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Altaira
Superuser
Apr 3 2007, 7:06pm
Post #1 of 7
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Tolkien Illustrated: Ted Nasmith #4 – The Fellowship of the Ring, I
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Many, though not all, of the pictures Ted has done depicting scenes from The Fellowship of the Ring were done for the 2002 Tolkien Calendar – the first in a series of three calendars scheduled to coincide with the release of Peter Jackson’s movies. We'll look at some of those later. For now, the two we’re going to look at are both earlier works.
Moving more or less chronologically through the book, the first painting I’d like to present is Old Man Willow Tamed, which appeared in the 1996 Tolkien Calendar:
The Willow Man is Tamed; tednasmith.com
Old Man Willow looks very large and very old in this picture, and very realistic: down to the intricate detail of the trunk and the leaves gently falling from the tree. The shadow on his trunk gives the impression that there’s an enormous part of the tree outside the borders of the picture that we can’t see. He looms over the small Hobbits who look helpless. In contrast, Tom, while still small compared to the tree, looks strong and determined.
Question 1 – We’ve seen other interpretations of Old Man Willow; how does this one compare to the others?
Continuing with the tree theme, have a look at the next painting, Fifth Day After Weathertop, which also appeared in the 1996 Calendar:
Fifth Day After Weathertop; tednasmith.com
Again, notice the intricate detail of the trees and leaves. In this case, there is a tree in front of the travelers almost, but not quite, blocking their way. Notice also how a small amount of light is filtering through the trees, but Frodo is in shadow.
Question 2 – How well does this painting convey the plight of Frodo and his companions?
“I was drawn to painting in tempera mostly, and a natural gift for realism.”
- Ted Nasmith; Dreamish.com interview, 2004.
“..early feedback from Tolkien encouraged Nasmith to strive for a more literal interpretation of Tolkien's works (a feature which distinguishes Nasmith's work from other Tolkien illustrators to this day).”
- Wikipedia
Many of Ted’s paintings contain very realistic scenery and landscapes, with Tolkien’s fantasy characters placed in them. I liked this definition of realism from Dictionary.com – “a style of painting and sculpture developed about the mid-19th century in which figures and scenes are depicted as they are experienced or might be experienced in everyday life.”
Question 3 – Do you prefer the use of realism to interpret fantasy scenes, or do you prefer more fantastical, and/or stylized items of nature such as rocks, trees and mountains?
Question 4 – Do you agree with the Wikipedia comment that Ted produces a more literal interpretation of Tolkien’s works than other Tolkien artists?
Koru: Maori symbol representing a fern frond as it opens. The koru reaches towards the light, striving for perfection, encouraging new, positive beginnings.
"All we have to decide is what to do with the boards that are given to us"
"I take a moment to fervently hope that the camaradarie and just plain old fun I found at TORn will never end" -- LOTR_nutcase
TORn Calendar
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Beren IV
Gondor
Apr 4 2007, 4:05am
Post #2 of 7
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Generally, I like the realistic landscapes. They look better than stylized landscapes could, and I feel that they fit into Tolkien's own writing much better than stylized or cartoonish drawings that Tolkien himself liked. Tolkien describes his world very vividly, a great love of nature and its beauty shines out through the writing, and perhaps most importantly the love of the natural world and its beauty is perhaps the single biggest dividing line that separates good from evil in the legendarium: the protection of this worldly paradise is what the heroes really set out to defend, because let's face it, you're going to have a king anyway. Well, some of the races, are physically part of that paradise, but we'll come to them later.
Nonetheless, this is my Old Man Willow, a massive, gnarled tree large enough that a man-sized creature like Tom Bombadil could easily fit lying down inside of that enormous trunk. It makes sense that there are other skeletons inside of there. The tree also looks much more willow-like than Tolkien's drawing, to my mind, although I am familiar with only a few types of willow. The Salicaceae (the willow family, including both willows and poplars) includes both straight and gnarled trees, both within the poplars, and I would assume that there are straight, tall, aspen-like willows as well (aspens are poplars). So I envision a big, gnarled, multi-branched tree with no clear trunk above the crown, but hughe branches the size of smaller trees.
Nasmith generally does nature well, although the Fifth Day after Weathertop is particularly good for another reason as well: Frodo back there in the shadow, as if it is obvious that he is becoming a wraith, and almost looking like a Black Rider already, except that you can see his hands. The trees look groping and, shall we say, interested in the company, or maybe just the light, but trees do this to paths, if you've ever walked in one.
Once a paleontologist, now a botanist, will be a paleobotanist
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Daughter of Nienna
Grey Havens
Apr 4 2007, 7:29am
Post #3 of 7
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Question 1 – We’ve seen other interpretations of Old Man Willow; how does this one compare to the others?
A: I think this is the best Old Man Willow I have seen, but I have not seen them all, and just the ones in this series stick in my memory. I love how twisted it and gnarly he is just like his soul is twisted. And, the roots look insidious.
He looks like he could move and certainly looks like he could gobble up a Hobbit. The only thing missing is the low hanging branches that knock Frodo into the river. And, I am not sure why Sam and Frodo are wearing white tunics.
Question 2 – How well does this painting convey the plight of Frodo and his companions?
A: The tree in the foreground seems to emphasize the rough hazardous way with numerous hindrances. And, Frodo is so perfectly shown to n a fifth-day sage toward Wraith-dom. Yet heart-breakingly sad and piteous. I feel totally sympathetic toward him and in fear for his life.
Question 3 – Do you prefer the use of realism to interpret fantasy scenes, or do you prefer more fantastical, and/or stylized items of nature such as rocks, trees and mountains?
A: When it comes to the landscapes of Middle-earth, I prefer realism, yet with just a hint of someplace unique and wonderous.
Question 4 – Do you agree with the Wikipedia comment that Ted produces a more literal interpretation of Tolkien’s works than other Tolkien artists?
A: I can only answer to what I have been looking at here. And maybe, but I think I need to see more to answer definitively. after all, Lee hold my heart and interprets the spirit of better than anyone, IMHO.
...
Alan Lee Discussion week: starts March 25th in the Reading Room
Discussion Ideas, Alan Lee–Introduction, Scanned images for Alan Lee Discussion.
Art Gallery Revised, ORC pic of Hawaii friends, my drawings,
Aloha & Mahalo, Websites Directory
Nienna: “ those who hearken to her learn pity, and endurance in hope . . . All those who wait in Mandos cry to her, for she brings strength to the spirit and turns sorrow to wisdom." — Valaquenta
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elostirion74
Rohan
Apr 4 2007, 8:57pm
Post #5 of 7
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The tone and mood of the painting..
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Old Man Willow
I’ve seen only three illustrations of Old Man Willow so far. Allan Lee’s for the centenary edition of LoTR, John Howe from a Tolkien calendar in 1992? and this one by Ted Nasmith. Ted Nasmith easily surpasses the others by making the roots of the tree as well as the tree itself sufficiently imposing and menacing. The gnarled texture of the tree makes it feel very much alive and sentient and a fearsome adversary. I’m not sure how much I like the trees beyond it, though, they look too golden and the leaves not those of a willow, even supposing that the golden colour comes from the sunlight. That is a minor quibble, though.
Fifth day after Weathertop
This artwork truly got to me! The details on the tree, with the mushrooms growing on the trunk, the mosses higher up, the leaves above hanging like a canopy and the twisted branches surrounding the company, makes for a quite oppressive and gloomy scene. Again many of the trees look very life-like and sentient with their texture and their traces of lost branches. This looks like a real forest, with ferns and other undergrowth, the path with its characteristic roots and trampled leaves, and the few fallen logs and a tree-stump.
I also thought this was a simple but beautiful picture of Sam (I imagine that he is the guy leading the pony at the rear); he looks sturdy, supportive and the only person who seems to try to connect to any of the others in the Company, which would be so typically him. Pippin (in front I guess) looks downcast, Aragorn resolutely concentrating on the way ahead and Merry coming up behind, is looking down while struggling to keep a defiant stance with his clenched right hand. Frodo is in shadow, literally as well as in the way his face is concealed - what we see of it looks very pale and definitely on the way to becoming a wraith.
“Do you prefer the use of realism to interpret fantasy scenes, or do you prefer more fantastical, and/or stylized items of nature such as rocks, trees and mountains”?
It’s essential for me that the artist is able to catch the spirit and mood of the scene and not too crudely. If the artist is able to suggest something I didn’t think of, it’s even better. If the realism doesn't contribute to enhance the particular mood or tone of the picture, it is not what I would look for. Sometimes a more stylized approach fits the tone of the motif better than a realist approach. The grander the setting/motif, the less I am concerned by realism in itself. I like details in a painting and so I obviously like some realist approaches to painting sceneries as long as the tone of the painting is right and the contrasts not too jarring.
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Curious
Half-elven
Apr 4 2007, 9:08pm
Post #6 of 7
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These are very effective pictures.
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Old Man Willow verges on being preposterously large, but better too large than too small, I suppose. Nasmith does some interesting work with shadow and sunlight here, although I can't quite figure out what the scene looks like in order to case these particular shadows. The sun seems low and the shadows long, but shouldn't there be trees blocking a low sun? Then there is a large amount of shadow above Bombadil, but why? If it is from the branches of Old Man Willow, they had better hold more leaves than the branches hanging over the river.
I like the leaves blowing about, the inviting grass, Bombadil's outfit, and the hobbits' concern, but again Nasmith makes the characters so tiny that we don't see much expression. And is it my imagination, or is Sam nearly bald on top? I like the vast network of roots, but the branches above don't seem much of a threat because the tree is so large. And where are Tom's waterlilies?
Fifth Day After Weathertop also works best in a smaller size; I don't like any of the faces in the large version where I can see the details. I love the idea of placing Frodo in shadow, though, and in a robe that almost makes him look like a small Black Rider. I also like Strider's long stride. And I like the color in the forground, including the green moss and ferns, the fall leaves, the path and the clothes of the characters, because it contrasts sharply with Frodo in shadow in the background. Bill the pony looks a bit large, though, for a pony.
On the whole I like these pictures. They are realistic, yet not so realistic that they fail to hint at something fantastic. I still think Lee is more technically proficient than Nasmith, but Nasmith has some really good ideas, and unlike Lee shows no reluctance to use color and light in the service of those ideas.
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FarFromHome
Valinor
Apr 5 2007, 11:04am
Post #7 of 7
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after Weathertop is very well done here, I find. What I like about it is that Frodo himself isn't depicted in the clear, realistic style that Naismith usually uses. As someone else noted, Frodo looks like he's becoming a Ringwraith himself, with his hood drawn over his bowed head. And he's misty and shadowed, almost separated from the rest of the group, with only that last frail lifeline of the rope in Sam's hand to link him to our world.
So what I like about this picture, I guess, is the symbolism of Frodo's fading, rather than the realism of the picture as a whole. The rest of the scene - Strider, the other two hobbits, and that very carefully-detailed mossy tree - are much more "realistic", but for me not very appealing. The characters are as wooden as the tree - maybe more so, as the tree seems to have more personality than they do! This kind of realism doesn't appeal to me. It reflects the surface of Tolkien's world faithfully enough, but the surface isn't what's important. Tolkien has a way of investing ordinary descriptions of landscape with something of the magic of faraway places, a sense of history and mythology that hints at something greater behind the mundane. But a straightforward recreation of his descriptions seems to lose the magic, and we're left with just the mundane. Except for the treatment of Frodo, this picture I find could fit perfectly well into one of those Boys' Own Stories that Tolkien's harshest critics like to accuse LotR of being. In other words, it's missing the most important part of the story, for me.
I think Alan Lee is more successful in giving us that elegiac sense of lost time, with his moody, misty scenes, but then, as others have commented, he loses the brightness and immediacy that somehow Tolkien also manages to convey. I think that's why I personally find it hard to respond to any of the illustrators we've seen so far - they are too literal, and rather than aiding my imagination seem to limit it.
So in answer to your question about realism vs stylized depictions, I have to go with stylized - but by this I certainly don't mean the "fantasy" approach of nature on steroids, with impossibly steep, jagged mountains and so on. What I'd love to see is more symbolic art, like the Frodo in this After Weathertop picture. I'd like to see art that conveys the mood or sense of the book scenes while leaving the details for me to imagine in my own way.
...and the sails were drawn up, and the wind blew,
and slowly the ship slipped away down the long grey firth;
and the light of the glass of Galadriel that Frodo bore
glimmered and was lost.
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