Creation of the cover art & design for Tolkien and the Classical World

Cover art for Tolkien and the Classical World, a collection of essays edited by Hamish Williams which looks at the classical sources of inspiration behind Tolkien’s works.

This painting was executed on a porcelain tile with India ink and then etched and distressed to create an antique effect.

Cover art for Tolkien and the Classical World, a collection of essays edited by Hamish Williams which looks at the classical sources of inspiration behind Tolkien’s works.

India Ink with oil glazing on porcelain tile panel

Tom, Bert, and Bill Huggins were three Stone trolls that Bilbo Baggins encountered in the Trollshaws, in Eriador, while with Thorin and Company on their quest to regain the Lonely Mountain . When Bilbo tried to pick William’s pocket to test his skill as a burglar, William’s purse squealed, alerting him. The trio of trolls captured Bilbo who, almost revealing himself as a burglar, identified himself as a “bur—a hobbit”, which they mistook for a “burrahobbit”. Eventually all of the dwarves in Thorin’s company came looking for Bilbo, and were waylaid by the trolls and put into sacks. They were destroyed by sunlight which turned them to stone with the aid of Gandalf’s trickery.