‘A Year at Bag End’; seven painted variations from an original Bag End sketch with different seasons and weather, animated together for a bit of Hobbity escapism. The music is ‘Earth Aria’ by Paul Fowler.
Each painting is approx. 10.5 x 1.5 inches, in acrylics, gouache and graphite & coloured pencil.
Bag End in shades of green during March, May, and June, by Soni Alcorn-Hender
Bag End in September, November, December, and January by Soni Alcorn-Hender
They’re available as prints and pretty things (all of them together) here on RedBubble.
A Year At Bag End, Soni Alcorn-Hender
These all started from a single simple pencil sketch of Bag End drawn for the ‘Beyond Bree’ calendar :
Old Forest evil tree and Bag End pencil sketches, by Soni Alcorn-HenderAnd that naughty tree from the Old Forest was given a hint of colour too:
‘Yogg was a Himalayan Rock Shepherd. People who’d never seen him assumed this meant he was some kind of dog. He wasn’t a dog. His skin was scalier, his teeth longer, his bite quite fantastically more venomous, and he was even more loyal.
Like many good dogs however he was the proud and careful owner of a Person, and his person was Charlotte. Yogg knew his person needed constant exercise and distraction to keep her happy and healthy, so he dutifully stole her shoes, chewed her pillows, made strange noises in the night, and brought her things from the garden that he thought she might enjoy, (recently including various rocks, half a toad, a whole palm tree, and the chewed hubcaps of a new BMW.)
Yogg also knew his person would need protecting from other people, especially stray or vicious ones. And that sometimes there’d be worse things than people – nameless things that haunted Charlotte’s nightmares, and he’d need to chase them back into the dimension they’d crawled from until he’d pinned them down and torn off their tentacles. He was very good at it. (This was another trait he shared with actual dogs, though apparently most humans are unaware of this vital service that their companions do for them, the ingrates.)
But there were times when his person was besieged by an enemy Yogg couldn’t see; some shapeless, grey weight that he couldn’t sink his teeth into. At these times (no matter how many shoes he stole, or interesting things he dragged in from the garden) he couldn’t seem to make his person happy again. He feared she’d sink into that dismal place where he couldn’t follow. All Yogg could do was hold on, and hope that if he held on tightly enough she wouldn’t disappear. ‘
(From my work-in-progress story.)
Acrylics, pencils, and pastels on paper, 21 x 29 cms
“When they spoke about Samuel they only said how charming he was, how generous and beautifully-mannered; how he never raised his voice, or denied a request, and was always nice to cats. But I couldn’t stop thinking about how his house is guarded by gargoyles bigger than Stonehenge, how his right-hand-woman is an actual harpy, and how his mother set fire to a desert – and I don’t mean ‘dessert’, I mean ‘an endless horizon of sand haunted by dung beetles and the memory of camels’, actual desert. It burned with a blue flame for nine days straight.
But what I’d like to know now is: what’s he doing in London? Samuel with his harpy, his secrets, and his flames, what’s he after? Because I reckon he’s looking for someone. And I wouldn’t want to be the poor bugger he’s looking for.”
(From my work-in-progress story.)
Pastel, pencils, acrylics, and gold paint on paper, 21×29 cms
This painting resulted from reading about Aragorn’s tortuous journey with Gollum to the Elves, and wondering what would happen if Gollum tried to sneak away, leading to an expert-level game of hide and seek. The idea coincided with a *need* to paint another English landscape (inspired by the glorious Aira Force in the Lake District), and this is the result.
Aragorn hunts for Gollum, by Soni Alcorn-Hender
Very mixed media: acrylics, acrylic ink, pastel, chalk, pencil, charcoal, gouache, and possibly a third of a jaffa cake (I never did find it) on paper, 21x29cms.
‘Oberon & Puck’
Basecard art for a trading card by Iconic Creations for the set ‘Iconic Literature’.
Acrylics, mica glitter, gold leaf, dubious love potions and fairy-level arrogance, on paper
A3 / 29cms x 42cms
“On the roof, what did you see?”
“I thought I saw a woman, but all dark and sharp and hunched over the roof tiles like a vulture. …I thought she had wings.”
He sighed. “You won’t always see the wings, but her face remains the same: ageless, vicious; eyes like a mad hawk and a temper to match.” He cast a nervous glance at the rooftops and shivered. “Avoid her. Are you listening? Avoid her, and avoid her eyes. If she looks into your eyes, she’ll know.”
The harpy Marta. Finished sketch of an original character from my own story. :3
Derwent pastels and pencils on recyled paper. 8.6×12 inches.
Prints available, in case you want to scare yourself or your nearest and dearest, Here.
Circe, ancient Greek goddess of enchantments and herbs, made famous by Homer’s Odyssey and the memorable welcome she gave to Osysseus’s crew.
Trespassers upon her island were offered sweet wine laced with a potion that packed a beastly hangover, literally.
The pig, lion, and wolf motif are used a few times (on her tripod, the writing on her arm) as those are what she turned men into – and is doing right at the moment of this scene in fact.
She’s entwined and crowned in Enchanter’s Nightshade, a plant from the Circaea family, named in her honour. Her crown is also decorated with the seed heads of opium poppies.
The original painting was mixed media over acrylics, A3 size (29×42 cms, approx 11.5×16.5 inches)
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