“Good Morning!” said Bilbo, and he meant it. The sun was shining, and the grass was very green. But Gandalf looked at him from under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out further than the brim of his shady hat.
“What do you mean?” he said. “Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?”

– J.R.R. Tolkien; The Hobbit; or There and Back Again

Just recently I kicked back and did something that I haven’t done for too long…

I pulled out my sketchbook and blew the dust off it as though it was an ancient tome that I had recovered from the depths of a barrow and before the the tiredness overtook me, I started sketching.

Sketching.

Another exploration that resulted in more Middle-earth art for the collection.

I sketched without worrying about details and working out a refined drawing, I silenced the taunting inner perfectionist and worked rough and loose with one pencil and just let it happen; still using a reference but not falling into the trap becoming its slave.

“Good Morning!”

This iconic scene is an absolute favourite of mine and one that has stuck with me ever since my first reading of The Hobbit, that first time we as readers meet Gandalf sets the whole journey of the rest of not only The Hobbit, but also The Lord of the Rings. Also this scene contains my two of my favourite characters that Tolkien ever created.

Now I’m not sure when, but I definitely intend to revisit this scene in much more detail and possibly in a large oil painting as well, the planning isn’t quite in the works yet but the thought process is.

I have a few other things to get finished first, but it’s only a matter of time.

Explore Worlds, Tell Stories.