Tolkien fans have come to appreciate artist Jay Johnstone, for his inspiring take on the Middle-earth legendarium. His portraits have been commissioned and purchased by the very actors who walked on the sets of The Hobbit and GOT, admired for the diverse techniques used in them.
Jay’s website has been recently revamped – take a look and be inspired!
Jay’s diverse technique seems to have evolved through the exploration and reinvention of the artists and styles he loves. He has given us visions of Middle-earth in Assyrian style using clay on slate bas relief; on Medieval illuminated manuscripts using gouache on board with gold leaf and frescoes, all the way to oil on paper modern portraits, passing via Gustav Klimt. He likes to work in most mediums – oils, watercolours, acrylics, egg tempera with Gold powder and gold leaf.
His enthusiasm for diversity and experimentation brought him to display his work at Oxford’s annual Oxonmoot, RingCon, in Germany, and all the way to LA – attending the Unexpected “Oscar” party with Peter Jackson.
“Flight from Amon Hen” is currently one of the shortlisted artwork for the 2016 Tolkien Awards. You can vote for it here.
Jay has also collaborated with Luna Press Publishing, creating numerous book covers for their catalogue, including the YA SF series Tijaran Tales, by Francesca T Barbini.
I leave you with the man himself, as he takes you on a journey through his Game of Thrones Artwork.
Kitty L loves books, space, fiction, frogs, furry animals and coffee. A lot of coffee. Fantasy, SF and Dark Fantasy have cocooned her world since the Mesolithic period. And she likes it like that.
