Tirion Art Gallery

[Orofacion of the Vanyar]

I have done this on another board, recieving an excellent response, so I thought you fellow Ringers would enjoy it as well.

I named this thread "Tirion Art Galler" due to the fact the Vanyar (woohoo!) used to reside in the fair city on Tuna. Now we all know the Vanyar were the "artsy-fartsy" elves (the main reasoning behind my pseudonym) so it's only fitting the greatest art gallery of Arda would be in Tirion.

Here I would like those that draw, paint, doodle, or anything else involving the visual art field to post links to their very own work(s). I have a few sketches up on my site, though my serious work is a bit big to scan (24x18).

My Sketches (http://www.thanizzagrizza.50megs.com/photo.html)

Also, I would like to hold a critique, or critical analysis of various professional, Tolkien inspired works of art. I feel if we can all express our likes and dislikes about pieces of art, we all can better appreciate these works. This of course all depends on the initial response I get from everyone here.

(Could a moderator please delete the other one, and this little bit here, the link on the old one doesn't work.)

[Catz]

is it just me, or does that Elf bear and uncanny resemblence to a certain Vulcan??:elfeek: ;) lol
dont forget that if you have art work you want to share you can submit it to our gallery onsite.......im thinking of chucking in some of my pencils.....:shhh:mainly just to freak people out, heheheh i couldnt link anyway as i dont have a web host/page to link to.....
the critique idea is excellent Oro....id be into that, mate:thumbs: :cool:
:catz:

[Ilmarë]

Catz... i've seen a couple of your sketches... and they're good!!!!!

[Catz]

Awwww thanks Ilm:embarras: well i was looking at the gallery yesterday, and theres nothing much like my stuff there....and its nice to have a mix of styles and media.....now all i have to do is remember where i put the files...hmmmmmm *scratches head*
:catz:

[WinterSoul]

nice work Orofacion of the Vanyar
i especially like the barlog and those cute funny elves.
LOVELY!
about the critique. Good to hear that you want to do that. I tried comparing some artsist myself and what people like and dislike in their works and who's better and closer to tolkien but that didn't work much. I got confused and i stopped. The artists were Howe and Lee. it's here on the art section ......since you are into art i'd be glad if you share your oppinion with me about that unsuccessfull thread of mine :)
go to the main menu of art and select the threads from the beginning. it'll show up ............if you are interested that is.
i think it was called J.Howe or A.Lee in drawing tolkien .........something like that

[Catz]

well...i replied to it Wintersoul ;) :grin:
and i think the problem there was that Lee and Howe, in spite of the fact that theyre totally different and with quite distinct styles, are often thought of together, so its hard for folks to seperate them......now if youd compared their work to say, the Hildebrandts, the differences are far more in your face, and more evident to the observer.....or something lol
Personally as far as artists go, i like most of them except for the Hildebrandts, which make me shudder....;) roflmao
Whoops.....dragged this a bit off track havent i?....sorry Oro...:grin:
:catz:

[Catz]

:embarras: ok....just checked that thread, and it appears i didnt reply to it after all....ooops....im sure i was going to tho;) lol
:catz:

[Radagast]

Very nice work Orofacion of the Vanyar!
I specially liked the Balrog drawing... I think it's pretty good.

[WinterSoul]

You got me here Catz When you said that you have answered that ......i was a little confused for i added some stuff to that just today. :stomper:
Yeah now you have answered and i totally agree to what you are saying. it's sort of tough to separate those two.
as for the Hildebrandts - there is something in their way of drawing which really teases me. i don't like their work at all.
Exept the painting of old man willow. this is a bit too strong - i don't have anything against thier work but I just can't get used to the way they saw things. That's just a personal oppinion everyone. No offence .:dragon:

[Catz]

yeah....i think youre right with the Hildebrandts, its their way of seeing that clashes with mine....i mean, i just never thought of Aragorn as looking like Inigo Montoya out of the Princess Bride, nor running around in a costume with dagged edgings on it...?????
technically their technique is fairly sound, altho there are some pretty ropey figures in some of their works....but i have to admit, that style does little for me anyway....a little too bright and technicolour, almost garish...i like things a little darker...:grin:
:catz:

[WinterSoul]

:gofatty: :gofatty: :gofatty:

Go Catz! Go Catz! entdraught :)

[Orofacion of the Vanyar]

Sorry all, I have been extremely busy as of late to really post anything, anywhere. And since there has been some expressed interest regarding an open critique, I believe we shall proceed.

WinterSoul,

I read your thread regarding the comparison of Howe and Lee. It was quite interesting and I'm heading there next after posting this to add a little to that "dead" topic of your's ;) . But in regards to this critique, I'll be looking for not only popular artists' works, but also in the way of more unknown artists as well. Afterall folks, there are more Tolkien inspired artists than just Howe, Lee, Hildebrandt, or Nasmith. :p

Ok and away we go...

This is one of my previous critiques that I posted elsewhere on the internet that I would like to share here. Again feel free to add your own or comment on my, or other's critiques.

Here is the piece... (http://www.nightrunner.com/cgi-bin/show_image.py?id=2536)

...from this site. (http://www.nightrunner.com/gallery/html/index.html)

The artist is Sandrine Gestin.

My critique:

My favorite portrait of the White Lady.

Style - Medium verism, almost resembles comic book painting style. The hands, the clothing and parts of the face exemplify this best I believe.

Composition - The profile view works well in this situation. For the pose and environment, a frontal view would not work quite as well. With the profile, it makes Galadriel seem more distant from the viewer, making her seem as if she is pondering the matters of Middle Earth. The hands folded, holding the Light of Earendil is a nice literary accurate touch.

The light streaming down from upper left creates excellent implied visual lines down the work, accenting important physical areas of the face. The eye is led down this path and stays within the immediate area. Depending on what Gestin was trying to show with this piece, it works quite well.

Design - Beautiful is the best description of this piece. The soft contours of her face, accented and deepened by the light and shadow create what the etherial elven maiden that Galadriel should be depicted as. Look at the hair! Amazing attention to detail, the way the light plays off the golden strands. The headpiece is very impressive as well, though it is a bit difficult to deserne between the hair in certain areas.

The clothing is smooth, with a minumum of folds. This is partly what creates the lack of verism. The drapery seems realistic but only to a certain degree. This is all a factor of the style that Gestin has and matters little when discussing the overall value of it. Despite this, it is fantastically done. The detail of the embroidery throughout the garment, flowing with cloth. This is incredibly challenging to achieve. Well done.

Color - The complementary color scheme is always good to bring out aspects that you wish to. The overall gold against blue helps you see both the background and the foreground at the same time, and it still be palatable for the eye. The texture of the background is well done, though the elvish loop design is a little distracting and less... elvish, it seems too harsh.

The foreground gold scheme works well due to Galadriel's description as being directly descended from a Vanyar (woohoo! ), they were fair to see, and I always pictured them as shimmering in a way.

Overall - Magnificent depiction of Galadriel. The simple coloring is pleasent, the style works well for the subject, and the composition is easy on the eye. I get an overall smooth, soft feeling to the piece. An excellent work.

[Catz]

Mmmm that is a lovely image....i love that way shes used two focal points, one where the light strikes Galadriels forehead and hair and one where it strikes her breast, just above her hands.....its a nice way of taking that strong diagonal of the light and pulling the eye down the figure, with that hairpiece making the viewer pause at the face...i like the apparant simplicity of the drapery....leaves the eye free to focus on the face...tho its not as simple as it looks, as you say Oro....beautifully rendered...and the colours are good...the cool blues playing up the warmer tones of the figure, which on a warmer background could have perhaps looked cold...plus i just like the fact that it isnt a painting of a human, it has a real alien quality, with the attuenated features....much closer to my vision of Elves
:catz:

[Fatty]

Hi folks, a quick note if you have tolkien inspired work and want it put in our galleries, just fill i the form in the gallery.

Thanks

[Catz]

okey dokey...this thread has kind of dropped into the void and Oro seems to have disappeared......Oro, wherefore art thou????
but its a wonderful idea so....in my wanderings thru cyberspace i have found some newer images based on LOTR so here we go.....please feel free to wade in with your comments on these...some are very different from the movie version....which is good.....and dont worry if your not an art critic lol.....just tell us whether it works for you, and why, if you can articulate that
ok...i will post these one at a time to let peeps have a look and thier say on them....the first one is here (http://www.asfa-art.org/gallery/law/image5.html)
now i quite like this...the composition is a little more crowded than i like and im usually not a watercolour person but the colour values of watercolour are used rather well here, the softness fiving a dreamy quality to the piece which is in keeping......im not keen on this artists figures tho....she uses very stylised figures.....they work in this but in other works not so well......well, what does everyone else think???
:catz:

[Nessa the Dancer]

I have to say that I prefer the background detail than what is actually going on in it. I like the contrast of the light bright green at the top of the picture and the darker green of the lily-pads at the bottom. The darker green makes the bright green more bright (for want of a better word). And that brightness makes the silver of the tree-trunks stand out more, and the way the green and silver are merged together at the top of the painting does add a dreamlike quality, and the figures maybe add to that.
Am I reading too much into this? I do tend to get a bit carried away when talking about pictures.

Nessa the Dancer

[Catz]

no....youre not getting carried away....i dont think many artists actually think about that sort of thing when they are working as such but they do think about whether or not something "works" or "doesnt work", and sometimes that can be as much a mystery to the artist as it is to the viewer...
i do like that circular focal point too drawing the eye in, in a spiral.....very nice
:catz:

[Saulone]

Very nice crit Orofacion of the Vanyar! Well put and very thorough :) The piece in question - quite a beaut. I have not seen this one either, and I really hunt for Tolkien work...Funny enough, yours I have seen! - Where might one find your latest works? I think that my only negative for that Galadriel piece is the knotwork used might be a bit too complex. It is well blended into the background which doesn't cause one's eye to stay fixated in the twists and turns thereby losing the focus of the pic which I think should be the face of the Lady of the Wood.

I will have to revisit this thread and post a few pics of my own for crit...to see any in particular - visit ThereAndBackAgain.net - I am the primary artists there and save a few pics, the entire "lore" section is my work.

Cheers!There And Back Again (http://www.thereandbackagain.net )

[Nessa the Dancer]

Yes, do post some of your pictures.

Nessa