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Altaira
Superuser
Apr 5 2007, 7:29pm
Post #1 of 4
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Tolkien Illustrated: Ted Nasmith #8 – The Two Towers II
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“It’s difficult to describe exactly what informs my interest in Tolkien, but suffice it to say quite simply that I have a powerful affinity with his writing, so full of vast, lost, misty expanses and its unique mixture of the familiar and strange.”
- tednasmith.com
Six more paintings (okay, I snuck in a seventh for comparison purposes), depicting scenes from Book 4, round out our discussion of Ted Nasmith’s paintings from The Two Towers.
Feel free to comment on any and all of the pictures below:
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From the 1992 Tolkien Calendar
“The hobbits stood now on the brink of a tall cliff, bare and bleak, its feet wrapped in mist; and behind them rose the broken highlands crowned with drifting cloud.”
No Way Down; tednasmith.com
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Also from the 1992 calendar:
“For a moment Sam thought that he was trying to rouse Frodo; then he saw that it was not so. Gollum was talking to himself. Smeagol was holding a debate with some other thought that used the same voice but made it squeak and hiss.”
Gollum’s Debate; tednasmith.com
Question 1: Who is talking in this painting: Smeagol or Gollum?
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From the 1996 calendar, and the cover of the hardcover edition of Realms of Tolkien (Harper Collins, 1996).
“On the great beast thundered, blundering in blind wrath through pool and thicket.”
The Mumak of Harad; tednasmith.com
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Another from the 2003 calendar:
“Faramir and Frodo looked down. Far below them they saw the white waters pour into a foaming bowl, and then swirl darkly about a deep oval basin in the rocks..”
The Terrace at Henneth Annun; tednasmith.com
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And, another from 2003:
“..high on a rocky seat upon the black knees of the Ephel Duath, stood the walls and tower of Minas Morgul. All was dark about it, earth and sky, but it was lit with light.”
The Tower of the Moon; tednasmith.com
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The final paintings of the Two Towers grouping are two interpretations of Sam's fight with Shelob. The first is from the 1987 Tolkien Calendar:
“…with both hands he held the elven-blade point upwards, fending off that ghastly roof; and so Shelob, with the driving force of her own cruel will, with the strength greater than any warrior’s hand, thrust herself upon a bitter spike.”
Shelob; tednasmith.com
The second is a much later work from the 2003 calendar:
Shelob's Retreat; tednasmith.com
Question 2: To me the first painting of Shelob is much more stylistic and the second is much more realistic. Do you agree? What do you think of each interpretation?
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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drogo
Lorien
Apr 5 2007, 11:15pm
Post #2 of 4
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His Mordor images are very effective, at least in as much as they fit my mental picture. I like the sharp, craggy rock formations and the eerie reddish sky is one I enjoy, though you all already know that from my fondness for the Hildebrandts!
His Morgul Vale has an appropriate sheen, and though I am not sure about the the tower, his Minas Morgul looks wonderfully otherworldly.
Attack of the Hildebrandt Hobbits!
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Daughter of Nienna
Grey Havens
Apr 6 2007, 10:55pm
Post #3 of 4
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Looking at all these images here, I am struck by how much really rich imagery that the TTT holds which seems contrary to some peoples' complaints about the volume.
No Way Down; tednasmith.com
Is easily my favorite on this page and near the top of my favorites of all of Nasmith's artwork.
The textures and darkness are absolutely wonderful and the horribleness of their plight and how desperately lost, small and alone they are in a hostile environment.
Gollum’s Debate; tednasmith.com
Question 1: Who is talking in this painting: Smeagol or Gollum?
By his reaching, I'd say Gollum, but part of me want to say both… Gollum alone would have been faster and sneakier and might have had the ring already. It is almost as if there is a restraint on him.
I love the grey grimness and baroness and that he doesn't go cartoonish in this image.
The Mumak of Harad; tednasmith.com
*gulp* I think I might like this Mumak better than Lee's. This one seems more threatening, at least he is more vibrant.
The Terrace at Henneth Annun; tednasmith.com
This image is captures much of the wonder of this sight, but I still imagine more trees all around.
The Tower of the Moon; tednasmith.com
Just doesn't do much for me. Not that flawed but I just don't respond to it, aesthetically
Shelob; tednasmith.com
Shelob's Retreat; tednasmith.com
Question 2: To me the first painting of Shelob is much more stylistic and the second is much more realistic. Do you agree? What do you think of each interpretation?
I don't think either are very "realistic". The first is more 'cartoonish' and the second seems like it's from a game.
I think if he first were more realistic like the No Way Down;
Then the emotion of the scene would be more powerful – for me, that is.
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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Beren IV
Gondor
Apr 8 2007, 1:01am
Post #4 of 4
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is, to me, one of the most wonderful moments in the entire Lord of the Rings cycle. It is the classic hero against the monster, and the monster while not a Dragon it is a giant spider. Sam of course is a Hobbit, but that is forgotten for a moment: he is an Elven hero of the First Age, wielding Elvish weapons, the Star-Glass and Sting. This, together with the replanting of the Shire at the very end of the book, gives special meaning to the phrase all of the way back in A Knife in the Dark - that Sam will wind up a wizard - or a warrior. Through the course of his adventure, Sam becomes both, and here is Sam the Warrior, in all his glory.
I have a hard time commenting on the others - although Minas Morgul is too luminous. It is supposed to emit light, but not illuminate, and it clearly illuminates the walls of the valley it is in in this picture. The mountains should be dark, menacing, black - the only illumination upon them should be the reflected dull red of the clouds above.
Once a paleontologist, now a botanist, will be a paleobotanist
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