My premium giclée prints are sold via the Beautifully Handmade website.

You can also buy other products with my artwork from Redbubble.

Giclée (pronounced zshee-clay) printing is a special method of high-quality art reproduction on archival paper using pigment based inks that closely resembles actual paint.
Regular art prints are usually printed on paper or card using a dye based ink. Dye based ink is thin and does not stick well to archival paper and it is not thick like giclée pigment so it will look less like a painting.
The pigment (the coloured powder) in giclée printing is suspended in water and is thicker than dye based inks.

The paper I use is a premium Pinnacle Cotton Rag. It is a gentle and sturdy white, 310gsm, 100% cotton rag paper with a smooth velvet texture and luxurious characteristics. The surface has a special matte coating, designed for high quality fine art reproduction.

Pinnacle Cotton Rag has impeccable archival qualities. It contains 100% cotton rag fibres, which are longer, stronger and more durable than wood fibres in ordinary paper and meets the Fine Art Trade Guild light fastness requirements of ‘6 or more on the Blue Wool Scale’.

This paper is also a lot more environmentally friendly because no trees were cut down to make this paper, therefore avoiding the huge releases of carbon into the atmosphere as is normal in logging.

Other benefits include:

• Acid and lignin free, so will not yellow or fade.
• Fully archival 100% cotton
• Deep, rich blacks
• Superb high definition print results
• Guaranteed accurate colour
• Low OBA Content (see next FAQ)

OBA is the Optical Brightening Agent.

These chemicals are added to regular wood-cellulose based papers and help give greater whiteness to the paper.

The visible light spectrum is from 380 nm (close to ultraviolet light) to 780 nm (close to infrared light). The OBA can absorb the electromagnetic radiation between 300 and 400 nm and re-emit the energy into the visible (blue) part of the spectrum, between 400 and 500 nm. This is called fluorescence.

The cellulose-based paper will absorb a part of the visible light and tend to get a yellow shade. As the blue is the complementary colour of the yellow, adding an OBA to the paper will therefore bring more whiteness to the paper. However, the OBA are unstable molecules and turn yellow over time, which will lead to paper discolouration.

This is common in ordinary wood-cellulose based papers. But due to the intrinsic bright nature of the cotton rag paper, very little OBA is used and therefore the paper will stay brighter and whiter for many years longer, typically up to 200 years.

When considering the colour management of printing, the higher the OBA content in the paper, the more difficult is the control over the print result. So the cotton rag paper also gives more authentic colours throughout the printing process.

It may be possible for you to change your mind about your purchase, as long as your item has not yet been printed. However, depending on what time of day you placed your order, prints are usually produced fairly quickly. Because your print is bespoke, if your item has already been printed it cannot be changed or refunded. Please email me at adamthorntonart@gmail.com as soon as possible, if you need to change anything.

Yes! Unless stated on the product page, my artwork is available in A2, A3, A4 and A5 print sizes.

At this time, I only ship within the UK. However, I am looking at including worldwide shipping in the future.

Postage and packing is currently free. I absorb all these costs to make it all clearer and straightforward.

Ah, yes! The age-old question!

In the Lord of the Rings, why didn’t they just use the eagles to fly directly into Mordor and drop the One Ring into Mount Doom, saving everyone a lot of hassle? There are a few reasons, though, why it wasn’t as simple as that.

1. The Eagles Are Not Tools: In Tolkien’s world, the Eagles are powerful, wise, semi-divine beings and can talk. They are not servants of the Free Peoples of Middle-earth. They are independent creatures, and act according to their own will, often at the guidance of higher powers like the Valar or Gandalf. They didn’t simply exist to be summoned as a quick way out of trouble. They helped when necessary, but weren’t there to solve every problem.
2. The Eye of Sauron: One major reason it wouldn’t have worked is that Sauron’s attention was focused on the skies, especially during the war. His Eye was constantly scanning for threats, and using the Eagles would have been like putting a giant target on them. The Ringwraiths on their flying steeds would have also been a major problem. If the Eagles tried to fly directly into Mordor, it’s almost certain Sauron would have spotted them and intercepted them.
3. The Risk of Corruption: The Ring itself corrupts anyone who comes into contact with it for too long. Flying it directly into Mordor might have been too much of a temptation for any of the Eagle riders (or even the Eagles themselves). Plus, there’s always the danger of the Ring manipulating its bearer or anyone in close proximity to it. If an Eagle had been corrupted, it could have led to disastrous consequences.
4. The Power of Stealth: The strategy was to use stealth and the journey of the Fellowship to sneak the Ring in as quietly as possible. The idea was that a low-profile mission, with Frodo and Sam trying to make their way into Mordor unnoticed, had the best chance of succeeding. The Eagles were more of a last-resort help in situations where retreat or rescue was needed, but not the primary mode of travel.
5. The Story’s Theme: On a deeper level, part of the reason for the Fellowship’s journey and struggle was to highlight the themes of courage, sacrifice, and the importance of even the smallest and least likely individuals (like Frodo and Sam) in shaping the fate of the world. If they’d just used the Eagles, the whole moral and thematic structure of the story would have collapsed.

Ultimately, Tolkien wanted to make the journey meaningful and the stakes high, and the Eagles, while helpful in some moments, weren’t the solution to everything.