Ted Nasmith at Tolkien Thing

[dagmarjung]

It's Tolkien Thing time again! Next weekend, the German branch of the Tolkien Society will meet in Diez in a castle - nowadays it's run as a youth hostel. After Alan Lee last year, this year's special guest is Ted Nasmith.

(Edit: Sorry I didn't cut this post! Didn't mean to clog your f-list.)

Comments

[wulfila]

Your thoughts on Ted Nasmith's art are very interesting, especially as I can relate to your feelings, to a certain degree - I believe Alan Lee's illustrations work best with Tolkien, while Nasmith is a bit too flashy and too much in the "generic hyperrealistic fantasy painting" corner (I am not an artist, and probably not expressing myself very well here, but I hope you know what I mean). He does kill the sense of mystery indeed, even though he does not do it in the giggle-inducing manner the Hildebrandts do it.

You mentioned modesty in Tolkien, and mystery, but there is also something else that is hard to describe and that I associate very much with Tolkien's closeness to (early) medieval literature and his using things long, long before the Victorian era for inspiration. There is a certain quality of muted colours and simple honesty about what Tolkien does that does not go well with the Victorian Age and the overdone grandeur of Historism at all. Like a saga or the Hildebrandslied or Beowulf or whatever, Tolkien has a style of simply stating things as a fact (and doing descriptions to match that), as if he were relying on an old source conveying a "true story" indeed. He does not introduce things because they are showy and sound good, but because they sound right - he is a master of authenticity, if you will, and to me, Alan Lee is one of the few people who really convey that in their illustrations. (You do, too, by the way - you can make me believe that, yes, your horses, hobbits, elves and Nazgul are "the real thing", and not only something flashy that stands for this reality).

[dagmarjung]

I agree with all you said about Tolkien's writing style. Like the old sagas or the bible, Tolkien often uses simple and sparse words to say meaningful things. He doesn't push every emotional or dramatic button. He expects his readers to draw their own conclusions and fill in the gaps.

Tad Nasmith made a dia show of his paintings and projects, and at the end he showed us two paintings of castles from George R.R. Martin's 'Fire and Ice' series. I felt that Nasmith's style of exaggerated grandeur suited Martin's style perfectly.

Thank your for your kind words about my drawings! You made me blush. I can sense the same feeling of honesty in your drawings too. Your characters are just the persons they are meant to be, behaving in a natural way, never posing.