James Gurney - Artist Of The Week

I'm always on the lookout for artists who are not only proficient but also have a knack for explaining things well. 

I've run across one such artist recently, and I'm just devouring his material on the web. His name is James Gurney. I just love his style, and ability to explain things in a simple, down-to-earth way. 

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I think we were almost neighbors when we were growing up. We're practically the same age, he was born June 14th, 1958 and I was born in July.  He spent his formative years in Palo Alto in the 1970s. I was right up the road in Redwood City at the same time.  He went off to Berkeley and studied Anthropology, and I went into the Marines. Well, at that point we diverge. 

Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time

James wrote a book with Thomas Kinkade in the 1980s called "The Artist's Guide to Sketching," and he spent much of his career as an illustrator painting over 70 book covers for science fiction and fantasy novels.  I think he'd say that he's most famous for his illustrated Dinotopia series.

He is a prolific and proficient creator and sketch artist.  I love the videos he produces for YouTube that explain his process and how he thinks about things.  His style is laid back, easy-going, and a little bit quirky - that's something I really like. 

Here's one of his more popular videos. He sketches an airplane while waiting for a plane. I liked it and I think you'll like it too. 

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I'm getting a lot from his YouTube videos, but he does sell extended versions of the process. I'm sure I'm going to purchase some of his extended videos at some point to get a bit more into his methods. I love learning new things. 

Here's a list of his web locations if you want to see what he does and how he does it.
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Website
Blog
YouTube
Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest

Now go out and make some ART!