Calm before the painting

Well here he is folks!  A proud and eager Silmiramarillion.  Yes I know it's a mouthful - but you get used to it ;)

I popped into the Miramar this morning (in the snow, well, Bournemouth's version of snow) to see where he would be whilst painting and to get some pics.  He is (rather scarily) in the public lounge by the grand piano - and painting is due to begin tomorrow morning!

The picture doesn't really show the scale - look out for more soon - but this is a life-sized adult male lion.  Quite a challenge for a lowly cartographer/come painter. 

This lion is going to be a tribute to J R R Tolkien who used to holiday at the Miramar many moons ago with his wife.  I am told some of the family still visit regularly.

And me?  I am Elanor - named from Lord of the Rings (a small golden star-shaped flower from the woods of Lothlorien) and a fan of the great man and his fantasy world.  I've lived in Bournemouth over 4 years and work as a self-employed cartographer/graphic designer/artist.  I run creative networking group Bournemouth Creatives and am a mum to Sophie.  No doubt you'll find out more as we go along.

Blogging is new to me, as is painting lions - but I am going to have a lot of fun and it's all for a good cause as next year Bournemouth's Pride will be auctioned off in aid of the Born Free Foundation and Julia's House.

Hope you will enjoy following the progress  :D