Long Have I Desired, original upcycled vintage painting

“Behold the Argonath, the Pillars of the Kings!” 
—Aragorn (The Great River, p511, The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien)

I get chills every time I watch the scene where the fellowship pass between the statues of the kings. Particularly imagining what Aragorn would have felt as reluctant heir to the throne. He had spent his whole life as a ranger, avoiding the path he was now on. And yet, he still desired to see the faces of his forebears. Aragorn's character was amazing, in that he did not feel worthy of ruling the people of Gondor... and yet over the course of the story through his selfless actions that he was the most worthy to lead the people of Gondor. 

The sheer size of the statues was intimidating and magnificent... I love seeing just their enormous feet and toes as the boats passed by. It's mind boggling thinking how they would have been constructed...I loved researching them, learning that likely they would have been initially carved from the rock of the embankments... and then when they ran out of rock, it would have had to be quarried and lifted up in place, then continued to be carved. You can see partway up the statues where I added horizontal lines is where the blocks of rock would have started on the sculptures. 

I loved when Gandalf spoke later of how the kings of old were so caught up in their own magnificence and preserving their memory, that they neglected their own people and the country fell into disarray. 

"The old wisdom borne out of the west was forsaken. Kings made tombs more splendid than the houses of the living, and counted the old names of their descent dearer than the names of their sons. Childless lords sat in aged halls musing on heraldry, or in high, cold towers asking questions of the stars. And so the people of Gondor fell into ruin." --Gandalf (p764, The Return of the King, J.R.R. Tolkien)

Did you notice the couple walking in the grass, part of the original art? I was going to remove them, but then decided I liked them there. How many generations would have travelled through the lands and seen the statues from afar? 

This alteration was a delight to paint, and I am very pleased I was able to capture how I felt about this moment in the film and book. 

The original vintage print c1989 was collected locally in Ontario. The glass was gone, and the frame was breaking... typical of the 80s era of inexpensive materialism, it was cheaply made plastic and metal to look good, not designed to last. The print was in excellent condition and a lovely surface to paint on. 

"Long Have I Desired"
altered painting by Heather Castles

60.5 x 38 cm (15 x 24 inch) painting on vintage print

Unframed : This has been priced a little lower than if it were framed. Time has got away from me so have not had a chance to custom make one before my art drop. If you would like me to handle framing it in something vintage, I'm happy to do so, which would be an additional CAN$200. Otherwise, a bonus of it being unframed is it will be less expensive to ship. The photo where it is framed in is an example of a modern style of frame it could be put in.