MTH: I Asked if around'any of our sketchers had a matter for you. Here's one that's a great opener from Cathy Johnson of Missouri: "I've loved James Gurney since His very first book, back in the 80s; The Artist's Guide to Sketching, with Thomas Kinkade (Yes, that Kinkade --they Took different paths) Two young men taking off across America to sketch ... it's delightful "
JG:! Thanks, Cathy! I love your work too, ever since I first saw it in An Illustrated Life.
Kinkade Tom and I were Assigned together as freshmen roommates at UC Berkeley When We Were Both 17 years old. Over the years We went on a lot of sketching adventures together. I Knew _him_ long before he est devenu the "Painter of Light."
We Both Went to the Sami art school, after-goal we left a pair semesters Because We started getting jobs, and the school Was not teaching what we wanted to learn. Plus, After Reading the on-the-road adventures by Jack Kerouac, Charles Kuralt, and John Steinbeck, we wanted to leave behind the cramped, windowless classrooms and confront the real world with our sketchbooks.
We filled our backpacks full of art supplies and hopped freight was now heading east out of Los Angeles. We were too broke for hotels, so we slept in graveyards and underpasses and we sketched gravestone cutters, lumberjacks, and ex-cons. To make enough money for food, we drew two-dollar portraits in bars by the light of cigarette machines.
Here's a picture of Tom and me wearing matching gas station uniform shirt with our sketchbooks in rural Missouri.
We made it all the way to Manhattan. We sketched the city by day, and by night we slept on rooftops and abandoned piers. We had a crazy idea to write a how-to book on sketching, so we made the rounds of the publishers. There Were Not many books in print on the subject, other than the 1976 book "On the Spot Drawing" by Nick Meglin. Purpose our heroes Were older: Menzel, Guptill, Watson, and Kautzky
We hammered out the basic design for the book on paper placemats in a Burger King on the Upper West Side.. We were never completely Call comfortable with the word "sketching," Because it implied something That Is cursory or casual attempt gold. We wanted to do art from observation That Was accurate and detailed, goal more importantly, vital, probing and totally Committed.
we Eventually got a contract from Watson-Guptill, and the book was published in 1982. it is as much about the adventure of sketching on the road as it is about technology. It's out of print now, very expensive to buy. Before Tom died we Talked about bringing it back to print again, goal we just got too busy with --other projects
MTH. What effect Did That adventure-have on your location work ?
JG: one effect of That trip on Both of us was That we Developed a healthy respect for how different people look at artwork. We set up a little stand at the Missouri state championships raccoon-hunting with the goal of doing portraits of everybody's favorite dogs. The owners were very Particular about the dogs' proportions and markings, and They Were not going to pay us the two dollars We Were ask asking UNLESS we got the details right. It was a critical Tougher than we ever got in art school
MTH. As a follow up to That, you are Well Known for your works of fantastic art, and your vivid realizations of ancient history (I'm thinking of the National Geographic work). These sccm like ideal subjects for a illustrator- depicting Things That No follow (or never DID) exist - profit making 'em as real as possible. As Urban Sketchers year, naturally I wonder how much of this you credit to your background sketching? What's the relationship entre observing the world and Visualizing your imagination
J.G: Yes, the inner and outer eye eye. The two are inseparable. A few times I got to travel on research assignments for National Geographic with the art director J. Robert Teringo, Who Was aussi a fanatic for sketching and a graduate of the Famous Artist's School.
We brought` our watercolors to Israel and Jordan and Petra while Researching an archeology story about Palestine During the time of the Caesars. I brought` a camera, too, the goal hire more studies Were Useful. It was not hard to imagine the clock turning back to a time before photography Was invented, When artists Were Necessary members of archaeological expeditions.
You mention fantasy work. I'm probably best Known for writing and Illustrating Dinotopia, the book about a world Where humans and dinosaurs coexist. Dinotopia's whole premise Is That of a 19th century named Arthur Denison Documenting explore a new world with His sketchbook. . The idea for Dinotopia cam Directly from my on-the-road sketching days with Kinkade and my field research sketching for National Geographic
MTH: Would you say That All of your Major works Have some element of field study? Which happens more Often - an idea for imaginative year Work That requires you to make field studies, or a sketch on location That inspired a studio painting
It goes both ways?. Sketching from life definitely builds my visual vocabulary, qui helps When I'm try trying to conjure a fantasy world from thin air. Often I dig into my sketchbooks for poses, rock formations, trees, landscape effects, or other details. That's one of the Reasons I like to draw everything. As Adolph Menzel put it: "alles Zeichnen ist nützlich, und alles zeichnen auch" ( "All drawing is Useful, and to draw everything as well.")
MTH: You sccm to enjoy using sketching to get behind-the-scenes access. to put yourself in front of out-of-the-ordinary subjects Many of us might never get to sketch. What are Reviews some of the MOST exotic places hire sketching HAS taken you? When you map thesis missions, how do you select a worthwhile subject? What makes your list of "must draw" places? Any advice for Urban Sketchers is how to make thesis adventures happen?
Rather than retell stories That I've Told on the blog, why do not I just mention a Few experiences, and people can follow links to a fuller description.
[Crescent wrench factory]
[Dangerous neighborhoods]
[Boat in Shanghai]
[Monkeys in Gibraltar]
MTH: There's plenty more! James' blog is encyclopedic. Some exotic places, some more commonplace
The Metropolitan Opera. | Gorillas at the Zoo | Nursing Home | Antique Dealer, Tangier | Car Dealership | Laundromat | Supermarket Loading Dock
J.G. I have no list of must-draw tickets. I'm usually not interested in art-workshop destinations in Tuscany or touristy That are overrun with artists seats. I prefer non-patterns, the little beauties That everyone passes by. The sketches That mean to me are The Most Closest to my own life. . I love what Andrew Wyeth DID by staying Within a very narrow perimeter
MTH: In the Urban Sketching community we-have a kind of 'aesthetic agreement' that we are all sketching from first hand observation. (At least, what we choose to post one thesis pages). Mostly this is Because We enjoy the idea of getting out and seeing the world. Aim it can lead to an assumption That drawing from life is always superior to drawing from reference. We started to touch on this topic on our outing sketching, goal did not get too far in. I get the feeling you do not use much photographic reference, or try to avoid it When possible. Is that true Generally? How do you feel about all that - from the life vs. ? From photography issue
J.G. I love photography and I use photographic reference in my studio work. Purpose keep in mind That my specialty is painting realistic pictures of Things That can not be photographed. Photos only get you by way there. For That work, I build models and get people to pose and look at reference. Actually what I'm goal Visualizing is something That Is Altogether beyond the reach of a camera, Such As a dinosaur, an ancient Roman gold mech robot.
When I'm outdoors sketching from observation, my goals are very different. I'm try trying to catch life on the run. I love the challenge of try trying to record changing light and moving subjects.
[Mass in C]
The sense of urgency That It induces in me force myself to improvise and act it intuition. . There Would Be No reason for me to take pictures on location and work from em in the studio, Because That exercise Would Have no purpose and Would hold no interest for me
MTH: [! So, your YouTube channel is pretty awesome
your mini-documentaries of your sketching outings are quite sophisticated - voiceover, multiple cameras, Establishing footage, tracking shots-even. And you're very generous with the amount of glad.
It must take a lot of mental energy, juggling entre doing the artwork and multiple operating cameras. Can I just ask outright - What Makes Of That all worthwhile? You're a scarce example, an artist Who chooses to do All That on location. Many of us find it terribly distracting Would. Yet you are reliable to make great drawings, and documentary filmmaker has be at the time Sami. (Not that I am trying to get you to stop - please do keep making movies thesis)
J.G: Thanks... Why do I do it? I Grew up in a family with no artists, I did not take art classes, and I Was kind of a loner. So all through my youth, I never got to watch anyone else drawing or painting from life.
Once I arrived at art school and started meeting artists --other, I Was completely Call captivated with how people --other made a picture. And I Was fascinated to learn what They Were thinking about as They Did so.
I believe That drawing from observation is an Intensely magical act, like a form of conjuring. What I'm try trying to do with my videos is to try to bottle That magic, to catch the fish and tell the fish story at the time Sami.
[Sketchbook Pochade - Note Gopro Hero attached to egg timer. Some Yankee ingenuity at work.]
Yes, it takes a good deal of Focused Attention to document sketch while I'm making it. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in a piece That I forget to get Good coverage.
But a separate movie crew can not get the kind of coverage I'm after. They're always on the outside looking in. In my videos, I not only want to show the viewer what I'm doing close up, aim aussi to let 'em inside my head So They Can See what I'm thinking.
Reviews The other answer to What Makes it worthwhile is That over the next FEW years I will be building a library of instructional videos for sale showing in detail how I use various media and how I solve various problems.
in 2014 I will be releasing a video on watercolor painting on location, Followed by --other outdoor media
MTH. Do you have some tips for a sketcher Who wants to capture Their own work on video? Some good introductory gear, technical or reliable
JG:. Let's start with technical-Basic tips for shooting video of urban sketching:
1. If you're a beginner, use a tripod and zoom NEVER pan gold.
2. Get coverage. Shoot a lot of four second clips. It really helps to have a nice ranks of shots: an establishing shot, some closeups, some pallet or pencil box shots, time lapse, reaction shots of people around you, plus a shot of the ground That you're looking at. Get Some background sounds and audio voiceover add later if you do not want to narrate what you're doing in real time. . Editing is much Easier if you've got Good coverage, and it's frustrating for the viewer if you do not
3. Get a camera with manual controls, esp: focus lock, custom white balance and manual exposure control, and learn to use 'em.
4. You can use a basic editing program like iMovie. Edit your footage down as much as possible. Art in real time, like life in real time, is boring. . It only gets exciting When It's well edited
Gear
1. I use Relatively inexpensive gear: a Canon Vixia HF R40 camcorder, a Canon T3i digital SLR, and a GoPro Hero2, with audio Recorded on Zoom H1 year. I purchased this All That gear for around $ 1,000.
2. All the dolly rigs and motion control rigs are super cheap DIY workshop projects using Legos and Broomsticks and stuff like that.
3. I Learned about shooting video and editing technology from watching YouTube tutorials online. . I shoot and edit all my own stuff
MTH: Orling Dominguez of the Dominican Republic wanted to ask me about your technical processes. You have an interesting mixed media approach, open-to-any technical tool or you can combine. What are you thinking as you bring all different materials together thesis? Have you Developed a step-by-step process to your choices, or is it more 'by feel'? ? What makes something suited for one approach over Reviews another
J.G. Good question Orling. In my urban sketching kit, I bring art supplies That are totally cross-compatible: a fountain pen, water-soluble colored pencils and graphite pencils, water brushes (one with water and a torque others with water-soluble colored inks), a small Schmincke watercolor pan set, and a Few tubes of gouache. I also have an oil painting and kit casein kit
[What's in my bag?]
Basic thinking. There is no line entre drawing and painting, and there are no " purist "rules. Anything goes as long as it's conservationally sound. I use whatever media or methods Convey The Most gold information mood in the time available. And of course, I only bring out what is reasonable to use in a Given situation Such As a concert hall, a subway, or a restaurant.
[Plein Air Monterey]
[James's watercolor gear. Not afraid to be an art nerd I see. I kid! We are all the same.]
MTH: I'm always interested if an artist: has a philosophy about this: What makes something a sketch vs. a painting? Is that blurry line so you do not-even worry about it any longer?
I do not spot Any boundaries entre a sketch and a finish, gold entre was a drawing and painting. I like the word "study" Because it has more Implies Carefully observing and patient mindset, goal work done as a study from life can-have the power and detail of a finished work as well. A study Is not Necessarily a means to an end. Goal since we-have something to call our works When We Refer to 'em, we're stuck with the limitations of the lexicon
MTH. You have always beens year example to --other artists of a self-taught, highly motivated individual who is doing Their Own thing. Given That, I think this is a great closing questions from Nina Johansson from Stockholm:
"I assume That Gurney lives off de son art, and It Would be interesting to get some hands-on advice for others Who dream of Doing That. We-have-been HAVING this debate at the school Where I work, about how artists are usually not great at doing business, and how we Would like to give our art students Some classes in how to run a small business to be reliable to make a living -. the curriculum only gets in the way We'll see how it goes, aim in the Meantime I like to show 'em Good examples :) "
If I. can just add to That: Assuming I'm at this course of your career, you can pretty much do what you want, pick your projects. What do you see as the Most Interesting ventures for artists in the next decade?
[Highland Avenue]
Thanks, yes, it's true, I've always Lived off the brush and I've always painted what I want. Some years a lot of money rolls in; --other years I make less than a janitor. Goal I've always beens Followed happy and my muse
[Mud Puddle]
I believe every art student shoulds get schooling in business. Marketing, contracts, accounting, publicity, and Especially in this age of creator-producer, it's significant to know about distribution, and sales. If art schools do not offer this, you can pick it up on your own. I'm always try trying to learn new things about how to make what I love to do pay for my living.
Said That, I try to keep driving business considerations from what I do or how I do it. I just want to have fun doing the very best quality work I can. I'm glad que la internet lets me share what I Produce and what I learn with others. I have faith That enough people will mount me to keep me doing it.
[Bleecker and 11th]
Sketching from life is making big strides forward, both, with the Urban Sketchers and the outdoor-painting movements. Some people make a living doing things thesis, purpose that's not Why They're significant. People Who In Their sketch spare time from other jobs, and professionals Who do it for relaxation or learning are just as significant to the movement.
Working Directly From Nature HAS always brought` fresh blood into art, and we're . all lucky to be living in the Midst of this revival
MTH: Well, thanks for all your generous time - you've Given us great answers, it's been really great HAVING you! Hope to see you on the street sketching. If you're ever on the road, feel free to look up the local Urban Sketchers group Wherever You Are. "
Thank you, Mark! Those were thought-provoking questions. All the best to my fellow Urban Sketchers everywhere.
