Why Read This Book?

[Kim]

As previously mentioned, I got this book for my birthday. I'm not one to get too much into fantasy art, at least not the computer graphics/ illustration stuff just because I've seen a lot of junk out there. What I like about Gurney is that he bases his work on realism and has a solid foundation in it. What I like in his work is... how he gets there. As my teacher has told me time and again, Realism is not photography. Realism is anything you want based on certain rules defined by nature. What is exciting here is that you get to decide the world you live in. I'm not going to rewrite the book here (Gurney has already done all the hard work) but I want to highlight some things I like about the layout and touch upon a few elements that he mentions that I find valuable. You might find other things in the book also valuable that I might not list. Even if you haven't expressed an interest in the discussion till now or even if you don't have the book, feel free to jump in and express your opinion or offer your experiences.

[S. Kay]

He's an avid en plein air painter as well, so that really seems to help him know what to look for when painting scenes from imagination. Really makes me want to focus on getting those paints outside more often.

[Kim]

I hear you! It's still a bit cold here, but I'm aching for Spring and with that an urge to paint outside. Didn't know about his plein air work.