Stepping into Middle-earth!

Every now and then I like to take a step back from my personal projects and indulge myself in some of the things that inspire me and have done for a long time. The foremost of these inspirations is Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium; an entire world full of history and life that has been as accessible as tap water since my childhood.

I’m not ashamed to say that I was introduced to Tolkien via the Peter Jackson movies which had me absolutely enthralled from the opening scenes of The Fellowship of the Ring. I soon went on to read the books and I’m currently reading them again and have just read The Window on the West chapter in The Two Towers.

I found myself inspired whilst reading this chapter and wanted to show a scene of Henneth Annûn and Faramir especially as he is a character I really connect with and enjoy. I did toy around with the idea of showing Gollum in the Forbidden Pool but put that on the back burner for now as a sketch.

Using a still from the movies as my reference, I got to work on a charcoal drawing –

“This is the Window of the Sunset, Henneth Annûn, fairest of all the falls of Ithilien, land of many fountains.” – Faramir

Henneth Annûn, also called the Window of the Sunset, or Window on the West, was a hidden refuge of the Rangers of Ithilien in the northern part of Ithilien along the Ephel Duath, the Mountains of Shadow. The waterfall cascading over the cliff-face had originally run through the cave itself, but was altered to flow over one of the entrances; this likeness to a window gave Henneth Annûn its name. There are two entrances into the cave system- one being the route through which Samwise Gamgee and Frodo were led, and the other being the window itself. At the bottom of the window was a bowl full of sharp stone knives.

– The Lord of the Rings Wiki

There are many places in Middle-earth that I would love to visit and this is near the top of my list alongside Rivendell and Lothlórien.

What is a Middle-earth location that appeals to you and given the chance, where would you like to visit the most?

I’m planning a Lord of the Rings inspired oil painting soon and I’m still considering my subject but presently I’m thinking of the Lady Galadriel, many artists inspired by Tolkien have depicted her beautifully and she is a very strong character with an incredibly vast history.

Until next time, farewell!

JGlover