"I Can Carry You"

"I Can Carry You"

2023

...and so Sam struggled on as best he could, having no guidance but the will to climb as high as might be before his strength gave out and his will broke.

-"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King", by J.R.R. Tolkien

A scene that probably is a favorite for many; one that epitomizes more than any other the power of friendship; and in my opinion, Sam's most heroic moment.

It brings me back to the first film, when Saruman mocked Gandalf for thinking hobbits could ever contend with the will of Sauron. This scene proves that Gandalf was right, and Saruman wrong: in their own way, the willpower of hobbits IS strong enough to shake the foundations of evil itself.

"No Living Man"

2023

Out of the wreck rose the Black Rider, tall and threatening, towering above her. With a cry of hatred that stung the very ears like venom he let fall his mace. 

-"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King", by J.R.R. Tolkien

Tolkien's stories are teaming with examples of heroic characters who, against all odds, manage to triumph against foes far greater than they are: you see it in Bard and Smaug, in Sam and Shelob, and also in Éowyn and the Witch-king. Her immense courage in facing down an enemy that is terror and despair personified cannot be overstated; and it was her bravery, her love and devotion for Théoden, her bond with Merry, and a wee bit of help from prophecy that carried the day.

I much prefer the timing of the fall of the Witch-king in the movies than in the books. In the novel, the Witch-king is destroyed shortly after the arrival of the Rohirrim, with a lot more battle left to fight. Here he is destroyed almost at battle's end, at the very same moment that Aragorn's reinforcements arrive to turn the tide. Despair is vanquished at the very same moment that hope is restored.

"Vanishing Homeland"

2024

Palestine Mountain Gazelle (Gazella gazella)

A Palestine Mountain Gazelle surveys the ravages of colonialism on its habitat. 

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The myth that Israeli settlers are indigenous to the land of Palestine is absurd on many fronts, among them being their mistreatment of that same land they claim to belong to. For starters, the state of Israel is highly dependant on and contributing to the military industrial complex, one of the most oppressive and polluting entities on the planet. They're also famous (or rather, infamous) for uprooting and destroying native crops and trees and replacing them with invasive plants that not only require more water to tend, but that are also more susceptible to fires. In attempts to greenwash their occupation, they raze Palestinian villages and neighborhoods and build natural parks and reserves on top of them, thus continuing on with a centuries-old colonial practice that has been put to use on stolen lands everywhere. And just like the US-Mexico border wall on my side of the world, the equally racist Apartheid Wall on the West Bank divides up the landscape and severely impedes the free movement of both people and wildlife. The list goes on.

I guess the ecological impact of the current genocidal aggression on Gaza will not be fully apparent until the smoke clears. But already we do know that the first months of the bombing released more emissions than 20 climate vulnerable nations do in a year...so there's that. 

All this to say that for people that are so zealous of their supposed "rights" to the land, Israeli Zionists really do seem to go out of their way to hurt it...to carve it up...to destroy it. And that's what colonizers, anytime, everywhere, do. 

"Motaz"

2024

My first artwork of the year is dedicated to the incredible Motaz Azaiza and to all the heroic Palestinian journalists of the Gaza Strip: to those who, like him, continue to report bravely, steadfastly, the horrific situation in their homeland; to those who have made the difficult but also brave decision to leave for safety; and to the all too many who have been unjustly killed in their line of work, murdered by the Israeli State in a cowardly attempt to cover up their crimes.

An unfair burden has been put in the shoulders of these journalists, a lot of whom are shockingly young and just fresh out of university. Not only do they have to struggle to survive during a veritable genocide of their people, but they have to do so whilst reporting on it, whilst serving as spokespersons of all the suffering and grief inflicted on themselves and their kin. Multinational media conglomerates with overwhelmingly more power and resources have consistently and actively refused to treat the Palestinian people with the transparency, truth, and dignity that they deserve. So it's been up to these brave men and women to do the job that others will not do, to arm themselves with their own cameras and their social media pages and their unparalleled courage to tell their own stories and their own realities, to use languages foreign to them so that the world might better understand and sympathize with their plight. I cannot overstate what an enormous, heroic effort that must be, and I am in complete awe and admiration of them; but I also feel sorry and ashamed that these folks, many with their whole lives in front of them, have so unjustly, so cruelly, been thrust into this position. Yet through it all they have never failed to carry themselves with the passion, the dignity, the strength, and the zest for life that I've come to learn so characterizes the Palestinian people, and for that one can't help but admire them even more.

"Shadowfax"

2024

Shadowfax is my favorite Middle-earth horse. Majestic, clever, loyal, and brave, he was the only free horse of the world that could endure the terror of the Nazgûl, and did so many times. One of my favorite little details from the (extended edition) films is how he tries to protect Gandalf from the Witch-king and his fell beast. And they sure did pick a breathtakingly beautiful horse to play him.

Done for Day 9 of the Tolkien Art Challenge by Allan Whincup. 

"Roseate Spoonbill"

2024

Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja)