"Leaving home" by hrymfaxe

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

Title: Leaving home
Artist Name: hrymfaxe
Prompt:"There came a time of winter, when night was dark and without moon; and the wide plain of Ard-galen stretched dim beneath the cold stars, from the hill-forts of the Noldor to the feet of Thangorodrim. The watch-fires burned low, and the guards were few; on the plain few were waking in the camps of the horsemen of Hithlum." (The Silmarillion, "Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin")
Write a story or create art from the point of view of the foot soldiers or horsemen who participated in any of the battles in Middle-earth.
Description: The soldiers in Sauron's army leaving home for the faraway lands to the north and the west. I was greatly inspired by the thought of Sam Gamgee in Ithilien: "He wondered what the man's name was and where he came from; and if he was really evil of heart, or what lies or threats had led him on the long march from his home; and if he would not really rather have stayed there in peace-all in a flash of thought which was quickly driven from his mind." And so I have tried to imagine a few soldiers at the start of their journey.
Rating: General
Warnings: None
Artist's Notes: Watercolor on hot press 300 gms paper, 46x61 cm



Click on the pictures to see a full size version:

Comments

[dawn_felagund]

Your work is always lovely, and these pieces are no exception. Your bold (I want to say "fearless"! :D) use of color always impresses me; I want to figure out how you figure out what colors to use. ;) The drip marks seem to me to be appropriate for the prompt, reminiscent of the blood or tears (or both) of war.

I love, too, that you've chosen a group of soldiers who are rarely treated in fanfic/fanart and even more rarely given humanity.

Wonderful work!

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much Dawn! I can tell you a bit of the process of choosing colors in these pictures. I was reading through the LotR books for any and all mentions of the humans in Sauron's army (there are not many!!), and there was a passage that said that they had painted their faces red. So I knew one color to use, and I like to operate with the complimentary colors, so the other was necessarily a blue. :) And then just lots of it! I have in progress shots of the four guys, and I think I could do a post on my livejournal with the process if you would like to see?

I was going to do elves or gondorians when I first chose the prompt, but then I suddenly got the idea of these guys instead, and then I read the part where Sam wonders about them, and that settled it. :D I'm glad you enjoyed!

[baranduin.livejournal.com]

I love the human faces you've given Sauron's soldiers. The dripping paint adds a level of emotion and angst to the whole and really enhances them.

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm so happy that this has added a deeper layer to the largely anonymous mass of soldiers in Sauron's army. The dripping paint is fun to do, and also very evocative. I'm glad it works here. :D

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

These are intense. Beautiful job on both of them. Agree with comments on the dripping paint.

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! :) The dripping paint is fun and unpredictable, which lends a wildness to an otherwise very controlled painting process. I almost always enjoy the results, and I'm glad you did too.

[zopyrus.livejournal.com]

These are gorgeous. I love the way your colors drip down--it brings so much weight to the image. I want to know more about these men, and where they came from.

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I want to know more too!!! If I had the time (or the talent) that would be an interesting story to tell. What compelled them to leave for so grim a purpose??

[binkaslibrary.livejournal.com]

I'm so happy to see this posted :) There's a lot of depth in these paintings and also -- many questions about these soldiers. Amazing job and a great response to the prompt!

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

Thank you for all the handholding you have done in the process! I should nearly put you on there as my beta. :D And thank you for the wonderful comment. I have a lot of questions about these soldiers too!

[binkaslibrary.livejournal.com]

I'd be honored to be your beta for these pieces :D

[ladyelleth.livejournal.com]

These are gorgeous - the colour scheme is very striking, and like Dawn I felt reminded of blood and tears by the drips and paint marks. It helps emphasize their humanity, to me, so this is a definite success where Tolkien didn't bother to engage more closely.

(And talking as someone who has recently gotten very engaged in the history of Rhûn, *squeeeee!*)

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! :) I'm so glad these have added layers to people who are almost not on the page at all in the LotR books (I know, because I hunted for references to how they looked!). I wish we knew more about them.

That sounds very interesting about the history of Rhûn!!

[hhimring]

Are the first four Southrons from Harad and the fifth an Easterling?
You have made them strongly individual--as the prompt sort of suggests, each of these seems to show a different personality, with a different story behind it, and perhaps a different reason for being in Sauron's army.
And so many of them will die in Ithilien, on the Pelennor Fields, and at the Black Gate...
Striking--well done!

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

I never found any concrete notes on the difference, but that sounds about right! :D I only looked through LotR though so there might be more details elsewhere.

Thank you so much for a lovely comment! If I don't misremember, Tolkien wrote somewhere that none returned to tell their families of what happened, which makes it a very sad story... And even more interesting to imagine what propelled them on this fateful journey.

[tanis2014.livejournal.com]

I'm by no means an artist, nor a great reviewer of art and it's meaning, but it seems to me here that the way you've used the running of the water colors - especially the red - there is a foreshadowing of the doom that will haunt these soldiers.

For me, there is in the picture of the multiple soldiers, a kind of prescience that forebodes ill for these warriors. You've made them appear as though they too feel it in their souls - and as Sam wondered - are already wishing they were back home in their own villages.

An unusual and exceptionally well done response to the prompt!

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much for a great comment. :) I'm glad the images have evoked all these thoughts and emotions in you - I can ask for no greater compliment. We are of course burdened with the knowledge of how this journey will end for them, and I'm happy that you see this foreshadowed in their expressions and the colors.

[elliska.livejournal.com]

These are awesome! Faces are just this side of impossible for me. You've done a great job making them the 'every day' soldier and still conveying their emotions.

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

Thank you!! Faces are hard, but oh so rewarding when they come out right - I'm happy you can recognize them as individuals with their own feelings and thoughts. :D

[astris-eldalie.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow, I love this. The style is wonderful, and the colors are so perfect (especially the red and blue in the turban)––and the dripping effect is very nice. I also really like that you chose to portray some of Sauron's soldiers, since their story so very rarely gets told!

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

Oh thank you so much!! Once I had the idea to make this about Sauron's soldiers it wouldn't leave me alone. I have always been a little sad that they got so little mention, so I was glad to give them some time in the spot light.

[keiliss.livejournal.com]

Oh gods, they're so young, so far from home, carrying a spear into battle because their elders said it had to be done... And the one below, the boy from Harad, he has a sword but no real battle experience...

They need someone to tell their stories. These are wonderful, memorable faces, and the use of colour is very impactful. Really well done.

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

Oh I love that little extra story you wrote for them!!! ♥

Thank you so much. The positive response to this entry has made me wonder if I should elaborate on it. :)

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

Your artwork is very moving. I like it.

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much!!

[kittotter.livejournal.com]

I love your style - both constrained by lines and free-flowing. I like how /human/ they seem. On the top portraits one looks excited for the coming adventure, another fierce, another thoughtful, the last unsure. The bottom portrait is so poignant to me... like he might really rather have stayed at home, just as Sam wondered.

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I have a tendency to control too much when I'm painting, so the dripping and running paint helps to open the images up and become more dynamic.

I'm so happy to hear the different personalities you have read into these portraits. :D I'm glad they come across to he viewer.

[ysilme]

This is terrific, very intense and powerful. You're giving them so much reality and humanity, while the stark colours and the dripping indicates so clearly what is going to happen, answering perfectly to Sam's musings.

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! :D I'm glad they seem real to you - that was definitely my goal!

[blslarner.livejournal.com]

You have managed to capture the uncertainty that even now is hardening to the need to go and do as their Lord has ordered them. Love the differences between them.

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

Oh I love that way of putting it! Thank you so much for looking and leaving such nice words. :)

[independence1776]

These are amazing. I love the colors, the details-- everything about them. (I dabble very, very badly with watercolors, so I'm in awe.) Absolutely gorgeous.

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much. I love watercolors but they are definitely their own masters, which is what makes them so interesting to use.

[elleth]

Excellent! Your use of colour is stunning, and the ethic diversity made me want to cheer.