Graeme Skinner

A while ago I started a painting which was supposed to be Gandalf leading Bilbo and the Dwarves through the mountains. The background went fine which is unusual for me, then the rock faces didn’t work out too badly. Then I added Gandalf and I didn’t like it, I added more rain, more clouds, tints, hints… nothing worked for me, so there’s only one things for it. I’ll have to go back to drawing board 😉 Next time I’ll go a bit darker, with a bit more cloud, for now…

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Maker of Middle-Earth

Graeme Skinner

We had the opportunity to visit the Tolkien: Maker of Middle-Earth exhibition at the Bodleian, Oxford earlier this month as we were visiting the  area (okay, we visited Oxfordshire because the exhibition was on ;-)). I had read various reviews online both from friends and in the media and was rather keen to see it for myself. The exhibition didn’t disappoint, seeing the original maps that J.R.R.T. and his son worked on was something I never thought I’d see, and his original illustrations were simply amazing. I must admit to…

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