Interview with Benjamin Harff, upcoming Tolkien illustrator and creator of the Edel-Silmarillion

[The Straight Story]

On one of my wanderings around the internet I stumbled upon the article "Edel-Silmarillion als Diplomarbeit". As by chance I discovered the most beautiful copy of The Silmarillion I had ever seen.

With a little help from the kind people of Der Herr der Ringe I got into contact with the creator of this "Edel-Silmarillion", Benjamin Harff. He accepted to do an interview about his art work.

I truly hope to see more Tolkien art from this upcoming Tolkien artist! But for now enjoy this interview and the pictures of his version of The Silmarillion.

TL: Can you please tell me a little about yourself?

BH: I was born in 1980 in Euskirchen, Germany. I have always been interested in the manifold ways of art, especially painting & drawing as well as music. Later I learned other art forms also, such as poetry and martial arts. My father is a tiler, so I early realized that pure inspiration is useless without skill, knowledge and hard work. So my approach to art is very close to earth. You can compare this to a tree: Only with strong roots the tree can grow and unfold its beauty. You grow in two directions - to the darkness of the earth and the light of the sky. But your contact to earth is always closer than to the sky. I graduated at the Rhein-Sieg-Akademie für realistische bildende Kunst und Design in Hennef, Germany in Illustration and Graphic Design this year and now I want to work as an illustrator and calligrapher.








Much more at link:

http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/press/902-Benjamin_Harff_Interview_Edel_Silmarillion.php

[patrice]

1. BEAUTIFUL!! & 10 times the books of Tolkein's other stuff. Thanks for posting! nt

[housewolf]

2. How beautiful!

Thank you for posting