Tolkien's Gift to Visual Creativity

Do you try to consciously avoid the influences of others who've depicted the same scene or do you embrace them? I'm really afraid to admit that I don't really pay much attention because I do know what I feel is corresponds to how I see things. Tolkien gives us a second gift because he is quite spare with his detailed descriptions. He does, you know, he does give us some, but generally he will give us the sentiments and the emotions of the characters when they are in a situation.