Décollage nocturne

By Bora Zivkovic | December 18, 2012 | 2

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Image of the Week #73, December 18th, 2012:

From: Inspiring New Realities – James Gurney Interview by Glendon Mellow at Symbiartic.

Source: James Gurney

What makes James Gurney’s anachronistic, futuristic fish-buttercopter work as an image… or should I say “fly”? The playful nature of “Decollage nocturne” and ease with which past and future, fantasy and reality are combined belies the volumes of knowledge Gurney harnesses to bring his wildly creative imagination to the page. But unlike many artists, Gurney is not reluctant to share his hard-earned knowledge. His blog, Gurney Journey, gives daily observations on light, form, coloration and more. So instead of marveling at just how exactly he tricks our eyes into believing every inch of his imagined worlds, we are left wondering how he has time to share all his insights and continue to expand his body of work! James blogged about the process of making this painting in seven steps:

Part 7: The Painting
Part 6: Washin
Part 5: Pencil Drawing
Part 4: Lighting
Part 3: Maquette
Part 2: Researching Insect Flight
Part 1: Initial Sketches

About the Author: Bora Zivkovic is the Blog Editor at Scientific American, chronobiologist, biology teacher, organizer of ScienceOnline conferences and editor of Open Laboratory anthologies of best science writing on the Web. Follow on Twitter @boraz.

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The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

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2 Comments

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1. rickofudall 6:42 pm 12/23/2012

I want to fly one. Makes my WSC Trike look outdated. If only it could be made to work, what a wonderful flying machine it would be.
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2. Barn Owl 9:28 pm 12/29/2012

Loved reading about the artistic process in James’ blog posts – absolutely fascinating, and a beautiful steampunk image. I’ve never considered making a maquette or working out the lighting in any detail for my artwork. Just one of the many differences between a struggling amateur and a professional!

Thanks for sharing, Bora.
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