Riddle Game by Tim KirkTheOneRing.net is excited to announce that among the over 30 artists contributing work to ‘An Unexpected Art Show’, the incredibly talented and award-winning artist Tim Kirk will be in attendance! Celebrating The HobbitThe Lord of the Rings and J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, ‘An Unexpected Art Show’ will feature inspired art pieces — from paintings, drawings, and illustrations to prints — from a variety of artists.

A long time friend of the site, Tim Kirk earned his Master’s Degree in Illustration from CSU Long Beach. His thesis project consisted of a serious of illustrations based on The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. 13 of these illustrations were later published by Ballantine Books as a calendar in 1975, the first by an illustrator other than Professor Tolkien. Tim has gone on to illustrate numerous children’s books, science fiction books, and magazines. He has won five prestigious Hugo awards and has worked as an Imagineer for Walt Disney.

Tim will be on hand to do quick sketches for anyone who brings books or calendars to be signed. He will also be offering signed and remarqued (with a sketch) prints of some of his Tolkien work for sale. As well, some of his original oil paintings in beautiful custom frames will be on display for all to admire.

Roiad to Minas Tirith by Tim KirkJoin us for ‘An Unexpected Art Show’ in Los Angeles, California on Friday, February 22, from 7 PM to 1 AM. All ages are welcome to attend. Children 12 and under get in free. A limited number of tickets are available for $15 online and $20 at the door. ‘An Unexpected Art Show’ will be held at Lot 613, a blank-canvas special events space in the Historic Arts District of Downtown Los Angeles, located at 613 Imperial Street. It’s all part of our Middle-earth Celebration weekend culminating with ‘The One Expected Party‘!

Purchase art show tickets today! –  Party tickets are also still available!

 

Arwen party dress by BlackMilk Clothing
Arwen party dress by BlackMilk Clothing

Some of the Middle-earth clothing from Black Milk has made a splash on our Facebook page but with fashion and popular culture taking center stage this week leading up to our own One Expected Party on Oscar night, it seemed a good time to share it here. Will we see a Doorway party dress? How about Witch King leggings? While we kind of want to chastise the company for not hyphenating and not making the e lower case in Middle-earth, its pretty cool to see a company take geek culture in mainstream directions. Its R2-D2 dress is well-known on websites like Tumblr, Twitter and Pinterest. The Australian company gets our kudos for making geek, chic. In the meantime, if you want to or plan to be in the Los Angeles area this weekend and want to join us for the party, we would love to have you, even if you aren’t wearing all the names of the dwarves on your leggings. Tickets remain and with food and entertainment like One Man LOTR and Billy Boyd’s Beekcake on the musical menu, and Hobbit Oscar nominations for visual effects, hair and makeup and production design, it will be a night of legend.

According to the little countdown on the left side of this page, we are only 10 days away from ‘The One Expected Party‘ and 8 days away from The Unexpected Art Show!’ (Yes, tickets are still available, but we are getting close to a sell out!) Today we’d like to focus on one of our Mithril sponsors for the event, Air New Zealand. AirNZ is not only the official airline of Middle-earth, but they are also officially supporting the fans of Middle-earth by providing both financial and airfare support for our event. In fact, we can thank them for flying in Billy Boyd and Beecake all the way from Scotland!

Air New Zealand

Air New ZealandAir New Zealand is the official airline of Middle-earth with a global two-movie partnership with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again.

As part of the two-year partnership, passengers from North America can fly on Hobbit-wrapped Boeing 777 aircraft and even enjoy a very special edition of the in-flight safety video.

Destination New Zealand is clearly established as the home of Middle-earth and Air New Zealand brings that magic to life for travelers.

Just as Sir Peter Jackson is able to transport audiences to the magical world of Middle-earth, Air New Zealand brings people to the breathtaking landscape that has been home to these epic productions.

Air New Zealand will be sending a Hobbit-themed crew to help escort our VIPs throughout ‘The One Expected Party,’ and will also be displaying a scale model of the Hobbit-wrapped 777. They are also generously contributing four unique ‘Hobbit’ packs for our giveaway – packs that are not for sale and only available through events like ‘The One Expected Party.’

We hope you can join us and our friends from Air New Zealand for a magical night in Hollywood! Purchase your tickets today!

[Purchase Tickets] [Art Show Tickets] [The Noble Collection]

 

 

 

We’re only a week away from ‘An Unexpected Art Show’, a unique celebration of artwork from over 30 artists around the world inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. Our event is one night only – Friday, February 22, from 7 PM to 1 AM. ‘An Unexpected Art Show’ will be at Lot 613, a blank-canvas special events space in the Historic Arts District of downtown Los Angeles, located at 613 Imperial Street.

An Unexpected Art Show

All ages are welcome to attend. Children 12 and under get in free. There is plenty of free street parking and an adjacent lot offers parking for $10. A limited number of tickets are available for $15 online and $20 at the door. Print and bring the above flyer for a $10 discount. There will be food and drinks for sale as well as a DJ set later in the evening.

Among the over 30 artists contributing work and attending in person are Tim Kirk, who illustrated the 1975 Tolkien Calendar — the first by an illustrator other than Professor Tolkien, and Jerry VanderStelt, an artist producing licensed reproductions for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings films. Additional artists include Donato GiancolaStephen Hickman, and Jay JohnstonePurchase tickets today!

It’s all part of our Middle-earth Celebration weekend culminating with ‘The One Expected Party‘ on February 24th. Party tickets are still available!