San Francisco Frontiers - Inside the mind of Tolkien illustrator John Howe

The 68-year-old is famed for his interpretation of Tolkien's literary work, which ultimately saw him serve as a concept artist on film-maker Peter Jackson's movie trilogies "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit".

A lover of mythology and legends, the internationally acclaimed illustrator has also worked on video games and a television series.

The heroic or mysterious figures he draws, such as Gandalf, Treebeard, Saruman or Legolas, often emerge from darkness, bluish shadows, golden glimmers or greenish hues.

In the future, when he is not working on a film, he will be found at his studio in the "Tower of Fantasy", which opens on Thursday in Neuchatel in northwest Switzerland, the lakeside city he now calls home.

Around 270 of his works will be exhibited for a year in this new museum, of which he is one of the founders.

In the studio -- which will remain open after the exhibition closes -- visitors will be able to talk with Howe and watch him create: a challenge he doesn't shy away from.

"It's people who keep us going, after all," he told AFP.

"We thought we'd offer the public a little glimpse... into my mind," he said, voicing a desire to share his perspective and his method.

- 'Cascade of images' -

The exhibited works represent only a tiny fraction of his output.

Whether standing or sitting, "I draw all the time," the Canadian-born, naturalised Swiss illustrator said.

"At first, it's a need, then a vocation, a profession, and then, little by little, it defines you," and becomes "a reason for being", he said.

Brought up on a farm near Vancouver, he says this growing passion has driven him since childhood.

At around 12 years old, he discovered Tolkien and his epic fantasy trilogy "The Lord of the Rings" at the library -- though he jokingly regrets having had to start with the second volume, as the first wasn't available.

A few years later, he immersed himself once again into Tolkien's world, a re-reading that brought forth "a cascade of images" from his pencils because, according to Howe, the English writer is one of those "wonderful authors who offer a plethora of images to the reader".

Howe studied decorative arts in Strasbourg.

There, he discovered the French city's imposing Gothic cathedral, and spent his days inside it like Quasimodo, "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame", thanks to a master key entrusted to him.

He was fascinated by Gothic buildings -- something he had previously only seen in books.

"I had never seen a real cathedral. I had never had so much history at my fingertips in this way; it was a kind of electric shock," he said.

- Middle Ages 'fan zone' -

Howe, who has become one of the masters of medieval fantasy, is passionate about history, which he considers "an important ingredient" in constructing his imagery.

His drawings blend historical meticulousness and epic imagination with a keen sense of architectural and mythological detail, creating an often dark and majestic atmosphere, borrowing from the Middle Ages.

"The Middle Ages is the world's biggest fan zone," he said.

"It's a territory inhabited, on the one hand, by very serious people -- archaeologists, philologists, historians, scientists -- and on the other hand, by the artists, like nomads, who wander through it with only one goal: to tell stories."

This self-described "storyteller" is not afraid of a blank page.

His characters and landscapes are created with hatching strokes, which he then colours in.

"The images are out there in the world. You have to go and find them," he said.

"It's a bit like when you're in the mountains, there's fog everywhere and then suddenly it clears, revealing a magnificent landscape. Drawing is a bit like that."

Howe never tires of Tolkien's universe and is now working on Andy Serkis's film project, "The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum". It was Serkis who played Gollum in the Jackson films.

Nor does he reject "The Lord of the Rings" label that has stuck to him.

Some of the movie series' monsters, like the Nazgul -- spectres riding flying beasts -- or the Balrog, a giant infernal creature, were directly based on his illustrations.

This "pleases" Howe because they now belong to the "collective" imagination, not just his own.

I.Wright--SFF