Quick concept sketch in oil, tossing strokes around like a handful of confetti.
Thursday, February 25, 2021
Wednesday, February 24, 2021
Gasoline Alley Explores Comic Abstractions
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Dinotopia Exhibitions
MUSEUM SHOW LIST (from recent back to 1992)
—
Arkell Museum, Canajoharie, NY
The New Hampshire Institute of Art, Manchester, NH
The Lyman Allyn Art Museum, New London, CT
The Alden Dow Museum of Science and Art, Midland, MI
Palazzo Ducale, Lucca Comics & Games, Italy
Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL
Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE
Festival International de Science-Fiction De Nantes, France
Centre for Life, Newcastle, UK
Maison d’Ailleurs, Yverdon, Switzerland
Oshkosh Public Museum, Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, MA
The Alden Dow Museum of Science and Art, Midland, Michigan.
Oshkosh Public Museum, Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Palais Granvelle, Besançon, France
Maison d’Ailleurs, Yverdon, Switzerland
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC
Carnegie Public Museum, Three Rivers, Michigan
Richmond Children’s Museum, Richmond, Virginia
Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Ohio
Tiffany Windows, Tiffany & Co. Jewelers, Fifth Ave, NYC
Buffalo Museum of Science, Royal Tyrell Museum, Drumheller, Alberta, New Mexico Museum of Natural History.
Monday, February 22, 2021
Cover for 'Never the Twain'
Sunday, February 21, 2021
Old Tow Truck
Friday, February 19, 2021
Art Mission to Mars
Thursday, February 18, 2021
H.M. Bateman's "The Man Who..." Illustrations
Henry Mayo Bateman (British 1887-1980) created a popular series of comic illustrations that show a man doing something socially inept and suffering the consequences.
Or to "The man who asked for a second helping at a city company dinner."
Wednesday, February 17, 2021
Alpine Scene by E.T. Compton
Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Painting the Campfire
As William Shakespeare said, "Fire that's closest kept burns most of all."
Smooth the rescue husky chews on a deer's leg bone that he found deeper in the forest.
Monday, February 15, 2021
Quadriga
A notable feature of the State Capitol in Saint Paul, Minnesota is a gilded statue of a chariot pulled by four horses.
The four horses represent the classical elements of water, fire, air, and earth. The female figures standing among the horses represent agriculture and industry.
The male charioteer represents prosperity. Added together, they represent civilization. The 1906 group called "Progress of the State" was sculpted by Daniel Chester French and Edward Clark Potter.This arrangement of sculptural elements goes back to ancient Rome and is known as a quadriga. They usually appear on triumphal arches. In ancient mythology, the chariots of the gods were in the quadriga configuration, with four horses abreast. The sculpted horses on St. Mark's in Venice were from a Byzantine group.
Quadrigas were raced in the ancient Olympic Games, as demonstrated in the 1959 movie 'Ben Hur.'
----
Wikipedia on Progress of the State and Quadriga
Sunday, February 14, 2021
Skin Tones in Sunlight

Saturday, February 13, 2021
Augmented Reality from The Met Museum
Met Museum blog says: "What would a van Gogh look like on your bedroom wall? How about showing off an iconic Taíno sculpture in your living room? Or maybe try out a Boccioni sculpture in your backyard? Using these effects, you can do that and more—no matter where you are in the world.
Friday, February 12, 2021
How One Art School Adjusted to the Pandemic
Shutdowns and social distancing have presented real challenges to brick-and-mortar art schools. Anthony Walsh, founder of the Montreal-based concept art academy called Syn Studio, was kind enough to answer some of my questions about how they have adapted.
I began speaking with the students and discovered that many of them wanted to become professional concept artists and illustrators but that they couldn’t find any affordable and high quality training options in Canada despite the high concentration of entertainment industry companies here. So I set out a vision for Syn Studio to provide the highest value for money training available not just in Canada but anywhere on the planet. I wanted Syn Studio to become the go-to Concept Art School for students who don’t have an unlimited budget but want high quality education. I visited schools and consulted with experts from all around the world, most notably Scott Robertson who founded the Entertainment Design program at Art Center. And in 2020, Syn Studio was ranked The #1 Concept Art and Illustration school worldwide by The Rookies.
What classroom space did you occupy at the beginning and how many students did you have back then?
What was your initial response to the Covid-19 pandemic?
What do your teachers and students miss most about being together in a classroom or studio?
How has the pandemic affected your school's income?
How do you see the pandemic changing your school, for better or worse?
------
For more information, please visit the website of Syn Studio Concept Art School.
Thursday, February 11, 2021
How do you choose limited-palette colors?
A two-color-plus-white palette has some advantages:
1. It's extremely fast to set it up and get it running.
2. It's good for beginners because it reduces your choices to light or dark and warm or cool.
3. It puts you into realms of color that you would never think of if you had all the color choices available.
Wednesday, February 10, 2021
Shishkin's Sketch vs. Finish
A popular meme these days is "sketch vs. finish." Late last year I did a sketch/finish comparison of the Russian landscape painter Ivan Shishkin (1832-1898).
Here's another set of comparisons, starting with a preliminary sketch in pencil where he explores the overall composition.
A road leads back through fenced pastures to a gate. In the distance is a turn in the Kama River.
Shishkin used this basic idea in a night scene, apparently drawn in charcoal with gouache.
----
Ivan Shishkin on WikiArt
Previously: Ivan Shishkin's comments about photo reference
The classic book on Shishkin is this Russian edition from the 1980s.
My Public Facebook page
GurneyJourney on Pinterest
JamesGurney Art on Instagram
@GurneyJourney on Twitter
Tuesday, February 9, 2021
Computer-Generated Empty Spaces
These algorithmically-generated spaces can be endless stairways or maze-like rooms, and they're often used in video games.
Monday, February 8, 2021
Does Sketching Cure Inattentional Blindness?
I did a post about inattentional blindness back in 2015, and there I shared the famous video of the guy in a gorilla suit walking through two teams of people passing a ball back and forth.
Sunday, February 7, 2021
White Marmorean Flock
Saturday, February 6, 2021
Gaston La Touche
Book: Gaston la Touche
Wikipedia on Gaston la Touche
Online biography at Gastonlatouche.com