Jerry Vanderstelt writes: I am a commercial artist, and I recently secured a license through New Line to produce LOTR lithographs based on the movie trilogy. I am hoping to create some buzz before my release and get a link about this news from your site to mine. I have done several official LOTR projects for New Line, as well as their licensors. Please check out my website for more info. [More]
Category: Posters Prints
“One Morning Long Ago”
A JRR Tolkien Inspired Art Exhibition
Friday 19th to Tuesday 23rd May 2006
The Redesdale Hall, High Street, Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire
The Exhibition was open to the public from 9am until 5pm daily from Saturday 20th until Tuesday 23rd May 2006. In that time 1376 different visitors attended, including many Tolkien Society members, (some came back daily). In addition 1 senior school art group attended on Monday 22nd for a private guided tour (12 students) and 1 local junior school (30 students). Total Attendance 1525. (plus 1 dog and 1 large Eagle attended 3 times Friday, Saturday and Sunday). Overseas visitors came specifically from Germany, Belgium, many other overseas visitors in the UK added this event to their itinerary (USA, Australia, New Zealand).
15 new members joined The Tolkien Society (Malcolm Lindley has forms for 13 and the organiser has a further 2 applications).
25 people including organisers, helpers, artists, 1 member of the Tolkien Society Committee, and visitors staying in Moreton from overseas attended a special Hobbit meal (Stewed Rabbit) at The Bell Inn High Street Moreton in Marsh Saturday evening 7pm. Live music was performed into the night.
During the exhibition live music was performed, educational talks, drama and sketches, favourite readings from Tolkien passages. A number of visitors were moved to tears listening to Ted Nasmith. A quiz was held On Sunday at 3pm and the 1st prize (a limited edition framed Ted Nasmith Print) was won by Gary Emerton who donated this to The Tolkien society to be auctioned to help raise funds.
Cont………..
Also a cast was taken of Ted Nasmiths hand and a bronze mounted cast (holding a paint brush) will be produced and auctioned to raise money for Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Approximately 1/3rd of all original art was sold and multiple orders received for Limited edition prints. Many Tolkien books were sold and Bob Blackham attended and signed copies of his new book “The Roots of Tolkien’s Middle earth”. 1 rare book was stolen.
Letters have been received from visitors and the organiser is aware that 3 children have been inspired to start painting and 4 visitors have purchased copies of The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings to read them for the first time.
The exhibition will be repeated with a Private party on Friday 22nd September 2006 (a notable date) and the exhibition will be open to the public from Saturday 23rd until Tuesday 26th September 2006. (The week after Oxonmoot as proposed by Malcolm Lindley).
The folks from Billy’s Loons Charities write: Billy’s Loons Charities is excited to announce our latest auction to benefit The Scottish Youth Theatre, www.scottishyouththeatre.org, where Billy Boyd is a Patron, and Billy’s Loons Charities is a sponsor. This auction is an unique set consisting of a large Lord of the Rings poster of Pippin and Merry, signed by Billy Boyd, and an extremely hard to find package of Fangorn Forest Incense, signed by Billy Boyd and Treebeard himself, John Rhys-Davies! Note the message Billy wrote on the incense: “This smells better than Dom”. [More]
Many thanks to Billy Boyd and John Rhys-Davies for their autographs, to Alesia and Elisa for the poster and incense and to Auntie Nu for the photographs.
Andrew writes to let us know about “One Morning Long Ago” Art Exhibition at The Redesdale Hall, in Moreton in Marsh Gloucestershire from Saturday 20th May until Tuesday 23rd May.
This features the briliant work of Ted Nasmith and contrasting Styles of Ruth Lacon and both the artists are attending throughout.
This is the largest display of Ted’s work and there are visitors booked worldwide with 3-4000 expected over the 4 days. A full programme of events has been arranged including live Tolkien inspired song cycles, readings, educational talks, Tolkien Tour Guide (covering Barrow Downs, Three Farthing Stone, Amon Hen, Bag End, Malvern Hills, St Mary’s Immaculate at Warwick, Eagle & Child and other Oxford sites). [More]
Billy’s Loons Charities is happy to announce our latest auction, of a large Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers Poster. The poster is signed by Billy Boyd, Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, and a rare signature of Miranda Otto! All of the proceeds from the auction will go to the Scottish Youth Theatre, www.scottishyouththeatre.org, of which Billy Boyd is a Patron and supporter, and Billys Loons Charities is a sponsor. [More]
MrCere writes: Cynthia Cummens attended the ORC 2006 show as a guest of TheOneRing.net and participated in several aspects of the show including the ‘Iron Artist’ contest and she taught a drawing workshop. She was a big hit both on stage and off, bringing enthusiasm to the show and her warmth to those who had a chance to speak with her in person.
She has been working on a line of new Lord of the Rings cards for Topps that will feature her original sketches inserted into packs of cards. Cynthia was kind enough to take some time at ORC and talk to TheOneRing.net about her projects and also included a sneak of her cards scheduled for release on March 1. Not only was TORn pleased to have her at the ORC event but was thrilled to build a relationship with such a talented and kind artist.
TheOneRing.net: Tell me about your artistic roots and training and I am particularly interested how you grew into such a genre (or geek) centric artist?
Cynthia Cummens: Hi Larry. Thanks for talking with me. I started drawing as a kid, about age 3, and knew at a young age it was wanted to do for the rest of my life. It seems my creative influences came from the sci-fi/fantasy TV shows that appealed to me – Wonder Woman, Buck Rogers, Godzilla, among others. Luckily, my mom supported my love for drawing, even though she herself isn’t an artist. When she took me to see Star Wars, which I don’t actually remember seeing (believe it or not), I was immediately obsessed (thanks, Mom!) and it became the subject of almost everything I drew for many years. Later, in high school and college, I went into the fine arts programs, which provided a wonderful foundation for painting and drawing. I had a variety of art jobs during and after college, and explored different subject matters in my paintings, most of which were often about very personal experiences and not at all related to sci-fi or fantasy. Then about 6 years ago, I worked as a portrait artist in a local Renaissance Faire, which empowered me to launch my career as a freelance illustrator.
TORn: And how did you get hooked into the Lucasfilm and Lord of the Rings franchises?
CC: While I worked at the Ren Faire, it was suggested that I should look into exhibiting at conventions, which until then I never knew about. The idea appealed to me, and I took the advice to get to Star Wars Celebration II in 2002 (my first convention). I spoke with some of the artists who were exhibiting there, and the advice was the same – get to San Diego Comic Con, which I attended in 2002, along with Wizard World Chicago. Both conventions provided many opportunities to get my work seen by professionals in the industry. At SDCC in 2004, Star Wars artist Randy Martinez recommended me to Topps, the trading card company, who was hiring artists to work on Star Wars trading cards. Lucas Licensing reviewed and approved my portfolio to work on the cards, and since then I’ve been involved with different projects for them. At the end of 2005, Topps also invited me to work on their LOTR sketch cards which required approval by licensing at New Line Cinema.
TORn: Lets talk about this card project. How was it working on this series?
CC: It was a very exciting project to be involved with being a fan of the books and movies. For those who might not know what sketch cards are, they are one of-a-kind, hand-drawn sketches on trading cards. Fans of the movies and trading card collectors love them because they are original pieces of art, not reproductions. For the LOTR set, I drew 350 cards, which were based on movie likenesses, not an interpretation of Tolkien characters. At times it was grueling, as I tend to work very detailed even though the cards are meant to be sketches, not highly rendered works of art. I used pencil on each card, occasionally adding some white conte for highlighting. That’s just my approach to sketching. Overall, it was a thrill for me. It was actually was kind of sad when I sent the cards back to Topps, knowing they’d never be in my hands again.
TORn: Were you able to pick subjects and scenes and moments from the films to depict or were they assigned?
CC: Since this is a character-based set, I drew portraits of the characters from the films. There were no limits to which characters I could draw, or from which films. So there was no shortage of inspiration!
TORn: Can you tell us about the working process? Did you use visuals
directly from the film?
CC: Yes, I used the DVD’s as reference, spending many hours glued to the tv, remote control in one hand, pencil and cards in the other (not a bad way to spend the day)! I also have a steadily growing stockpile of internet references and books that I used intermittently.
TORn: How much time did you allow yourself to spend on each card?
CC: At the minimum, I spent 20 minutes on a card, depending on the character. Ring Wraiths were the quickest to draw, while human likenesses require a bit more time, sometimes as much as an hour depending on how detailed I wanted the piece to be.
TORn: As an artist and/or as a fan, how did you view the films from your creative perspective?
CC: These movies re-ignited my creativity when I saw them, and even as I continue to watch them I find myself in awe, studying the lighting and composition of scenes, the color schemes and the moods they create. I really enjoy costuming (even though I can barely sew a hole in my sock!) and am inspired by the level of craftsmanship in the costumes, the attention to the smallest detail in a gown or sword, the colors and textures in the flesh of creatures like Gollum and Lurtz, not to mention the landscapes, the environments. It’s just amazing how it all connects so seamlessly. I try to borrow from that energy and creativity and bring it back into my work, whether it’s a sketch card or some painting, unrelated to the books/movies that I may for do just for myself.
TORn: Do you have a favorite illustration from the cards?
CC: I don’t necessarily have a favorite illustration, though I enjoyed drawing the hobbits, particularly Frodo, whose expressions are so amazing and challenging to capture.
TORn: How about something you wish you could have illustrated?
CC: I would have liked to have illustrated interior scenes and landscapes, or perhaps have drawn characters from the books that weren’t in the films.
TORn: What are some other projects you would like to work on?
CC: I’ve got a bunch of exciting projects lined up for 2006. Unfortunately, the way it works is that I often can’t reveal anything them until some official announcement is made about the project or product. I have a couple possible book projects in the works, one about a well-known UFO incident, which I’m looking forward to illustrating. I plan to continue working on sketch cards – anything sci-fi or fantasy related is always enjoyable! Since I do a lot of conventions, I hope to continue adding more to the line-up this year, and teach more drawing workshops like the one I taught at ORC and maybe even do another Iron Artist event if the opportunity comes up. I’ll be updating my site with news about upcoming projects and additional convention appearances.
TORn: Any artists you particularly admire?
CC: I love the work of Norwegian figurative painter Odd Nerdrum. I also enjoy the work of Roger Dean who is known for his album cover art for Yes, a prog rock band from the 70’s. Of course I think Alan Lee’s work is so elegant and delicate. There are a lot of children’s book illustrators that I enjoy, such as Patricia Polacco. The list, like the road, goes ever on…
TORn: Will you be attending any other TheOnering.net events?
CC: Absolutely!
TORn: Anything else?
CC: Lord of the Rings: Evolution from Topps will be released March 1st. If you don’t pull one of my cards from the hobby boxes, and are still interested in owning one, you can check that well known-auction site. Or you can commission me for custom artwork through my site: cynthiacummensart.com