The road goes ever…

There are some verses in the Hobbit by JRR Tolkien “The Road goes ever on”….

I wish I could remember it. I could look it up, but basically I’m too tired! The photo I took last year, at the Dorothy Clive garden reminds me of the verse, the road or path winds off into the distance. Who knows where it will lead as it rises and falls, but there is the possibility of adventure and even danger. I guess it could also indicate what happens to us in life, the ups and downs, you can’t forecast what is round the corner, it could be something nice like an old friend, or someone jumping out at you with malice. The path isn’t always sunny and bright. But we have to live it the best way we can.

Door

Tuesdays #bandofsketchers prompt was door. So I drew a hobbit style door to cheer myself up. Felt pen and black ink fine line pen. The door would be solid oak and a neat flower bed would be planted on either side of it. I love the story the Lord of the Rings, I’m not sure about the films, but I have a set of cassette tapes that have the Lord of the Rings radio series that was broadcast by the BBC in about 2000?

Dragon bright

Dragon doodle, then flood filled with yellow. ‘dragon burning in the night, why do you burn so bright?’

A question. Why are dragons supposed to breath fire. Why does JRR Tolkeins dragon Smaug live in a mountain full of gold that could almost be a volcano, but when fire comes it is from the dragon itself flying over Laketown in the story of the Hobbit.

They breathe fire in other stories too. And authors come up with elaborate ideas of how they make it. For instance the book ‘Guards, Guards’ by Terry Pratchett.

All art of their mystery.

Dragon eyes

Where do ideas come from? Spoiler alert. I was just watching ‘ the Hobbit an unexpected journey’ the first film in ‘the Hobbit’ trilogy. At the end of the film the dwarves see the lonely mountain far in the distance. We follow a bird as it flies across the land to the mountain. There we see the dragon inside the mountain. Smaug, the dragon, wakes up and you see his eye. The pupil of the eye has a funny slit in it. Not exactly like this, but I wonder if I was subconsciously influenced by the film? You only see it for a couple of seconds but it’s a beautiful image. I think my dragon eyes are quite sweet, but not as good as the animated Dragon Eye of Smaug.

Dragon hide

What does a dragon need to stay safe? If you read The Hobbit, Smaug the dragon was killed by an arrow that pierced a soft area in his skin under his arm. Dragons have to have a strong skin..

So what would it look like? I’ve been experimenting with how big the scales would be. I guess they would have to be like an alligator or crocodile skin, rather than a lizard or snake whose scales seem smaller or softer. The dragon would need fire retardant scales to prevent charring or burning either around its mouth when it is fire breathing or on the rest of its body. Maybe male dragons duel in short fights, if they were to attack each others wings they would need to be strong. Dragons wings always look vulnerable. The skin is stretched between bony fingers. Surely that could easily be holed if it were not well maintained. Lots to consider.