 Tolkien was an accomplished artist, who learned to paint and draw as a child and continued to do so all his life.From early in his writing career, the development of his stories was accompanied by drawings and paintings, especially of landscapes, and by maps of the lands in which the tales were set.He also produced pictures to accompany the stories told to his own children, including those later published in "Mr Bliss" and "Roverandom", and sent them elaborately illustrated letters purporting to come from Father Christmas.