“They were once men. Great kings of Men. Then Sauron the Deceiver gave to them nine Rings of Power. Blinded by their greed, they took them without question. One by one falling into darkness. Now they are slaves to his will. They are the Nazgul, Ringwraiths, neither living nor dead. At all times they feel the presence of the Ring. Drawn to the power of the One. They will never stop hunting you.”
—Aragorn, The Fellowship of the Ring (Peter Jackson)
I still get anxious during that scene in the Lord of the Rings when the Nazgûl are on horseback chasing down the hobbits trying to capture Frodo to get ahold of the One Ring!
I intentionally collected this painting after finding it on FB Marketplace... drove 1.5 hours across the Greater Toronto Area to pick it up!
I already knew I wanted to transform this piece into a dark rider... my idea was to take a regular painting of a man, and turning it into a wraith. I wanted the way I painted this piece to reflect how the ring corrupted those nine men and bent their wills towards its evil purposes. I first painted in a loose rough style to obscure what was there, keeping hints of the structure… then tightened up the details where it was most important.
The gauntlets, the trim of the ragged cloak, and the armour on the horse were key elements to this painting. Just adding enough detail so you know what’s going on, but leaving some of the bits rough and loose so you kind of get that feeling of motion. I imagined the hobbits, looking back and only catching glimpses of detail as they ran in terror from the Dark Riders.
Coming up with a title for the art is always the hardest bit… this is the fun part, adding in the details and stuff. But someone suggested I should call this “They Once Were Men,” and I think that’s perfect. Because this literally was a painting once of a horseman, and I like that idea of capturing how the ring turns them into something new, something dark, something bent to the ring’s purposes.
When I was finished, I had the painting leaning up against my desk with the window light coming through behind it, and as I was walkig by I was shocked to see this red glow coming from the painting! And it’s the original painting underneath, glowing through, which I think is another nice nod to the person that he once was.
There is not a drop of black paint used in this painting. I mix my own shades of black with my favourite colours, which is why the darks have interesting warm and cool shades to them. Which is why in different lighting the painting has a different shade to it. In most lighting it is very black... in very bright lighting the colours stand out more.
"They Once Were Men"
upcycled vintage painting by Heather Castles
76 x 102 cm (30 x 40 inch) painting on vintage painting on canvas
98 x 123.5 cm (38.5 x 48.5 inch) heavy original frame, wood composite
Shipping : Free local pickup and delivery in the Greater Toronto Area. I'm happy to ship internationally at the buyers expense. SHIPPING WILL BE CALCULATED AT CHECKOUT! This is a very heavy, very large painting... shipping will be expensive. I am in Toronto, the size of the art is listed above, to get an idea for shipping you can google to find shipping rates. If you wish to reduce the shipping cost, shipping it without the frame would help somewhat... but it is still a large canvas, it will still have some cost involved in shipping it.
