Alan Lee painting for J.R.R Tolkien, The Lord of The Rings

‘How, I ask, does an artist even begin to approach a project like this? Particularly when illustrating a text that has meant so much to so many.

“Humbly,” Alan says promptly. Then he pauses to give the question more thought. “Every artist works differently, of course, but my own approach to The Lord of the Rings was to allow the landscapes to predominate. In some of my scenes, the characters are so small they are barely discernible. This helped me to avoid, as much as possible, interfering with the pictures in the reader’s mind, which tend to focus on the characters and their inter-relationships.’ 

— Alan Lee 

Painting for J.R.R Tolkien, The Lord of The Rings

“My task lay in shadowing the heroes as they traveled on their epic quest — often at something of a distance, coming closer at times of heightened emotion — rather than simply re-creating the dramatic highpoints of the story. Later, when I illustrated The Hobbit, it no longer seemed appropriate to keep such a distance, particularly from the hero himself. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a drawing of a hobbit which quite convinces me — and I don’t know whether I’ve gotten any closer to Tolkien’s vision myself with my depiction of Bilbo. I’m fairly happy with my picture of him standing outside his home, Bag End, before Gandalf arrives and turns his world upside-down — but I’ve come to the conclusion that one of the reasons Hobbits are so quiet and elusive is to avoid the prying eyes of illustrators.”

— Alan Lee 

Painting for J.R.R Tolkien, The Lord of The Rings

‘I like working in watercolor,” Alan tells me,” with as little under-drawing as I can get away with. I like the unpredictability of a medium which is affected as much by humidity, gravity, the way that heavier particles in the wash settle into the undulations of the paper surface, as by whatever I wish to do with it. In other mediums you are more in control, responsible for every mark on the page — but with watercolor you are in a dialogue with the paint. It responds to you, and you respond to it in turn. It’s a conversation. Printmaking also has this quality, this unpredictable element — requiring an intuitive response, encouraging a spontaneity that allows the magic to happen.’

— Alan Lee 

Painting for J.R.R Tolkien, The Lord of The Rings