"A Star Over Mordor" by Melanie ´Coffee Goddess´ Wood

Sam keeps watch over Frodo as he sleeps under a rock overhang in Mordor.  He looks up into the filth-ridden sky.  Through a break in the cloud-wreak he sees a single star.  It's beauty reminds him of home, The Shire, far away to the north.  The longing for home mingled with the hopelessness of their mission to destroy the Ring brings tears to Sam's eyes, yet his faithful heart will not allow him to leave Frodo alone.

This scene is based on the book The Return of the King (not the movie.  I didn't care for any of the movies).  While this depiction of the star that Sam sees is not in the book per-se (although Tolkien does touch briefly on Sam seeing a star while in Mordor), I imagine this drawing to be one of those nights following his sighting of it in which he catches another glimpse of it.

The symbols in the lower left corner are my signature "m wood april 2007" and are meant to look like Tolkien's elf letters.

This is .5mm mechanical pencil (it's like drawing with a needle) on Bristol board and about 20 hours of work...and a very sore hand afterward.