Eowyn and the Nazgul, Part 2. "Do what you will; but I will hinder it, if i may."

This is my finished entry for the latest art challenge on TheArtOrder.com. The subject is the classic confrontation between Eowyn and the Witch King from Tolkien's 'The Return of the King'. This was a really enjoyable challenge. Here is a brief description of the process for this one.
 It was very important to have some decent reference pictures to work from on this so my wife, the amazing Kari, helped me out. She was a trooper and donned her best Rohan garb as well as the fabled tin foil helmet( not taking any chances with any alien interference).  I wanted to paint the scene from an aerial perspective, looking down at Eowyn and the Nazgul from the vantage point of a winged creature. The photos were taken from the second floor of our house looking down into the garden as Kari tried a few poses. I also wandered back to a field behind our house to take some photos of some grassy areas. The scene takes place on the Pelennor Fields in the spring. There is a quote from the book tha tI decided to focus on.  Eowyn, still disguised as a male Rider of Rohan, exclaims "Do what you will; but I will hinder it, if I may." This takes place immediately after the Witch King tells her "Do not come between the Nazgul and his prey." and to me it best captures the courage and determination of Eowyn, despite the horrors she has endured to this point. Eowyn has not yet revealed herself as a woman at this time and still wears the helmet and shield of the Rohirim.
After gathering my references I did a digital sketch. After the scene was laid out it was transfered to a 30" x 40" canvas. Starting with a warm, reddish underpainting the basic light and dark areas are blocked in  and layers of color and detail are added in oils over a couple of weeks. The reference shot used for Eowyn was the second from below. One of the things I realized after taking my photos is that Eowyn would definitely be carrying a shield during the moment being depicted so I had to move away from the reference at that point. Overall I am pleased with how things turned out and learned quite a bit along the way.

 You can see the entire lineup for this challenge at the link below.  You will be amazed at the hundreds of awesome interpretations of this iconic scene.

http://theartorder.com/2011/05/16/eowyn-and-the-nazgul-challenge-line-up/