Saturday, October 20, 2012

Painting the La Fayette Statue


(Link to video) Here's a super quick demo of a gouache painting I did a couple of days ago.


21 comments:

Tom Hart said...

Yippee! What a great way to start my weekend, with a Gurney Demo! I'll enjoy replaying this in a second.

Thanks so much. (My only wish would be for these videos to be longer. There's so much to learn by watching you!)

Vincent Boyer said...

Very interesting ! thanks for sharing this !

Carol said...

Someplace between :41 and :54 lies the skill difference between you and me :)

Thanks for a great video!

James Gurney said...

Thanks, everybody. Oops, by the way, I meant to say La Fayette, not La Salle.

Tom, I've been trying to get more complete and longer coverage on some other sketches. These just connect with the process at a few points, I know.

Anonymous said...

Helpful, fun and INSPIRING to see you at work, thanks! Well done! - mp

Greathouse said...

Another great video and a great way to start the weekend. I am curious when you master time travel though, since the video happens in eight days :). You put the 28 of October. Thanks again and have a good one.

Keith Parker said...

It really amazes me how you are so comfortable using diferent media. Not many people use gouache anymore.

You talk about perspective a little on the video, but it looks like you are basically "winging it" (I diddnt see any points for instance). Is that right?

jeff jordan said...

I loved seeing this, Jim. I've been painting with gouache since April, and really enjoying it. Finding books about gouache is difficult, so it's nice to get a clue watching how you do it.

Rich said...

Such a brief video, beautiful result! - I'm repeatedly looking at it, which might make up for the shortness.

"Repetition is the mother of all learning", they say.

Greathouse said...

I just played around with a new water travel brush. It's a little better then the clear blue handel ones. It's easier to load with water (Turn the end to have water come in our out.) With this you can control the flow of water. It's about 14 bucks on amazon (9.00 + shipping). Thought you might be interested http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004D9YVIG/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

Also, a friend showed me this travel watercolor set he got off of jet pens. It's only fifteen bucks, great pigment and comes with a permeant white so you can play with some gouache as well.

http://www.jetpens.com/Kuretake-Japanese-Gansai-Watercolor-Palette-12-Traditional-Color-Set/pd/9316

Pedro Guerra said...

That's really a nice painting but I think it could show more about the process.. Because for me I see something like: http://bakedideas.tumblr.com/post/2684292583/ben-casnocha-the-blog-how-to-draw-an-owl

Unknown said...

Thanks, James!

Extremely helpful to see you paint with gouache. I assume the wash at the beginning was also gouache? Just wondering because I've seen a few artists do the larger areas with watercolor then go back in with gouache for the details.

Also, is there any way to do something like glazing with gouache? The best I've come up with is lightly going over areas I want to darken with colored pencils. Been thinking a light dry-brushing with the gouache might work as well.

Thanks again!

JeanTraveling said...

Thanks for the great video. I agree with Tom and all the others who said that a longer one would be great.

I have a question. You called this a painting at one point and a sketch at another.

What is the difference between a sketch and a painting. This is a discussion my husband and I have fairly often:-)

Thanks,
Jean S

Alhaitham Jassar said...

You know Mr.Gurney, since I was a teenager I always wondered how on earth you were able to finish so many paintings (for Dinotopia) without spending years and years of work. Seeing your videos, and seeing how fast you work, has solved the mystery!

Frankly it does feel weird to watch the guy who made one of my favorite books in action.

James Gurney said...

Keith, right, definitely winging the perspective. I should probably do a video explaining more about that one topic.

I know there were a lot of skipped steps and compressed time. Will try to do a longer video to fill in the gaps.

Greathouse, thanks for those links. Appreciate the chance to learn about new materials. And Oops, you're right about the date. My number brain turns off when I'm painting.

Michael, the first washes were transparent watercolor. Glazing in gouache doesn't work so well because the surface would be disturbed by anything wet overlaid. You might try acrylic gouache which from what I hear has a more water resistant surface when dry.

Jean, let me deal with your interesting question as a post, because I think it invites discussion from the group mind.

Scott Ruthven said...

Beautiful painting James. Thanks for the video!
Scott

Robb said...

Thanks as always for the great post. I'd love to see your travel gouache setup if you'd be willing to share! I'm always wondering if I should add it to my watercolor setup, or create a separate kit for it or how the best way to incorporate it into my bag would be to give myself options.
Thanks again, Mr. Gurney!

Gloria Callahan, CPSA said...

Yes, yes, Please do more on how you sketch with gouache, I've also used it with w/c but really can't seem to get the results anywhere near this and especially when sketching/plein aire painting - no matter what you call it!

Dave Lebow said...

really great sketch, I really love to see you painting in gouache. Very informative video , thanks again.

John Fleck said...

James, are you mostly using white gouache that you mix with the watercolor pigment?

James Gurney said...

John, In this case I'm using about four or five tubes of gouache, though sometimes I just use white gouache with the transparent watercolor.