William O'Connor
With any artist's busy schedule of deadlines, life and the ever persistent NDA in affect, its difficult sometimes to discuss a work in progress in real time. I have works going back more than three years I've been unable to talk about or show because they are not released yet.
Once or twice a year I like to do a painting for myself. I almost always choose a format and compositon that I know no art director would ever commission, giving me a lot of creative freedom. I enjoy experimenting on the canvas, evolving the composition and painting as I go. This takes more time, and is far more rewarding than working out all the details in the sketch approval phase. Sometimes it feels like a color-by-number when all the fiddly bits have been decided before you start.
I've decided to produce another in my series of Japanese scroll inspired landscape paintings with a Lord of the Rings subject. Below are my six concept sketches, but I can only paint one:
1. The Storm Giants
2. Galdalf arrives in Hobbiton
3. Gandalf and the Balrog
4. Minas Tirith
5. The Gates of Mordor
6. Leaving the Shire
These rough concept sketches are still very basic, but I thought it would allow a unique opportunity to watch as the "sausage gets made" as they say. Your comments and suggestions are welcome as the work develops.
Thanks.
WOC
I really like 4 or 5. I think 4 offers a really neat alternative to the Jackson version of Minas Tirith, and it also has some of the visual interest from people like Escher or (RPG wise) John Blanche - the idea of suddenly facing this wall of cityscape is really different and appealing to me. The main reason I mention 5 is that it provides figures as a contrast of both scale and character - I'm imagining the hobbits as having more rounded forms and rounded tones in contrast to the Gate.
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