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Altaira
Superuser
Apr 6 2007, 4:55pm
Post #1 of 7
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Tolkien Illustrated: Ted Nasmith #10 – The Return of the King II
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Following is a selection of more Nasmith paintings depicting scenes from The Return of the King. Enjoy, and comment as you wish! This first painting is a classic scene that no Tolkien artist (understandably) seems able to resist. It appeared in the 1990 Calendar: The Nazgul; tednasmith.com ************* From the 2004 calandar: “'The Dead are following, said Legolas. 'I see shapes of Men and of horses, and pale banners like shreds of cloud, and spears like winter-thickets on a misty night. The Dead are following.'” The King of the Oathbreakers; tednasmith.com ************* Also from the 2004 calendar: “But now the dark swooping shadows were aware of the newcomer. One wheeled towards him; but it seemed to Pippin that he raised his hand, and from it a shaft of white light stabbed upwards.” Nazgul at the Walls; tednasmith.com Question 1: This painting incorporates the same perspective as one of the paintings of Eowyn fighting the Witch King. How does this perspective enhance (or detract from) this scene? ************* This painting first appeared in the 1990 calendar, then on a Danbury Mint plate: “And so it was that Gwaihir saw them with his keen far-seeing eyes, as down the wild wind he came, and daring the great peril of the skies he circled in the air: two small dark figures, forlorn, hand in hand upon a little hill, while the world shook under them, and gasped and rivers of fire drew near.” At the Foot of Mt. Doom; tednasmith.com ************* This painting appeared in the 1992 Calendar, and was the cover of The Tolkien Companion by J.E. Tyler: “Then Legolas repaid his promise to Gimli and went with him to the Glittering Caves; and when they returned he was silent, and would say only that Gimli alone could find fit words to speak of them. ‘And never before has a Dwarf claimed victory over an Elf in a contest of words,’ said he.” The Glittering Caves of Aglarond ************* Finally, another form the 2004 calendar: “As they came out again into the open country at sundown they overtook an old man leaning on a staff, and he was clothed in rags of grey or dirty white, and at his heels went another beggar, slouching and whining.” Saruman is Overtaken; tednasmith.com
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 8 2007, 1:11am
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This is a good one - Nasmith obviously has spent some time in caves. The bizarre, unearthly shapes that the flowstone forms into are nonetheless completely accurate and realistic to what real-world limestone caves can look like. The lighting is kinda strange, but it works. This is an example of nonliving, geological, but all the same natural beauty. It is no wonder that Gimli loves it so. And it is this, together with Fangorn, that heals the rift between Elf and Dwarf. I have never seen the Nazgul at the Walls image - although there is a suspension of disbelief issue with it in that Gandalf's spire of light should be quite deadly to a Fell Beast if it hit one, so I think that this drawing a "laser beam" doesn't really fit. If it were a direct hit like that, then there would be a dead Fell Beast and an unhorsed rider. The Army of the Dead is nice. The Dark Tower is plausible - although the moon in the image is not something I envision illuminating Mordor very often.
Once a paleontologist, now a botanist, will be a paleobotanist
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Morwen
Rohan
Apr 8 2007, 8:10pm
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I like the way Nasmith portrays the Dead, pale and ghostly but with a realistic sort of "movement" or flow to them. I also like the contrast between the ghostly figures among the dark, looming rocks in the foreground and the peaceful, pastel fields in the distance. Aragorn and his company appear as tiny figures overshadowed by the larger and much more detailed Dead, increasing the ominous feeling. I like At the Foot of Mount Doom, too. It's another "action" picture with lots of stuff going on, but my heart goes out to the tiny figures on the ground and all that hot, falling stuff graphically illustrates "the peril of the skies".
I wish you could have been there When she opened up the door And looked me in the face Like she never did before I felt about as welcome As a Wal-Mart Superstore--John Prine
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Daughter of Nienna
Grey Havens
Apr 9 2007, 6:07am
Post #4 of 7
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adds a different kind of tension
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http://www.tednasmith.com/...n_and_the_Nazgul.jpg Éowyn and the Nazgûl http://www.tednasmith.com/...gul_at_the_Walls.jpg Nazgûl at the Walls Question 1: This painting incorporates the same perspective as one of the paintings of Éowyn fighting the Witch King. How does this perspective enhance (or detract from) this scene? A: it is not only the same perspective, it utilizes a triangle in the in the center of the composition and the ground is tilted here, too. However, the triangle of has hard edges formed by the Castle wall, the ground and Gandalf's shooting light, allowing no escape …this gives an different kind of tension to the image, that of being trapped. Éowyn is trapped in a different way: by isolation…all the soldiers' have been killed or the horses scared off by the Nazgûl. This is also at a different point of the story and these differing elements have different contextual meaning. In the rescue of Faramir ('Nazgul at the Walls') there is a need to have this increased tension of being trapped by the enemy. In the Éowyn scene, it is totally about choice on her part, but it also about choices beginning to open up over-all and near the point at which the tide begins to turn. So, not hard edges of walls. Of, course the context of the story in the first instance has walls and the in the second instance, it does not, content-wise. But the Artist makes the choice of how, when, where or even if these are shown…and how the elements are used compositionally. 'Nazgûl at the Walls' does not do much for me…it is a little to squared off for me, a personal aesthetic. Contextually: I agree with Beren IV regarding the "lazer-beam" affect. I also appreciate his analysis of the 'Glittering Caves of Aglarond'
Art Gallery Revised, 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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mae govannen
Tol Eressea
Apr 9 2007, 10:05am
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What would you say of those Caves as shown in the film?...
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They are even more beautiful to me, for, as can be seen in a brief close-up, there are gems, small gems really glittering here and there, coming out of the surface of the walls... I loved that shot!
'Is everything sad going to come untrue?' (Sam, 'The Field of Cormallen', in 'The Return of the King'.)
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Beren IV
Gondor
Apr 9 2007, 2:11pm
Post #6 of 7
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Were those real caves or a set? I think they were real, not sure. But they didn't have the scale that Nasmith's painting does, so they could have been sets. And I don't remember the gems - something to look at again.
Once a paleontologist, now a botanist, will be a paleobotanist
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elostirion74
Rohan
Apr 10 2007, 10:35am
Post #7 of 7
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In general I don't like Nasmith's fell beasts; someone said they looked like baby beasts and I agree. They are too wiry and portrayed quite crudely. Turning Gandalf's white light into a sort of laser beam is not very suitable as well. The perspective of the painting is a bit strange and looks a bit confusing. The painting of the Nazgul flying around the tower just looks too much of a cliché - the tower certainly isn't very impressive. It's courageous of him to take on the caves of Aglarond. They look exceptionally beautiful and at the same time very real, at least according to my knowledge about these types of cave formations. I wonder if the painting wouldn't have been even more interesting or lent itself more to the imagination if he concentrated on a smaller part of the caves and included more reflection of light. I liked the painting of Gwaihir saving Sam and Frodo best of this lot, but it's preferable to see it as a large image. Then you see the details of the confusion, clouds and general destruction more clearly. If you prefer to see this scene in a more idealized version, I guess Nasmith's painting won't work since the more dreamlike and miraculous aspects of the scene don't come across (whereas they do in Jackson's film version). I like both versions.
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