Fellowship Along the River Anduin - Gold Wood, framed print

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

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 I imagined 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. 

As I pictured 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.