Product Description

A stunning portfolio of over 100 of John Howe's Tolkien and fantasy cover, calendar and exhibition paintings, with supporting notes, sketches and photographs by the artist. Includes Foreword by Peter Jackson, director of the award-winning film trilogy. For the first time ever, a portfolio of illustrated work from the award-winning artist, John Howe, which reveals the breathtaking vision of one of the foremost fantasy artists in the world. Myth and Magic is arranged into six sections, which looks at the books by J R R Tolkien that have inspired John -- The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and The History of Middle-earth -- and is complemented by a fascinating tour through the paintings that he has produced for some of the finest fantasy authors working today. From the beloved painting of Smaug which decorates The Hobbit, his numerous and bestselling calendar illustrations, the world famous "Gandalf" picture, which is synonymous with the HarperCollins one-volume edition of The Lord of the Rings, this large-format hardback will delight fans of Tolkien, and anyone who has been captured by the imagination of the artist who so brilliantly brings to life the literary vision of J R R Tolkien.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #122859 in Books
• Published on: 2001-12-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 144 pages

About the Author
John Howe was born in 1957 in Vancouver, Canada. He moved to France in 1976 and gained a Diploma in Illustration at the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs de Strasbourg in 1981. He has illustrated many French children's books, but is best known for his Tolkien calendars, book jackets, maps and posters, and he is currently working as a production designer on New Line Cinema's forthcoming Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.

Customer Reviews

This is a truly beautiful book for those liking fantasy art
I enjoy painting and drawing, and this includes working on fantasy art. I am always interested in trying new things. This book gave me various ideas on what I could explore. It is very nicely set out and the quality of the pictures is really eye catching.
The thing I enjoyed most was the section on the art of Middle Earth. Some of the best examples of this genre of artwork is included in the Lord of the Rings selection. It was great to see the famous and terrifying scene of Gandalf facing the Balrog.
Of course no fantasy art book would be complete without dragons and this does not disappoint. All types of goodies can be found in this gem. The only sticking point is the size of the book. It should have been longer!!

This is a truly beautiful book for those liking fantasy art
I enjoy painting and drawing, and this includes working on fantasy art. I am always interested in trying new things. This book gave me various ideas on what I could explore. It is very nicely set out and the quality of the pictures is really eye catching.
The thing I enjoyed most was the section on the art of Middle Earth. Some of the best examples of this genre of artwork is included in the Lord of the Rings selection. It was great to see the famous and terrifying scene of Gandalf facing the Balrog.
Of course no fantasy art book would be complete without dragons and this does not disappoint. All types of goodies can be found in this gem. The only sticking point is the size of the book. It should have been longer!!

This is a truly beautiful book for those liking fantasy art
I enjoy painting and drawing, and this includes working on fantasy art. I am always interested in trying new things. This book gave me various ideas on what I could explore. It is very nicely set out and the quality of the pictures is really eye catching.
The thing I enjoyed most was the section on the art of Middle Earth. Some of the best examples of this genre of artwork is included in the Lord of the Rings selection. It was great to see the famous and terrifying scene of Gandalf facing the Balrog.
Of course no fantasy art book would be complete without dragons and this does not disappoint. All types of goodies can be found in this gem. The only sticking point is the size of the book. It should have been longer!!