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| The Fellowship in Hollin Donato Giancola 2017 Oil on Panel 65″ x 34″ |
In pursuit of my continued explorations in landscape painting, and love of seeing the immense canvases of the Hudson River School painters, a new oil painting was premiered at the Balticon Science Fiction Convention this past memorial Day Weekend – The Fellowship in Hollin from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth.
This image was initialized five years ago while exploring possible scenes and compositions for a private commission showcasing the Fellowship of the Ring. I feel in love with the idea of the adventurers reflected in a still body of water, a foreshadowing of their impending journey underground into Moria.
The motivation to jump into the final oils struck when cleaning out my studio storage. I was reminded of a large, empty frame waiting to find a new image to be placed within. It was of landscape format created from dark warm wood…a near perfect vessel for the Fellowship concept in Hollin.
A few visits to Albert Bierstadt and Frederick Church paintings at the Metropolitan Museum and Brooklyn Museum of Art helped prime the desire to pull this off in a grand, epic way. Although much in the shadow of these landscape giants, it is a pleasure to play within their aesthetic. The saturated colorful paintings of Thomas Moran were also an informing source.
Attached are a few detail shots as well as the rough abstracts which laid the groundwork for this piece.
Below is a detail of the art with a US Quarter to provide scale…those were some small heads to paint!
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| The Fellowship in Hollin Donato Giancola 2017 Oil on Panel 65″ x 34″ detail |
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| The Fellowship in Hollin Donato Giancola 2017 Oil on Panel 65″ x 34″ detail |
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| The Fellowship in Hollin Donato Giancola 2017 Oil on Panel 65″ x 34″ detail |
I enjoy using the palette knife to create controlled, chaos within organic forms such as rocks and vegetation. A wonderful way to force choices upon the image without deliberate brush strokes.
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| The Fellowship in Hollin Donato Giancola 2017 Oil on Panel 65″ x 34″ detail |
Awesome to see the preliminary work alongside the finished piece. The use of contrasting light and dark shapes all throughout the work is just so satisfying. Do you create maquettes to help you realize the lighting or do you invent mainly from photography?
This is one of those paintings that knocked the breath out of me when I saw them. I actually let out a long, low “wow” when I saw the video preview you posted on Instagram. You just made me scrap my reading list to read the Lord of the Rings again!
PS: That thumbnail you showed above would also make a fine painting! Just sayin'…
I have only once attempted a maquette, back in 1993. It failed horribly.
Thank you Jon! I do have thoughts for another painting..