This weblog by Dinotopia creator James Gurney is for illustrators, plein-air painters, sketchers, comic artists, animators, art students, and writers. You'll find practical studio tips, insights into the making of the Dinotopia books, and first-hand reports from art schools and museums.
You can write me at: James Gurney PO Box 693 Rhinebeck, NY 12572
or by email: gurneyjourney (at) gmail.com Sorry, I can't give personal art advice or portfolio reviews. If you can, it's best to ask art questions in the blog comments.
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All images and text are copyright 2020 James Gurney and/or their respective owners. Dinotopia is a registered trademark of James Gurney. For use of text or images in traditional print media or for any commercial licensing rights, please email me for permission.
However, you can quote images or text without asking permission on your educational or non-commercial blog, website, or Facebook page as long as you give me credit and provide a link back. Students and teachers can also quote images or text for their non-commercial school activity. It's also OK to do an artistic copy of my paintings as a study exercise without asking permission.
Childe Hassam (American 1859-1935) painted Columbus Avenue in New York City. He also softens the distant buildings and he groups the scene into two large blocks of tone.
I've been thinking about how to paint a wet street since watching your demo yesterday. I'm feeling that a good approach might be to think of it as a body of water--with all the same sky and tree reflections as you would paint say, in a lake or pond picture, and set objects ON it instead of in it? James, you really captured the feel of a rainy day.
Be grateful for the radical effect of wet surfaces. They reflect objects and thereby create new and strange local symmetries, very similar to a Rorschach test. The new "shapewelds" offer the artist a chance to see with fresh eyes that which has become stale or ordinary. The reflective properties of water also allow the effects of light to overcome local color. Black asphalt roads become gleaming white ribbons. The artist is forced to take notice of all these wonderful transformations for everything is made new.
Jim, that's all so true, and poetically stated. And I had never thought of it exactly that way. Wet streets both unify and simplify.
Scott, yes, the reflective principles are like water surfaces, though you can get sloping wet surfaces that don't reflect vertically. And there's usually puddling vs. rough spots, so it's uneven.
4 comments:
A wonderful rainy day painting. Yours also!
I've been thinking about how to paint a wet street since watching your demo yesterday. I'm feeling that a good approach might be to think of it as a body of water--with all the same sky and tree reflections as you would paint say, in a lake or pond picture, and set objects ON it instead of in it? James, you really captured the feel of a rainy day.
Be grateful for the radical effect of wet surfaces. They reflect objects and thereby create new and strange local symmetries, very similar to a Rorschach test. The new "shapewelds" offer the artist a chance to see with fresh eyes that which has become stale or ordinary. The reflective properties of water also allow the effects of light to overcome local color. Black asphalt roads become gleaming white ribbons. The artist is forced to take notice of all these wonderful transformations for everything is made new.
Jim, that's all so true, and poetically stated. And I had never thought of it exactly that way. Wet streets both unify and simplify.
Scott, yes, the reflective principles are like water surfaces, though you can get sloping wet surfaces that don't reflect vertically. And there's usually puddling vs. rough spots, so it's uneven.
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