This was a large watercolour which I stopped and started too many times, lost my way, forgot what I was doing, but I got there in the end (The majority is watercolour, but there’s a touch of gouache, some coloured pencil, and a bit of Photoshop included for good measure).

Now, when I look at an illustration like this, I must admit I didn’t think it would be possible to recreate it in 3 dimensions and that it would still have the same visual impact. Then I saw the images on Weta’s webpage for the sculpture link and I realized it was something we really needed to buy. As it was only a few months until Christmas (in 2009 this is) we decided to treat ourselves and call it a combined present to us both. So, we ordered and sat back expectantly. This is where the technical issues crept in, there were, it appears, issues with the base which meant people who had already received their dragon were not happy with the piece. At this point Weta put the product on hold and scratched their heads and came up with a solution which to my eyes has improved the piece – I’m not a fan of simulated wood finishes and would have been tempted to replace it with real wood, yet the solution turned out to be replacing the simulated wood base with a polystone base which gives it a marbled appearance something I find more in keeping with the piece anyway. So, the deadline changed a few times for delivery, which given the production issues isn’t all that surprising really, then a week or so ago I received an email from Weta saying the shipment had arrived in the UK and was ready to wing its way to our address.

This morning, the van arrived and the doors opened to reveal a huge, and I mean HUGE box. I returned to the house – very carefully, and prepared to open it.

Upon opening the box we were greeted by unpacking instructions, not something I’d seen before, but then, this is the first dragon we’ve received by courier We carefully removed the outer box and opened the inner box, inside this was a spanner and a huge cube of polystyrene. The three bolts which kept the sculpture in position for shipping were quickly removed and we removed the polystyrene layer by layer.

Once all this was removed we stood back, and our jaws dropped to the ground, it is a stunning piece, really one you have to see in real life to get the full impact of. There are so many little details that you miss first time round that jump out at you when you look from another angle. It’s one of those pieces that we’ll spend quite some time looking at and slowly discovering new parts and details on.

So, what are you waiting for? there’s a limited number available Now, I just need to work out which body parts I need to sell in order to get the next sculpture.

So, this is a quick A4 watercolour of Gandalf, his old grey cloak in rags covering his new white garb as he shuffles and stoops his way to the presence of Theoden. Now I really want to paint the full hall, with shafts of light picking out different details, and the other characters in place.

First one of the Three-Farthings Stone in the Shire -

Then there was one of a couple of Hobbits returning home after a wander -

Not sure if it helped plan the painting, but they were fun to do

I was trying to think of a painting for the theme of the month which is Airships over on the John Howe website. And I was thinking (if you can call it that), what if Tolkien before he wrote the Council of Elrond scene had watched a few hot air balloons fly by, perhaps he’d have sent the ring South by balloon instead of with the fellowship on foot.

Elrond looked annoyed and the other members of the council shuffled in their seats.

“Look,” said Frodo, “I’m not saying I won’t go to Mordor, it’s just walking all that way…”

“No one is saying you have to cover the distance in one day.” Interrupted Elrond, “Think of it more of an extended wander.”

“I already have bunions on both feet, and an ingrown toenail.” Complained Frodo, “please don’t forget the condition of my feet.”

“And my back,” put in Gimli.

“And my legs,” chirped Legolas.

“Okay, I get it.” Elrond said slamming the table in frustration. “So you’re all too lazy to walk to Mordor.”

“How many horses do we have?” Asked Gandalf.

“Not enough I’ll warrant,” Aragorn replied. “Rivendell lost far too many for the great feast.”

“Eagles?” Suggested Bilbo.

No one answered, though Elrond threw a half eaten roll at Bilbo.

Time passed and no one spoke, clouds drifted in front of the Sun and the council chamber fell dark. From the back of the council chamber a Elf from the distant realm of Golfier stood and cleared his throat. “Could I make a suggestion?”

“At this point I’ll listen to Bill the Pony,” said Elrond.

“My Lord, I am Étienne from the realm of Golfier,” he said bowing towards the other members of the council. “We have for many years now been designing vessels that fly in the air and are moved by nothing more than the winds.”

Elrond, and most of the other council members looked doubtful.

“This is true my Lords,” said another Elf standing next to Étienne. “I am Findaráto brother of Étienne, these vessels of the air are a wonder to behold.”

“Hang on,” Gandalf said standing up. “I’ve seen those airships, they’re nothing more than little baskets suspended beneath bags of air.”

“We’ve refined the design a bit,” Étienne said smiling. “Now we suspend small rowing boats beneath the balloons.”

“How far can one of these airships go?” Elrond asked curiously.

“We’ve never flown more than 40 miles in one go,” replied Findaráto. “That’s not to say they won’t fly further, just that we’ve never seen the need to travel further than that.”

“There’s no way you’ll get me up in one of those things.” Gandalf said shaking his head.

“Hmmmm, let’s not be hasty,” said Elrond holding up a hand to silence Gandalf.

“Are you halfentish?” Legolas asked Elrond with a smirk.

The council chamber erupted with laughter and Bilbo called for ale which he’d done every fifteen minutes since they started.

“If you’re all quite finished,” Elrond said, he was looking mightily cheesed off and everyone fell silent. “That’s better. I like this idea of flying silently into Mordor, it’s the one thing that Sauron won’t consider.”

“Is that because it’s a stupid idea?” Asked Gandalf.

“Well, we can’t walk, ride or Eagle it there,” Elrond replied sharply. “We have little choice left to us. How long will it take to build these airships for the trip to Mordor?”

“Three weeks should be enough,” said Findaráto.

“You can count me out of this scheme.” Gandalf said to no one in particular.

For three weeks the Golfier brothers worked on their airships until three were ready to fly, the fellowship sans Gandalf assembled and climbed aboard their ships. Gandalf shook his head and wandered down into the valley of Rivendell, he couldn’t watch them crash into the ground and die. As he stepped onto the bridge Gandalf looked up and saw the three airships floating off into the distance, slamming his staff down onto the bridge he called out to the fellowship “Fly you fools!”

Of course the text and Gandalf of the bridge is the result of Julie saying to my suggestion of the fellowship in airships was “yes, and Gandalf could be shouting ‘fly you fools’ at them”

For some reason this next photograph makes me want to draw hill with a golden hall upon it – yes I’m thinking of Meduseld before anyone asks

When we returned home we put the beer and cider in the fridge, placed the herbs on the relevant shelf, tucked away the onions…. then realized we’d forgot the dog food, typical really

When Looney Tunes illustrated the Silmarillion…

they may have misread the part about Ulmo – here, Elmer (lord of the seas) makes his way to Tuor.

With apologies to Tolkien, Looney Tunes, Tolkien fans, and generally everyone else.

I had plenty of ideas for the theme ‘Winter is Coming’ most of them were to do with George R. R. Martin of course then I started to think about the title in a more literal way and how we all prepare for winter in our own way. With the Hobbit being in the news lately that of course had me wondering how they would get ready for winter in the Shire, and so here we have a wee Hobbit chopping and stacking wood outside his little Hobbit Hole in the Shire.

Here’s a couple of close up photographs…

Painting details, A3 watercolour.