2023-10-25 15:56
A random couple and sits at a table, perfect subject for a little gouache sketch.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by James Gurney (@jamesgurneyart) Read More
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susie barstow
This daily weblog by Dinotopia creator James Gurney for illustrators, comic artists, plein-air painters, sketchers, animators and art students, with insights into the making of Dinotopia.
2023-10-24 17:41
Albert Sterner (1863-1946) was a British/American painter, printmaker, and illustrator. He is best known for his portraits, figurative works, and illustrations for magazines and books.S… Read More
2023-10-22 18:33
Ivan Shishkin, a renowned Russian landscape painter, used preliminary drawings to develop his studio compositions. He typically established a grid for enlarging the drawing to the final canv… Read More
2023-10-20 15:46
This documentary about how they used to make anime shows how animated films were created in Japan before computer interfaces took over most of the production process.
The video also shows so… Read More
2023-10-19 20:20
On Friday of next week, come watch as a dozen concept artists with orange caps draw and paint Colossal Characters arriving at City Hall in Pasadena.Better yet, bring your own sketchbook and… Read More
2023-10-18 14:24
There is a symbolic and even spiritual dimension to light and shadow. Several religious movements have dualistic cosmologies, conceiving of light in opposition to shadow or darkness.Rem… Read More
2023-10-16 13:37
If you're a regular visitor to this blog — or want to keep up with it — let me recommend a convenient way to receive updates. It's a free app called follow.it. Once you &hell…Read More
2023-10-15 14:07
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) is best known as a composer, but he was also a watercolor painter.He started keeping a sketchbook at age 13 and produced approximately three hundred artworks th… Read More
2023-10-14 15:36
Susie Barstow (1836-1923) was a Hudson River School painter who is now enjoying a small exhibition at the Thomas Cole House and Museum in Catskill, New York.The exhibit includes some of her… Read More
2023-10-13 13:02
We don't get to see many illustrated books translated from Chinese author / illustrators, but one book that made the journey is My Beijing by Nie Jun.It tells four stories about a girl named… Read More
2023-10-12 22:10
This panel at Lightbox Expo should be a lively discussion about picture books and graphic novels. Each of us will share what goes into our creative process when we make long-form illust… Read More
2023-10-11 19:21
Wing's Noodles is a small neon sign on a nondescript building in Montreal, but it represents a major manufacturer of Chinese noodles, egg roll covers, and wonton covers. Read More
2023-10-09 12:31
At my talk on lighting at Lightbox Expo, I'll be covering a lot of useful stuff you probably didn't get in art school. And the talk is not just for concept artists and illustrators. It… Read More
2023-10-08 13:09
A free and open-source model called Llava lets you upload an image and ask it a question about that image. For example, I asked it what's going on in this one:"The image depicts a busy stree… Read More
2023-10-07 19:28
Durango, Colorado, casein, plein air. Hotspot priming helps achieve this light effect Read More
2023-10-06 16:15
Madeleine-Jeanne Lemaire (1845-1928) painted scenes of women in interiors, faeries, and flowers, using oil and watercolor.Madeleine-Jeanne Lemaire, The Faeries, 1908, watercolorAccording to… Read More
2023-10-04 17:23
It's been a while since I posted about AI art, and it's amazing how far it has come.These images appeared on Twitter (X) under the title: "Norman Rockwell Paints Modern America."This one is… Read More
2023-10-03 14:01
I’m interested in the pattern of leaves, which are mostly light against a darker background. I paint around the leaf shapes, then color the leaves with a variety of light yellow greens… Read More
2023-10-02 21:29
Arthur Denison calls a meeting in Waterfall City. At the Round Table, the humans sit on high chairs to be at the level of the dinosaurs.Oil illustration from the book Dinotopia: The World Be… Read More
2023-09-30 15:41
Painting is about continuously controlling your visual attention so that you see only what you need to see at each stage, and tune out the rest.
I also think about (Link to YouTube) about t… Read More
2023-09-29 18:27
I've got a couple appearances coming up at Lightbox Expo in Pasadena next month.We're kicking it off with the "Colossal Characters" event. Here's more info:COLOSSAL CHARACTERSWhat is it?: An… Read More
2023-09-27 12:46
Dante Gabriel Rossetti owned a kangaroo, owl, armadillo, llama, and a toucan. He was known for his love of exotic animals and even expressed an impulsive desire to own an elephant and a pen… Read More
2023-09-26 01:56
We've all been captivated by the black glass rectangle Read More
2023-09-24 16:20
Clifden, Connemara, 8x10” plein-air oil As I finished up, the owner took in the laundry, came by to see how I was doing, and invited me for a cup of tea in her kitchen, which was lit b… Read More
2023-09-23 19:58
Frank Duveneck was an American figure and portrait painter born on October 9, 1848, in Covington, Kentucky. His parents were German immigrants, and his father died when he was a year old. Hi… Read More
2023-09-22 13:32
Audrey Tarrant was a London-born artist who was active as an illustrator in the first half of the twentieth century, painting charming scenes of anthropomorphic animals. She went to the… Read More
2023-09-20 22:03
How many birds do you see in this picture?Cherry Blossoms by Yoshida Tōshi, 1951 Courtesy Masterpieces of Japan Read More
2023-09-19 09:46
Rollo Q asks: "I have a couple of questions about the casein. Roughly how long do you find the paint is wet (moveable rather than liftable) on the surface. Obviously I realise this must… Read More
2023-09-17 13:29
Poppies, painted in casein, will be one of six paintings I’ll have in a botanical art show and sale.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by James Gurney… Read More
2023-09-17 01:05
In this new video on YouTube I use casein paint for a plein-air study of the conservatory at Stonecrop Gardens.
As I demonstrate my drawing and painting process, I explain t… Read More
2023-09-14 22:57
View this post on Instagram A post shared by James Gurney (@jamesgurneyart)
Painting in Public is the topic for my next article in International Artist Magazine (#153… Read More
2023-09-13 13:49
Would giant pterosaurs with saddles make cool toys? I did these marker sketches to explore some of the possibilities.This one-of-a-kind toy prototype was made by Hasbro in 1997, part of a pr… Read More
2023-09-12 13:31
What struck me about the exterior of the Jules Verne Museum was the way the historic building sits on the brow of a steep cliff, with a statue of St. Anne atop a long flight of stairs.S… Read More
2023-09-11 13:25
I was practicing art without a license—until I got this. This Artistic License was made by Rick Allen of Duluth, a master wood engraver and hand printer. Each license has a unique… Read More
2023-09-10 12:27
In this YouTube video, I demonstrate step-by-step process of painting two restorations of the dinosaur Spinosaurus under the direction of Dr. Paul Sereno of the University of Chicago. Dr. S… Read More
2023-09-08 15:09
Studying the exquisite geometry of wildflowers (mullein, milkweed, and goldenrod) brings to mind the 1911 poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox.THE WEEDA weed is but an unloved flower!Go dig, and prun… Read More
2023-09-07 13:38
Fidelia Bridges (1834-1923) started her career using oil paint, but then switched over to watercolor and gouache. Her chromolithograph prints made her the most popular woman artist of… Read More
2023-09-06 16:30
What: An art event where artists drawing or painting on location imagine a giant character visiting Pasadena. The character can come from animation, movies, video games, or comics. The inter… Read More
2023-09-04 15:43
I did this sketch from life of a street performer named Glenn Gazin. He did a mind-reading act in Central Park in New York City, back around 1980.He perfected his act and used it in the nigh… Read More
2023-09-03 16:58
Some call this mixed media because it combines watercolor, gouache, colored pencils and fountain pens. I don't think of it that way. To me it's all about one thing: putting pigment… Read More
2023-09-02 21:29
When I was in junior high school, my older brother Dan gave me a piece of advice that hit me like a thunderbolt: “Draw what you see, not what you think you see.”I had been drawin… Read More
2023-09-01 15:01
What happens inside the mysterious stone monuments of Ebulon? They're hollowed out inside, with a library, kitchen, and privy. It's the headquarters of the skybax riders who practi… Read More
2023-08-31 13:01
Whoever created this meme....thanks! Read More
2023-08-30 20:26
Tiny concept for a big Dinotopia panorama. Read More
2023-08-28 13:57
A sketch easel should achieve the following ten goals:1. Allow you to stand or sit, and to back up from the work.2. Free up your non-painting hand.3. Position the artwork close to your line… Read More
2023-08-27 16:01
"I will overcome every barrier to success." said American landscape painter Susie Barstow (1836-1923).Barstow typically walked over 10 miles a day, and when she got to the end of her w… Read More
2023-08-25 13:11
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's "Theory of Colours" (Zur Farbenlehre) is a book that presents his views on the nature of colors and how they are perceived by humans1This chart is based on his p… Read More
2023-08-24 11:54
The Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts included ateliers for Architecture as well as painting. Photos of the interiors of those schools reveal some of the spirit and style of the school, and the… Read More
2023-08-22 23:36
Newly discovered deep in the southern oceans, the Antarctic Strawberry Feather Star, is a large creature with 20 arms Read More
2023-08-18 12:00
One day, John Constable (English, 1776-1837) was painting outside in the landscape when a field mouse crawled into his pocket.He was so focused on his work that he didn't notice th… Read More
2023-08-17 10:42
In this hour-long YouTube tutorial, veteran realist artist John Stobart (1929-2023) shares his basic painting tips.
He covers the following topics:• Basic geometric forms.&b&hell…Read More
2023-08-16 11:00
I did this portrait of paleontologist Robert Bakker to illustrate an article in a science magazine using oil wash over pencil.Bakker has been a proponent of the hypothesis that dinosaurs we… Read More
2023-08-14 21:49
Yesterday I was painting Trinity Church in Newport, Rhode Island. View this post on Instagram A post shared by James Gurney (@jamesgurneyart)
I got good video captures o… Read More
2023-08-12 20:23
Today we painted a view from Ocean Avenue across Gooseneck Cove to Seafair (formerly 'Terre Mare'), the home of Jay Leno in in Newport, Rhode Island. It's one of the paintings I’l… Read More
2023-08-11 12:10
After a day outside plein-air painting, the artists of the Old Lyme group in Connecticut would gather in Florence Griswold's parlor and play the "Wiggle Game.Wiggle drawings were produced in… Read More
2023-08-10 12:13
The moment when the USS Cumberland was attacked and sunk by the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia is well documented in journals, letters, and published accounts. They note the time of day… Read More
2023-08-09 23:12
The original oil painting "The Sinking of the Cumberland" will be exhibited this weekend at Mariner Gallery in Newport, Rhode Island.The sinking happened at 3:37 p.m. on March 8, 1862 i… Read More
2023-08-08 13:36
An exhibition now at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum portrays the life and career of botanical watercolorist Fidelia Bridges (1834-1923). The museum website says: "Despite inauspici… Read More
2023-08-07 18:26
"Undraped" is a funny name for an art podcast, but "Unvarnished" was already taken. How about "Unframed," "Unleashed," or "Unhinged"?Jeff said he wanted a sketch by me, so I sent him this on… Read More
2023-08-06 12:52
Winifred Horan was trained at the Boston Conservatory, has played classical violin with the Boston Pops, and Irish fiddle with Cherish the Ladies and Solas. So she's heard all the snappy ans… Read More
2023-08-05 12:21
Paul Victor Mathey (1844 —1929) once said: "Each time I paint I throw myself into the water in order to learn swimming." (The quote is also attributed to Edouard Manet.)Felicien Rops i… Read More
2023-08-03 12:43
Here's a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the maquette from the painting of the mountain citadel yesterday.The maquette is made from mat board and foam core board for the buildings. The mountain… Read More
2023-08-02 13:12
Sky galleys are pedal-powered blimps that resupply the high mountain settlements of Dinotopia.In the pure silence above the Tentpole of the Sky you can hear them creaking and whirring as the… Read More
2023-08-01 06:29
Here's a behind-the-scenes view of the studio as I was shooting with a camera flying backwards over a tabletop covered with sketchbooks with hand-painted titles.The dolly tracks above are do… Read More
2023-07-30 23:39
Some years ago I met up with Dirk Zimmer in a diner and sketched his portrait. He regaled me with stories of his early escapades when he was growing up in Hamburg, Germany. Dirk, or "Di… Read More
2023-07-28 11:56
American illustrator and teacher Howard Pyle (1853-1911) said:"A subject must not be chosen because it is picturesque. It should be a general subject and should hold some great truth o… Read More
2023-07-27 16:02
Someone over at the Gammell Lack Institute of American Art is putting out great videos on academic / impressionist painters of the past. There are videos about William Merritt Chase,&nb&hell…Read More
2023-07-25 16:56
Jesse R., a teacher in Virginia and a Masters student in Illustration asked me the following question:"When working in a field like commercialized illustration, where the subject is more or… Read More
2023-07-24 13:22
Musicians on stage typically move around from moment to moment. As they shift their balance, their silhouette changes. That only becomes obvious if I do a series of poses next to each other… Read More
2023-07-22 13:34
A recent study published in the Journal of Vision has shown how motion can alter our perception of color. According to the researchers, moving objects tend to appear more saturated than thei… Read More
2023-07-21 16:17
View this post on Instagram A post shared by James Gurney (@jamesgurneyart) Painting a sleeping dog in the style of a dramatic movie trailer——with a little voi… Read More
2023-07-20 13:41
George Clausen (1852-1944) served as an official war artist during World War I. However, as an older artist, he did not go to the front line but instead recorded activities on the home front… Read More
2023-07-19 14:09
Arthur Herbert Buckland (1870-1927) was a British painter born in 1870. He studied at the Royal College of Art and at the Académie Julian in Paris. He was a painter of portraits… Read More
2023-07-18 15:53
Foliage is all about textures and tropism.The split brush suggests the growth character of each type of tree.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by James Gur… Read More
2023-07-17 11:36
Unlike the jerky, saccadic movement of the eye as it jumps around a scene, smooth pursuit is the active tracking of a moving object in your environment. Cheetah running.&nbs&hell…Read More
2023-07-16 16:41
I have a question for visual artists experimenting with Threads: How is the vibe there different from Instagram and Twitter? Is your strategy for posting different? Are you excited abou… Read More
2023-07-15 23:29
International Artist Magazine celebrates its 25th anniversary by interviewing long-time contributors: Harley Brown, John Lovett, Richard Robinson, and me.Plus, an article on using drawing to… Read More
2023-07-13 15:46
Illustration Magazine has announced that it will end publication. The quarterly print magazine has spotlighted most of the great American illustrators from the 20th century in lavishly illus… Read More
2023-07-12 11:58
In this new YouTube video I paint a blacksmith at his forge and answer questions about strategies for dealing with complexity and detail. Using watercolor and gouache, I… Read More
2023-07-09 12:13
The Abney effect is the name for the apparent shift in a color's hue when white light is added to it.Note how the blue appears to shift to reddish violet as it gets lighter. The apparen… Read More
2023-07-08 10:30
Tiny vista of Waterfall City, oil on board Read More
2023-07-07 11:40
Do you mind if I park my truck in your newsfeed? Read More
2023-07-06 19:53
Do you have a quick question about this sketch of a blacksmith? Ask me at this Speakpipe link and I'll try to answer your question in my next video Read More
2023-07-04 15:37
In the newest YouTube video, I paint the 1952 Wienermobile on location at the Henry Ford Museum using gouache on my homemade sketch easel. Plus: information about specul… Read More
2023-07-03 14:17
In this preparatory sketch of a wedding procession by Carl Haag, the top horizontal line is the eye level. Sketch for 'A Bridal Procession at Damascus,' 1892 by Carl HaasEvery figure is plac… Read More
2023-07-01 13:15
Choose either colored circle and stare at the + for 30 seconds. Then scroll down and look at the + on the corresponding orange circle below.The afterimages of the red and cyan circles float… Read More
2023-06-30 11:36
The "Aging Paradox" suggests that the older we get, the happier we feel. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology found that older people report feeling more satisf… Read More
2023-06-29 12:20
Here's a sketch from 1993, drawn in markers, for "Dinotopia Adventure Parks," a pipe-dream concept for temporary installations in small museums, malls, or theaters.In the lower left is the o… Read More
2023-06-28 11:29
On Twitter, data scientist and neurotechnologist Sterling Crispin asked an interesting question: "Can we use large language models to reach currently unthinkable thoughts?...I don't just mea… Read More
2023-06-27 13:32
When I was a kid growing up in California in the 1960s, the horse-drawn milk wagons were gone, but there were still milk trucks. The delivery from the local dairy would arrive early in… Read More
2023-06-26 22:52
The Hunt effect is a phenomenon in which object colors at low light levels are perceived less saturated compared to those observed at higher light levels.As this illustration demonstrates, a… Read More
2023-06-25 13:30
The down-facing spotlights fill the kitchen with a warm, yellowy light. By comparison, the light entering through the greenhouse window is bluish or cool.Artisanal Lettuce, plein-air casein… Read More
2023-06-24 22:06
This welded sculpture, called "What is It?" is by a blacksmith named Lincoln in Campbell, Missouri.Mr. Lincoln collected iron knick-knacks for over 35 years, welded them together, painted th… Read More
2023-06-21 12:16
The Ponzo Illusion demonstrates the principle that our minds estimate the size of an object based on surrounding background cues.The illusion was first described by Italian psychologist Mari… Read More
2023-06-20 19:33
Here's a practical tip for achieving accuracy: Before starting your drawing or painting, spend a few minutes making sure that your measurements and proportions are right. Measure the sl… Read More
2023-06-19 16:52
The breakthrough idea for developing Dinotopia was creating this relief map, which is painted in oil.As an illustrator for National Geographic, this sort of map came naturally to me. I made… Read More
2023-06-18 14:01
Jan Pieter Veth (1864 - 1925) was a Dutch artist who painted carefully observed realism with a muted palette.Levi de Hartog by Jan VethThis portrait of a Jewish jurist is lit by a soft… Read More
2023-06-17 14:37
Rabbits produce "cecotropes," or night feces that they poop out and then eat so that they can digest it a second time around. Rabbits have a fast-moving digestive system, and by redigesting… Read More
2023-06-16 20:16
Usually colors get cooler as they recede. When you reverse that principle (as sometimes happens in nature), it looks weird and magical.Into the Golden Realm, from Dinotopia: Journey to Chan… Read More
2023-06-15 13:28
In his 1970 book "Painting in Watercolor," John Pellew addresses the question of what the beginning watercolorist should look for when they go to nature to try their hand at landscapes. &hell…Read More
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