The Dragon - PRINT 6 x 12 in antique wood frame

"The Dragon"
altered painting by Heather Castles

O Smaug, how shall we describe you? Smaug the Tremendous, the Chiefest and Greatest of Calamities, the Mighty. Smaug the Unassessably Wealthy, the Impenetrable, the Terrible. Your Magnificence, Smaug the Dreadful, Old Worm, Smaug the Golden… The Dragon.   

With so many names to capture the essence of the worm that infamously smote the dwarven kingdom of Erebor, I wanted to capture this moment when the young beast was on his journey to the Lonely Mountain.

As Tolkien describes in his stories, Smaug the terrible descended on the dwarves of the Lonely Mountain one evening in the year 2077 of the Third Age. The dwarves were utterly decimated.  Years later they would return with a thief to reclaim what they lost beneath the mountain. And we all know what precious object came to Bilbo in the depths of the mountain. 

I chose to paint this view of the dragon to emphasize the impending doom to the dwarves of the mountain. It is like watching a bird of prey flying... it has a calm beauty to it, but you know it is on the hunt. This view from the back of the dragon flying away is intended to make you as the viewer feel small and insignificant to the great dragon, like you are helplessly watching it fly towards some dark purpose.

The original vintage painting is on canvas and signed Sino. I spent some time cleaning and repairing the damaged canvas. The autumn colours and thick texture are really lovely, I was sure to use those as part of the palette for the dragon's wings.