Personal piece. Every now and then the bleak, desolate corner of my mind compels me to paint scenes like this. Is it symptomatic of something I need to address, or am I just being melodramatic? It started life as another scene from The Silmarillion; Fingolfin challenging Melkor to single combat at the gates of Angband, but I couldn't resist painting in those imperial eagles. I'm not sure Manwe would approve of that!Here's a wonderful piece of music from the late, great Jerry Goldsmith that I had on a loop while I worked www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjlSWj… Its superb; the first minute leaves me spellbound, with an uneasy blend of foreboding, despair, mystery and wonder. And another favourite which ushered in this painting, from the incomparable Tchaikovsky. This piece is mystery, a stranger in a strange land, and so much more. Love it! www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPuf9k…