ImagineFX on Sketching Buildings

The new ImagineFX magazine is on the newsstands in Britain, and soon will be in the States. It has an article that I wrote on sketching architecture on location.

Since ImagineFX specializes in fantasy, science fiction, and concept art, I emphasized how on-the-spot work fits into my imaginative painting, and how I sometimes give a surrealistic twist to what I observe.

The article has quite a few images that haven't been published before, and I hope it will be inspiring both to digital and traditional artists, whether you do fantasy or not.

The magazine includes work by the 2011 Rising Stars winners, Marta Nael, Jean-Sebastien Rossbach, David Gaillet, Eric Deschamps. And one more extra: The magazine comes with a free DVD with one of my painting videos on it. By the way, when you're at the bookstore or newsstand, look for the magazine in the computer section, not in the art section.
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ImagineFX magazine
Video produced by IFX about the entire issue,

Savannah Sketchers

Blog reader Cale says: "If you have time to do any watercolor sketches please post them. I'd love to see your rendition of Savannah, also I have questions on pushing value range in wc!"

Here you go, Cale!

Jeanette and I walked through Forsyth Park and saw the mermen fountain, and I also sketched the Daniel Chester French statue in Chippewa Square. Then we set up on the corner of Bull Street and West Park Alley.

The sun was setting just to the left of the alley. As far as pushing values, I saved darkest and lightest accents to the end. There are some white, blue, and brown watercolor-pencil touches, and a few gouache touches here and there.

Hope to see you today at 5:00 at the SCAD Museum of Art Theater.

Technique for Atmospheric Maquettes

How do you suppose this landscape image was created?


Kim Keever sculpts miniature scenes, immerses them in a 200 gallon tank, disperses pigment in the water, and lights them with colored lights.
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Thanks, Stephen Henderson-Grady.
From DesignBoom.
Kim Keever's Website

SCAD Lecture Tomorrow

Looking forward to spending a full day tomorrow at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD Savannah). Here's more.

Art Crit Generator

If you're in need of a pretentious sounding art critique, try the Instant Art Critique Phrase Generator." 

It produces whoppers like, "With regard to the issue of content, the mechanical mark-making of the spatial relationships verges on codifying the essentially transitional quality." 

All you do is type in five random numbers. For example, "54321" yields: "Although I am not a painter, I think that the reductive quality of the spatial relationships contextualize a participation in the critical dialogue of the 90s."

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Instant Art Critique Phrase Generator." 

From BoingBoing. Art by Moebius 

Previously on GurneyJourney: Artist Statement Generator

Career Connections

On Wednesday I gave an illustrated lecture at Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland.


The topic was "imaginative realism," and I use the term to include not just fantasy or science fiction art, but any kind of picture-making that visualizes something that can't be observed directly.

That imaginary scene could come from from history, paleontology, archaeology, mythology, or from a movie screenplay.

Since the theme was "Careers in the Visual Arts," I ended the talk the with some suggestions for annual association meetings or conventions that students might try to attend. At these gatherings you can meet many of the top people in the field and learn techniques and business insights.

I promised I'd give you the list, so here it is:

1. Guild of Natural Science Illustrators (GNSI)

2. Association of Medical Illustrators (AMI)

3. American Society of Marine Artists (ASMA)

4. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP)

5. American Society of Architectural Illustrators (ASAI)

6. Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) 

7. Fantasy art conventions or masterclasses (Spectrum Live, Illuxcon, IMC)

8. Animation (CTN Animation Expo)

Each group varies with respect to rules for membership and attendance, but most of them go out of their way to reach out to students interested in breaking into the field. 

Bracht Mountainscape

Here’s a dramatic landscape called "The Shores of Oblivion" by Eugene Bracht (1842-1921). The lighting makes the shot here, but what’s especially noteworthy is what he did with the chiaroscuro. 

 

The obvious approach would have been to set the illuminated tops against a dark sky, and to place a lighter sky behind the shadowed bases, using counterchange.

Instead he did the opposite, placing light-against-light and dark-against-dark. One might think this would make the scene confusing or harder to read. But what it does is lend “bigness” to the picture, and draw attention to the shadow edge. And somehow it lends a sense of mysterious, foreboding gloom to the distant, dark reaches of space near the horizon.

Teaching Art in Malawi

Freelance illustrator Jessica Casner sent me this inspiring email:

"My name is Jessica Casner, and I recently traveled to Malawi for two months to teach the process of storyboarding and illustration to a wonderful group of students. My professor, Ron Mazellan, said that you would be encouraged to know that I left "Imaginative Realism" and "Color and Light" with the teachers due to the fact that their library had insufficient examples on understanding art and the process of its making."

 

"The Chichewa word for car is "gallimoto", and needless to say there were many shrieks of delight as they understood that some "gallimotos" could fly. Please know that the teachers and students are overjoyed to be able to learn even after I have left, and that you have given them hope and inspiration to create beyond our understanding."

Thanks, Jessica! I have a special feeling for your gift because my own interest in becoming an artist came from art instruction books I found when I was young. 

If anyone else would like to share my books in a special teaching setting, or with their local community center, teen hangout, retirement home, or hobby group, you can order directly from me, and I would be happy to sign it specially for your group.  

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JamesGurney.com online bookstore

Jessica Casner's website

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New Horse-like Robot

(Video link) Boston Dynamics has introduced a new walking vehicle that is designed to carry heavy payloads through rough terrain. Powered by an internal combustion engine, it can stand up and navigate through heavy brush. The head is packed with terrain sensors that allow it to follow a person walking in front of it.

Boston Dynamics

Ludgate’s strutter models

Dinotopia enthusiast Glenn Ludgate of Australia has been working for a while now on a whole fleet of Dinotopian strutters.

These maquettes are all scratch built, and are based on the biologically based vehicles that appear in Dinotopia: The World Beneath.

Go Glenn!

Many of my own original reference maquettes will be exhibited at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum show, which opens September 22.