TLC Forum

A friend from my daughter's praise team did a drawing-a-day art challenge in March, and this is what he drew for 3/25! Isn't it fabulous!?!

Note: Lord of the Rings is one of his favorite stories, and this piece is a composite of many characters, rather than one specific moment in the trilogy.

What do you see going on in this picture? I will share the artist's comments on his art after a bit of discussion -- so you can compare your vision and interpretation with his.

I'm sorry I'm late in replying! I was busy last week with writing my Easter fic.

First off, that is an amazing piece of art!

Okay, so, in no particular order, here's what I see (beyond the opportunity to make a "What do your Elf-eyes see?" joke):
Generic details from the entire journey of the trilogy such as Rivendell, the Gates of Moria, Shelob, Treebeard, and such.
I don't recall if Boromir brought up the rear in the book, but it struck me as a little odd for some reason. That said, there's a point to be made in placing Aragorn ahead of him (Aragorn's the king, etc). There's probably something about the white-and-gold in the corner in connection to Boromir, but I can't tell what it is.
Speaking of Aragorn, he's approaching the knocked-over statue head, which symbolizes the "broken" kingdom of Gondor that he's coming to aid and rule. Can't tell what's on that plain beyond him, but perhaps it's something to do with his Ranger background?
Gimli is stepping on the Door of Durin like it's the foundation of everything he is, his identity.
Merry and Pippin are passing Treebeard, with whom they have a good amount of interaction. I assume the "XXV" has significance to them too, but I can't think of what that might be. Hobbits come of age at thirty-three, not twenty-five.... (I mention coming of age because it seems to be directly above Pippin, who is the youngest.) Can't tell what the red-brown thing next to Treebeard is.
Frodo and Sam are passing Shelob's Lair, and though Sam is the follower, he's also in the position of strength: he has the higher ground and appears firm on his feet while Frodo looks like he's slipping.
Gandalf is standing very straight and looking quite epic. Despite the fact that Legolas is in front of him, his posture is that of a leader's. He is also facing west more than Legolas is, which seems to speak of his watchfulness and stance against Sauron (since Mordor is at the right side of the image).
Legolas appears to be standing on a little cliffside structure that's topped with a tree, perhaps pointing to his woodland roots (no pun intended). As he stands there though, he observes the gulls and the sea, longing for them.

That was almost exactly everything I noticed, Ariel. You have one or two extra notes that I didn't have, and don't have one or two that I saw.
I love how, for the most part, the Fellowship is going from left to right, as they did in the movie. Apparently (I haven't checked this for accuracy, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's true) every shot of the members of the Fellowship traveling shows them going from left to right except a bit at the end after the Quest is over. In this picture, however, Boromir is going slightly to the left and has his back turned to the "camera". I assume this is to symbolize his struggle against the corruption of the Ring.
The birds on the right aren't very easy to identify with this image quality, but they could either be the "Crebain from Dunland", the eagles, or the gulls (as you said, Ariel).
Also the little ship and the Grey Havens in the bottom left corner......they're in their own sort of frame apart from the rest of the picture, rather like that mini-arc in the actual story.

(I also adore this picture. The composition!! And the colors!!!)

Maybe that’s another reason Boromir stuck out to me: his back is to us.
My first thought of the birds were the Crebain, but when I started to realize that everyone was being connected to something specific, the gulls were what made sense to me.