HOME | DD

Description

Needlehole was a village in the remote northwestern parts of the Shire. The river Water flowed through the village on its way south to Rushock Bog. Needlehole lay strictly within the Westfarthing, but only a few miles from the borders of the Northfarthing. It had few neighbouring settlements, apart from the village of Nobottle to the west. Probably its nearest town of any size was Waymeet, some thirty miles to the south. Needlehole was connected to Waymeet by a winding a circuituous road, whose wide loops were in part required to avoid Rushock Bog, directly to the south of Needlehole village.

I started this picture before Christmas as a generic winter/Christmas-themed Shire landscape, but I always like to imagine concrete places of Middle-earth, so I was thinking, where in the Shire this could be. The snow somehow suggested a more northerly location, so I decided this was going to be the village of Needlehole, which is one of the northernmost locations shown on Tolkien's map of the Shire. The Water flows through the village, but I am not sure whether the brook shown on the picture is the Water or one of its lesser tributaries, you can decide for yourself.

It feels a little odd to draw and publish a picture showing snowy landscape with cosy hobbit holes at this time of the year, when not only the Christmas season but also the winter already ended (at least in our part of the world).
So when I didn't manage to finish it in December or January, I seriously considered either putting it aside and finishing it when the right season for it comes again or finishing it now and publishing it only later.
But I have already shown WIPs of it here before and as I know myself, it is quite probable that before Christmas I woudn't have any time to work on it, so it is better to have it in store. And when I already finished it, why not show it to you. I can always re-share it on social media when the right time comes. 😄

I hope you like it!

Description

Needlehole was a village in the remote northwestern parts of the Shire. The river Water flowed through the village on its way south to Rushock Bog. Needlehole lay strictly within the Westfarthing, but only a few miles from the borders of the Northfarthing. It had few neighbouring settlements, apart from the village of Nobottle to the west. Probably its nearest town of any size was Waymeet, some thirty miles to the south. Needlehole was connected to Waymeet by a winding a circuituous road, whose wide loops were in part required to avoid Rushock Bog, directly to the south of Needlehole village.

I started this picture before Christmas as a generic winter/Christmas-themed Shire landscape, but I always like to imagine concrete places of Middle-earth, so I was thinking, where in the Shire this could be. The snow somehow suggested a more northerly location, so I decided this was going to be the village of Needlehole, which is one of the northernmost locations shown on Tolkien's map of the Shire. The Water flows through the village, but I am not sure whether the brook shown on the picture is the Water or one of its lesser tributaries, you can decide for yourself.

It feels a little odd to draw and publish a picture showing snowy landscape with cosy hobbit holes at this time of the year, when not only the Christmas season but also the winter already ended (at least in our part of the world).
So when I didn't manage to finish it in December or January, I seriously considered either putting it aside and finishing it when the right season for it comes again or finishing it now and publishing it only later.
But I have already shown WIPs of it here before and as I know myself, it is quite probable that before Christmas I woudn't have any time to work on it, so it is better to have it in store. And when I already finished it, why not show it to you. I can always re-share it on social media when the right time comes. 😄

I hope you like it!