Find Me at Substack

  If you have enjoyed my blog, you'll love my Substack. Paint Here by James Gurney on Substack. Thanks to a small group of generous ...

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Figuring Out the Format of Dinotopia

  I first mocked up Dinotopia as a “Grand Tour of a Lost World,” structured like a travel guide. I was inspired by the lavishly illustrat...

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How I Learned to Fly

I was obsessed with flying machines in my younger years.  Before I graduated high school I had built and flown: radio-controlled glider...

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Into The Wilderness

  Gideon and Bandy head into the wilderness, from  Dinotopia: First Flight. What inspired this painting were stories of wild...

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  Poets and philosophers have imagined childhood as an awakening from the sleep before life, or the sleep between lives.  Companions, wa...

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Painting the Pre-Electric Night

  Before electricity, nighttime seemed a lot brighter. That’s because electric lights constrict our pupils, making the darkness darker. R...

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Four Paintings to Be Auctioned on November 4

  At the  November 4 Illustration Art Auction  at Heritage Auctions , four of my paintings will be offered for sale. The Tartarus Incide...

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Living With Mammoths in Dinotopia

The partnership with mammoths began modestly, with villagers gathering the tufts of wool that the gentle giants shed in spring.  Later, wh...

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Marty Owings Reviews Books on Sketching

Marty Owings: "If you read the book it will unlock many secrets to being a better sketcher."  Marty Owings on YouTube  Direct l...

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First Contact with Mirrors

Svetlana at fortune-telling by K.Bryullov, 1836 Mirrors have a powerful effect on people who have only seen their reflection in stll wat...

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Advice I'd Give My 24-Year-Old Self

  Jeanette and me, age 24 The part of my recent YouTube video that attracted the most interest was my answer to Andrew’s question a...

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What I Learned from Painting this Boat

This blue boat catches my eye as I explore an island in Maine. It's beached at an odd angle above the high tide line. Not far away, a fl...

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Which Colors Are Primaries?

Which of these colors are primaries? One of the most basic art questions turns out to be not so simple. Full story on Substack today.

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I'm Editing a Video, and I'd Love to Include Some of Your Questions

  I’m editing a YouTube video, where I paint this little plein-air study of a stranded sailboat: It’s painted in gouache ov...

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Painting from Imagination

  The key to painting imaginary subjects is to hold onto the dream image as long as possible, even if it's hazy and tentative. Then y...

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'You should be sketching always, always'

  Abbey wrote to an art student: "You should be sketching always, always. Draw anything. Draw the dishes on the table while you are ...

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Is the Computer a "Bicycle for the Mind?"

Steve Jobs wanted the personal computer to be like a “ bicycle for the mind .” Has it worked out that way for you? More on my Substack . ...

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Cesare Tallone's Sight-Size Paintings

Cesare Tallone was an Italian painter born on August 11, 1853, in Savona, Italy .  After losing his father at a young age, he moved to Ales...

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