tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post7377379836011454020..comments2024-03-18T07:23:32.809-04:00Comments on Gurney Journey: Activating Your ImaginationJames Gurneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01870848001990898499noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-45532643121179741302011-02-24T16:32:40.615-05:002011-02-24T16:32:40.615-05:00I'm glad someone linked to your article here, ...I'm glad someone linked to your article here, Mr. Gurney. I struggle with worry when I need to do practice, but then I lose my passion for using my imagination. When I DO make a scene it can sometimes be so stiff!<br /><br />I'm totally happy to read your advice because I feel assured to use some time and maybe work on improving my memory again. Remembering a face or a figure can be often tough for me, but practicing some of the techniques may just help me take the risks and try!Jazzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05776518319841978383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-29385496951884987092011-02-16T14:18:15.460-05:002011-02-16T14:18:15.460-05:00its best to train your imagination to see pictures...its best to train your imagination to see pictures.. read a daily book<br /> or a short story.. it depends on what kind of artist you are.. some illustrators need references in front of them to begin..<br /> however a good knowledge of books that are stimulators is a goodstart<br />i read charles dickens but any book that stimulates you to make marks on paper is a good book..<br /> i draw ships and sea, ..eyes ,noses, heads, faces, body, and im off.. taking your pencil for walk..<br /><br /> also listen to musik can create pictures in your head ..beethoven makes me think of napoleon 18th-19th century europe and ladies dresses.. mendelsohn's musik for a midsummer nights dream is a real image maker..also an oldie but goody is have notebook by the bed you can sometimes catch a dream.. or if your on a tight deadline ..a nice nightmareDavid Cuzik Matysiakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18245205962920048573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-27112481739510403392011-02-11T20:01:56.643-05:002011-02-11T20:01:56.643-05:00This is a great point to bring up!
And strangely e...This is a great point to bring up!<br />And strangely enough, just the other day I decided to "allow" myself to do some drawing totally from my imagination. The results were pretty cool, and I believe show the benefits of all the drawing from life and reference images I have been doing otherwise. As if I have increased my internal inventory of references and conceptions of structure, light, texture, etc.John Fleckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-28090059637723690042011-02-08T19:48:23.296-05:002011-02-08T19:48:23.296-05:00Thanks for the link on Howard Pyle, I look forward...Thanks for the link on Howard Pyle, I look forward to discovering much from reading the articles here. Cheers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-19225590472850892492011-02-08T12:16:36.746-05:002011-02-08T12:16:36.746-05:00Greg, I've been collecting all sorts of quotes...Greg, I've been collecting all sorts of quotes on Pyle, from early articles and books, and from unpublished sources. A great source for Pyleana is Ian Schoenherr's "Howard Pyle" blog: http://howardpyle.blogspot.com/James Gurneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01870848001990898499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-40389291060934358772011-02-08T07:31:49.714-05:002011-02-08T07:31:49.714-05:00Great inspiration, just a question James, where ar...Great inspiration, just a question James, where are you reading all of those wonderful Howard Pyle quotes? Are they from a book or from a collection of his essays or something? Keep up the great work. Cheers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-82206993775923327402011-02-07T21:54:01.365-05:002011-02-07T21:54:01.365-05:00Thank you so much for posting this! I've been ...Thank you so much for posting this! I've been having a lot of the same thoughts lately, and need to be reminded of the balance between imagination and references.<br />(although, my problem lately has been patience)Lydia Burrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05300233363206161343noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-38330214021737259522011-02-07T15:27:55.961-05:002011-02-07T15:27:55.961-05:00What about Burne Hogarth's books? Where do th...What about Burne Hogarth's books? Where do they fall in the arena of drawing human figures from imagination?Joseph Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01848495879457412107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-68956195770868715272011-02-07T13:31:54.387-05:002011-02-07T13:31:54.387-05:00Love the advice. I'm currently watching David ...Love the advice. I'm currently watching David Finch's Figure Drawing DVD and it is full of mannequin drawing. He does it so effortlessly. He recommends being able to do it from memory in any position.<br /><br />http://www.amazon.com/Dynamic-Figure-Drawing-David-Finch/dp/B003VY5ZPC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1297103310&sr=8-1PatternGhosthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10763094796840833777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-2894793426448636172011-02-07T12:14:52.813-05:002011-02-07T12:14:52.813-05:00That's really good advice.That's really good advice.David Glennhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00220236704236960910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-5059969947239787572011-02-07T10:28:14.814-05:002011-02-07T10:28:14.814-05:00Great advice.
One thing I would add is that any ar...Great advice.<br />One thing I would add is that any art student should work on sketching from moving models/targets as wel as static ones, to learn unbalanced poses and how to make motion look realistic - something sadly often forgotten in a world where most people work from photo references. There is no good replacement for actual knowledge of how a body in motion works.jokergirl@wererabbitshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00201963556604971582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-64856427201744361422011-02-07T08:17:23.004-05:002011-02-07T08:17:23.004-05:00Excellent, this is a really inspiring post and cle...Excellent, this is a really inspiring post and cleared all the doubt in my mind, thank you so much!Gabrielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17476245934915902413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-82664280665449799062011-02-07T07:12:32.568-05:002011-02-07T07:12:32.568-05:00Most helpful and exactly the problem I just stumbl...Most helpful and exactly the problem I just stumbled upon! Thanks a lot James!!Christian Schlierkamphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14486181495859389834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-19064775771622721932011-02-07T07:03:25.048-05:002011-02-07T07:03:25.048-05:00Thank's James ! Was suffering the same proble...Thank's James ! Was suffering the same problem for me, your post was very helpful.<br />Before I even reference, I'll focus on exploring the images to fit in my spirit.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02305778546229134870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-59040876161634788872011-02-07T06:02:43.146-05:002011-02-07T06:02:43.146-05:00What a generous and thoughtful response. Thank you...What a generous and thoughtful response. Thank you as always. I particularly thought that the Pyle advice was useful; about knowing how a face looks or where the eye is placed. I suspect it is a matter of looking inward for reference rather than outward.Libby Fifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13532162740012986996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-28494632178392560812011-02-07T04:42:48.362-05:002011-02-07T04:42:48.362-05:00Thank you for an awesomely insightful post! In my ...Thank you for an awesomely insightful post! In my experience, there is a lot of information available regarding technical methods and materials, but such accounts regarding *mental* skills and methods in art are hard to come by, even though they go to the heart of the matter. I would love to hear more of your (and anyone's) thoughts on these subjects.Petr Moreshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15732837782055254155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-68676835586739036422011-02-07T03:15:37.971-05:002011-02-07T03:15:37.971-05:00I think this is were people like I, who grew up dr...I think this is were people like I, who grew up drawing comics (or trying to :-) ), have an advantage. <br /><br />When I drew in my childhood, it was all out of my imagination, because I wanted my figures to do poses I did not have reference pictures for.<br /><br />What I sometimes do to train the memory and my imaginative drawing: having a quick look at a reference picture, and then laying it aside until the drawing is finished. When drawing, I fill up the holes on my paper or in my memory with my fantasy or my knowledge of anatomy. <br />Often the result is an interesting variation on the reference picture, but that's what makes it so interesting.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09055371808132473950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-29325160099064397812011-02-07T02:17:50.383-05:002011-02-07T02:17:50.383-05:00What a fantastic post, thank you so much James! As...What a fantastic post, thank you so much James! As an artist who relies heavily on nature and the beautiful patterns and colours that it provides in it's animals and plants, I've become stuck in the 'must always look at reference' trap, and become frustrated when my drawings don't do justice to what I've referenced. <br />This has inspired me to start making things up again...it's as if I've forgotten how fun it can be!! Thanks :DLaurenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14725871260104423004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-38462496800287832502011-02-06T22:17:47.553-05:002011-02-06T22:17:47.553-05:00I really like this post of yours, you are so gener...I really like this post of yours, you are so generous with your good advice.Austin Maloneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08105045447866769610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-35668348200771008772011-02-06T21:59:37.801-05:002011-02-06T21:59:37.801-05:00Inspiring! Thanks a lot, James. :)Inspiring! Thanks a lot, James. :)Charles Santosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04972300863816997811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-81778203927304112472011-02-06T20:52:06.914-05:002011-02-06T20:52:06.914-05:00For those who want to know more about memory drawi...For those who want to know more about memory drawing fascinating article on Lecoq's memory drawing - students were so astute they could draw a classical statue from memory whistler and rodin were both lecoq students:<br />http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/miscellaneous-retail-miscellaneous-shopping/4424231-1.html<br /><br />Lecoq's book:<br />http://www.archive.org/details/TheTrainingOfTheMemoryInArtAndTheEducationOfTheArtistMy Pen Namehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10163003696435139513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-4081483094341602872011-02-06T20:49:58.039-05:002011-02-06T20:49:58.039-05:00Great advice James. One of the biggest problems I ...Great advice James. One of the biggest problems I face with students is this same imagination block you describe. Many somehow cannot get past this to get ANYTHING out on paper. I feel this same block at times myself and it can be tough to push through. I find that the simple act of drawing (even if it's not the problem you are struggling with) loosens me up and lets me break though the block. I hardly ever begin a project working straight from photos or a model. I like to draw it out as much as possible and then shoot the models. That way I know what I want as well as what I still need.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05975643397065262440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-791503895747379472011-02-06T17:31:39.738-05:002011-02-06T17:31:39.738-05:00Thanks so much, Mr. Gurney. This was a great thing...Thanks so much, Mr. Gurney. This was a great thing to read today. We're all very fortunate you're so generous with your experience and thoughts.Colin Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00743026435114530362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-61605273834607836522011-02-06T17:05:25.750-05:002011-02-06T17:05:25.750-05:00Once again very informing, exciting and inspiring ...Once again very informing, exciting and inspiring advice. I love this blog.Dave Lebowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03367655752088520869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-68063331541846068482011-02-06T16:29:01.642-05:002011-02-06T16:29:01.642-05:00Excellent ideas! Thank you, James.Excellent ideas! Thank you, James.Studio at the Farmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02900305750995808779noreply@blogger.com