I seem to have done nothing but Tolkien art for the last month! I've now tackled Tom Bombadil and tried to capture the moment the startled hobbits see his bright blue eye looking at them through the Ring:

Tom Bombadil looks through the Ring
© Sue Wookey

I've also given him the circlet of autumn leaves that replace the hat he wears when the hobbits first see him. Tom is a very difficult character to capture, so much larger-than-life, and I've never really seen an illustration of him that's really satisfied me or quite caught the spirit of him. At least in my picture there are no distracting oversized bright yellow boots!

Fantasy, abandoned by reason, produces impossible monsters; united with it, she is the mother of the arts and the origin of marvels.

Francisco Goya

I've been experimenting with some Tolkien inspired pen and ink work - it's years since I used this medium so I thought it was about time I gave it another go. The result is some over-obsessive cross-hatching but it's been fun to try and capture the characters of Gandalf and Aragorn and, at the same time, try to stay away from certain film actors who've burned themselves on my brain!

Here is Gandalf the Grey on one of his many journeys:

Gandalf the Grey
© Sue Wookey

And here is Aragorn at the moment of decision when he realises that must look into the palantir:

Aragorn and the Palantir
© Sue Wookey

I'm hoping to add other character portraits to this series. Maybe they'll make nice cards?