The Shire.

I've been practicing a lot on procreate and I came across this photo from the Hobbiton Tours that I wanted to try to paint. I've never really done any landscapes and thought this would be a great time to test out doing just that and digital painting. I used the gouache paint brush and did this first study of it, just blocking the shapes in, which took me 40 minutes. I thought I was happy with it, but something in me wasn't.

The next night, I wanted to try to push it as far as I could and get in there to fine tune the details. I spent 6.5 hours on this painting and I am very happy with it. I learned a lot, though. I went into this thinking landscapes would be easy. I could not have been more wrong: it was so difficult! I also have a tendency to try to get in EVERY SINGLE DETAIL so I had to strike a balance between doing that and getting the general idea of the THING down. My favorite part of the second one is the fence to the left of the stone walkway.

The sunlight is what really makes this piece, though (well, actually both pieces). It's warm and soft; you can almost feel it. I've had the privilege of seeing this Hobbit Hole in real life and I cried when I saw it. Hobbiton in New Zealand is one of the most magical places I have ever been. One day, I'd love to move to New Zealand and work there. One day.

The thing is, art is the one thing you can't rush. You really have to take your time and spend time on anything to see it through. This is also a great example of what money gets you for the amount of time spent. You want the 40 minute sketch or the 6.5 hour piece? You can't expect to pay what you would for the 40 minute piece and get that 6.5 hour piece. If you want the good stuff, you have to be willing to spend the time and the money.

Lord of the Rings will forever hold a special place in my heart. Here's to making many, many more pieces inspired by the world that is Middle Earth. I love each piece I finish, but I haven't felt this proud of something in a long time. It's not like I went into this expecting to love it as much as I do, but I think that because of my pull to it, it took up some extra room in the best way.