#dartxo

[dartxo]

"Wild Yak"

2022

Wild Yak (Bos mutus)

Really underrated bovids. They are really huge, bigger even than African buffaloes, a fact I was reminded of when I saw a video circulating of a wild yak mingling with a herd of domesticated ones, and it towered over them.

[harveydrawsnsfw]

I don’t normally do other artists’ OCs unprompted, but this sea elf from @dartxo caught my eye

[befanini]

Mordor's Call by Dartxo

[theworldsoftolkein]

Mordor's Call - by Dartxo

And Minas Morgul answered. There was a flare of livid lightnings: forks of blue flame springing up from the tower and from the encircling hills into the sullen clouds. The earth groaned; and out of the city there came a cry. . Behold! Mordor's own war beacon of sorts; immense, sorcerous, and terrible.

I really like how in the film the signal from Minas Morgul is discernible all the way from Minas Tirith, striking fear and anxiety in its inhabitants about the attack they know its coming. Notably this is also the scene in which my man the Witch-king makes his spectacular entrance, so what's not to love? When I first watched the film in cinemas almost twenty years ago, the volume was turned way up for every Nazgûl scene, so when Frodo and Sam cover their ears when the Witch-king screeches...yeah, I felt that too. And I know I wasn't the only one, because I've seen people commenting about it online. 

Minas Morgul also holds the distinction of being my favorite of all the evil places of Middle-earth. Not only because it is the abode of my beloved Nazgûl, but also because the aesthetic of the place is just amazing, in a creepy sort of way. It's not barren like the plains around Barad-dûr and Mount Doom, for it has a river and meadows of flowers; but the water of the river is undrinkable, and the flowers are terrible to behold, and give up foul vapors. If ever a place can be described as neither living nor dead, it is the Valley of Morgul... just like its lords are. 

[gotham-at-nightfall]

Count Dracula

Just as I had come to this conclusion I heard a heavy step approaching behind the great door, and saw through the chinks the gleam of a coming light. Then there was the sound of rattling chains and the clanking of massive bolts drawn back. A key was turned with the loud grating noise of long disuse, and the great door swung back. Within, stood a tall old man, clean shaven save for a long white moustache, and clad in black from head to foot, without a single speck of colour about him anywhere. He held in his hand an antique silver lamp, in which the flame burned without chimney or globe of any kind, throwing long quivering shadows as it flickered in the draught of the open door. The old man motioned me in with his right hand with a courtly gesture, saying in excellent English, but with a strange intonation:— "Welcome to my house! Enter freely and of your own will!" He made no motion of stepping to meet me, but stood like a statue, as though his gesture of welcome had fixed him into stone. The instant, however, that I had stepped over the threshold, he moved impulsively forward, and holding out his hand grasped mine with a strength which made me wince, an effect which was not lessened by the fact that it seemed as cold as ice—more like the hand of a dead than a living man. Again he said:— "Welcome to my house. Come freely. Go safely; and leave something of the happiness you bring!" The strength of the handshake was so much akin to that which I had noticed in the driver, whose face I had not seen, that for a moment I doubted if it were not the same person to whom I was speaking; so to make sure, I said interrogatively:— "Count Dracula?" He bowed in a courtly way as he replied:— "I am Dracula; and I bid you welcome, Mr. Harker, to my house. Come in; the night air is chill, and you must need to eat and rest."

By Dartxo

[zoo-packys]

Forest Maker by Dartxo

Here is a great looking colored pencil drawing that shows a mighty packy walking through the jungle. Specifically, it’s the rare African Forest Elephant variety of packy, & the artist did a great job making it look so mighty & majestic!

Picture found here.

[dartxo]

"Vhagar VS Smaug"

2024

Looking to add to his immense treasure, Smaug descends with fire and death on Casterly Rock, to plunder the fabled wealth of House Lannister for himself. But the Lannisters aren't completely abandoned. For out of the skies comes their ally, Prince Aemond Targaryen upon Vhagar. Smaug hasn't had a challenge like this in centuries. He eagerly rises up to meet them, in what will surely be the ultimate Dance of the Dragons. 

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The production team for House of the Dragon puts Vhagar's size as 90 meters long, with a 150 meter wingspan. At 130 meters, Smaug is longer, but his 110 meter wingspan is smaller than Vhagar's. Vhagar also has a bulkier, more robust body as opposed to Smaug's long and serpentine frame. Smaug is older, but he isn't really affected by age as Vhagar is; he is much more agile and nimble in both land and air. The dragons of Middle-earth can also cast spells with their gaze, and to quote George R.R. Martin, they, like, talk. All in all, I'd say Smaug, Chiefest and Greatest of Calamities, outmatches Granny Vhagar in almost every way. But it would be a terrific fight nonetheless.

[dartxo]

"Samwise the Brave"

2022

'...Frodo wouldn't have got far without Sam...'

-"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers", by J.R.R. Tolkien

Last but not least in my countdown of favorite Two Towers scenes is Sam's speech to Frodo in Osgiliath. A scene that isn't really in the books, but that embodies and enhances the spirit of Tolkien beautifully. It's a perfect, comforting resolution to Frodo's moment of complete despair earlier, and accompanies perfectly the simultaneous moments of triumph at Isengard and at Helm's Deep. And I'm sure I'm not alone in saying this, but it's also a scene I turn to when I find myself sad and despondent at the state of the world. A true testament to Sam's role as a support and a rock, not just for Frodo, but for the readers and viewers as well. 

[dartxo]

"Galadriel VS Sauron"

2024

"You have no power here, servant of Morgoth!"

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A few days ago marked the 10th anniversary of The Battle of the Five Armies. It's probably the weakest out of the three Hobbit films (though that didn't stop me from watching it NINE TIMES), but it contains one of my favorite scenes in the whole trilogy: the White Council's attack on Dol Guldur, and Galadriel's great battle of wills against Sauron himself.

The Hobbit films are often accused of being too many, too long, and too bloated. But ever since they were announced, I hoped and dreamed they would include the White Council storyline, since their attack on Sauron happened simultaneously with the Quest of Erebor. And my wish was happily granted.

[dartxo]

"The Beachmaster"

2024

Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina)

Are Southern Elephant Seals the chonkiest animals alive? I think they are.

[dartxo]

"Sunfyre"

2024

This season of House of the Dragon marked the first time we got a good look at Sunfyre, one of my very favorite dragons in the world of Westeros. And true to the book, they made him a very beautiful young dragon indeed. I love that pair of massive, shiny horns, and his elegant and slender body frame. I only wish we got to see more of him in his full glory, before being so badly mangled at battle.

[dartxo]

"Cretaceous Sunset"

2023

T.rex (Tyrannosaurus rex)

My favorite dinosaur, inspired by Prehistoric Planet, but with a few tweaks in the coloring. 

[dartxo]

"Proud"

2024

This Pride Month my heart and my thoughts are with Queer Palestinians, whose existence, too inconvenient for Zionist propaganda and western liberal imperialism, has often been minimized, hidden and denied. And yet they exist, and like queer people everywhere, they struggle, they overcome, they love, and they dream.

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The state of Israel has gone to great lengths to paint itself as a haven for gay rights in the Middle-east; a bastion of civilized, liberal values in a region filled with barbaric, murderous fanatics. And like most of its propaganda, this argument is based on a complete distortion of reality, if not flat out lies.

Homosexuality has been legal in the West Bank since 1951. Efforts to re-criminalize it or to ban LGBTQ advocacy groups have been successfully opposed by civil society. In Gaza homosexuality is illegal (from a law dating back to the British Mandate, I may add), but it is punishable by imprisonment, not death, and this is rarely enforced. By contrast, homosexuality is legal in Israel, but same-sex marriage is not. The rise of the far-right in recent years has coincided with a spike in homophobic hate crimes. Israel has also a notorious record of blackmailing queer Palestinians into becoming informants, threatening to out them to their relatives if they don't cooperate with the occupation.

All this to say: whatever taboos remain to be overcome by Palestinian society, neither them nor their governments make it a habit or a priority to go block by block, house by house, looking for queer people to round up and kill. And however gay-friendly Israel may seem in comparison to its Arab neighbors, it is far, far from what western liberals have come to expect from a "gay paradise", to say nothing of their treatment of Palestinians, queer or straight. In fact, if anyone seems to be the one going out of their way to target queer people, to use them for their own ends, to threaten them with punishment, it is Israel. They use their own LGBTQ community to pinkwash their crimes, and they weaponize the identities of queer Palestinians to turn them against their own people.

Indeed, queer Palestinians face far, far greater danger and oppression from Israel than from whatever Palestinian government nominally rules over them. I imagine things like Pride flags and Pride parades, same-sex marriage, coming out even, are not the first priorities on ones mind when one has the entire apparatus of a colonial nation-state suffocating them; when there are bombs raining down from the sky, and you don't know if you're going to live, or have a home, or a future. It's frankly absurd to be expected to see the absence of rainbow flags as a greater evil than the bombing of cities, the murdering of families, and the destruction of an entire society...or worse, to use it as justification for such crimes.

Because ultimately, it doesn't matter if the fantasy concocted by Zionist propaganda were true or not. It doesn't matter if Palestine really were a hub for murderous homophobic fanatics, and Israel a wonderful gay utopia: occupation is still wrong, apartheid is still wrong, genocide is still wrong. Period. The cheerleaders of this genocide even undertand this on some level. They use the lack of gay rights in Palestine as justification for the killing, but you never see them apply the same reasoning for homophobia in the West, of which many of its proponents are far more vitriolic and draconian than Palestinians actually are. Yet as always, white western people are given leniency for their crimes, no matter how monstrous, while Palestinians and other racialized societies are savagely punished for their flaws, real or imagined.

My hope for the people of Palestine, queer or otherwise, is for them to be free of the crushing weight of Zionist oppression, and to not let anyone else dictate the terms of their own freedom and their own dreams.

Happy Pride 🏳️‍🌈 and Free Palestine 🇵🇸

[dartxo]

"Martyr"

2024

In honor of Medo Halimy and all victims of Zionist tyranny.

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Medo was a 19 year old vlogger from Gaza, who documented his life in a displaced people's camp. His videos were generally upbeat and joyful, in brave defiance of the misery and destruction unleashed by the Zionist occupation. He did a gardening series, bringing life at a time and place where the occupation was bringing only death. He was bright, creative, resourceful, and much loved.

Medo was killed on August 27th when he was hit by shrapnel from a nearby Israeli strike. I only got to know him from his videos, but his murder was shocking and heartbreaking all the same. It feels me with rage and grief that this young man, so full of life and dreams, had his time cut short by greedy, rapacious colonizers. And I shudder to think of all the people we don't know, victims whose names and dreams will remain forever anonymous and unknown. This humble tribute is also for them.

Free Palestine 🇵🇸 and death to Zionism.

[dartxo]

"The Nazgûl and his Prey"

2021

It's interesting to realize that the Witch-king was one of the main architects of the decline of the Dúnedain, not just in the North, but also in the South with his conquest of Minas Ithil and the killing of the last King of Gondor before Aragorn.

It's a sentiment I wanted to convey in this piece: the Lord of the Nazgûl as a scourge and bane of the Realms in Exile.

[dartxo]

"I Can Carry You"

2023

...and so Sam struggled on as best he could, having no guidance but the will to climb as high as might be before his strength gave out and his will broke.

-"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King", by J.R.R. Tolkien

A scene that probably is a favorite for many; one that epitomizes more than any other the power of friendship; and in my opinion, Sam's most heroic moment.

It brings me back to the first film, when Saruman mocked Gandalf for thinking hobbits could ever contend with the will of Sauron. This scene proves that Gandalf was right, and Saruman wrong: in their own way, the willpower of hobbits IS strong enough to shake the foundations of evil itself.