Fellowship Along the River Anduin - original upcycled vintage painting

COMING SOON - ART DROP APR 5

This old painting was rather beautiful, but I felt the little canoe with the man fishing brought it into a more modern realm... and this painting had a timelessness to it and felt it needed a more meaningful story to it. (Sorry Dad, I know you love fishing stories!) 

The journey of the remaining eight companions from Lothlorien along the Riven Anduin was not featured for long in the films before they reached Amon Hen. But it was a melancholy adventure. Having just lost Gandalf in the mines of Moria, their grief would have been close by. I imagined a quiet journey along the river, each lost in their own thoughts about the ordeals they had been through, and apprehensive about the journey ahead.

If you've never been portaging in a canoe, I recommend it. Paddling through back country is a different kind of quiet... void of people but filled with the sound of lapping of water on rocks, the breeze in the trees, the occasional bird or animal snapping a twig in the forest. Time moves slower when you're on the water, when you're only aware of one paddle stroke at a time. 

So as I imagined the eight companions portaging along the River Anduin, I realized this would have been their last restful moments together, truly as companions, before the ring took hold of Boromir.  So when I painted the companions into this old artwork, my aim was to capture that quiet, last moment together. 

The original painting is unsigned and was collected locally in Ontario. It had a significant scratch across the front and a gouge out of the paper. Both have been touched up but are not invisible if you look for them.

The frame is very old and the plaster is delicate and has chipped off in places. I love the Japanese art of “kintsugi“ where you repair broken pottery but don’t hide the breaks… instead they are painted with gold. I love how it cherishes the object and illustrates the story it had gone through. So in repairing the frame, I have touched it up in a way that is not distracting to the remaining detail and finish, but doesn’t hide the fact that it was broken or missing pieces. 

"Fellowship Along the River Anduin"
altered painting by Heather Castles

78 x 53 cm (30.5 x 21 inch) painting on paper board
98 x 73 cm (38.5 x 28.75 inch) antique frame

Shipping : This is an oversized painting, with the frame it is too large to send via normal post. I've listed this as Fedex shipping, but depending on where you are it could be less than this. If you would like to save on shipping I could ship the art without the frame (...the cost of the art remains the same but the shipping costs would be significantly reduced.)