Silmarillion - Varda

Here is Varda, the Queen of stars, the second promt for my sketch request on tumblr. (yes again this did get a little out of hand but she deserved it!) I first drew her on paper, and then colored in Procreate on my iPad mini with a wacom stylus pen. From start to finish this drawing has been extremely fun, surprisingly easy to get how I wanted, and a fountain of creativity. I drew her as a part of the night sky and the stars, stars also falling from her hands as they belong to her. I imagine that if she stands in blackness her skin will radiate with stars as if she was the evening sky. Raditating power and might as is only right for her.

Varda is one of the most fascinating of the Valier, the female Valar. She is the Queen of stars and Queen of all the Valar. In Silmarillion she is mentioned as the spouse of Manwe, but I read somewhere else that in another script she was the sister of Manwe and Melkor, and this opened for some very interesting head-canons on my part. She is such a powerful symbol and one of the great female characters of Tolkien, so this theory appeals to me a lot more, as she is therefore equal to Manwe and Melkor, the two greatest of the Valar. While the word spouse is generally used for man and wife, I also think it can be meaning that they belong together or are made together by Eru. This is supported by Melkors fear of her. In Silmarillion it states that he fears her because she would not yeild to him and that she withstood him, which can also apply to siblings. While the Valar are not humans or elves, it seems to me that their relationships with each other cannot be defined by earthly standards, and being siblings or spouses must be interpreted in an entirely new setting. I really like to give her the same reverence as Manwe and Melkor, for her to be their equal in power and might, because I believe Tolkien did this intentionally. All his women, mentioned and explained, hold great importance, and so she should be of no less importance than her male parallels. (yes I can go on and on about this, but I hope you understand my thoughts!)

Next in line is Fëanor, our favorite psychopath, so that'll be exciting!

Cheers,
Iggy