The Stone Figures of Ebulon

Inside the seated stone figures of Ebulon of Dinotopia are many levels of rooms hollowed out from the rock. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8luJL1ADmqibcEh9koWI6xWf3mG5N-cjf5_Na8_Q54IJJQyEBivrYoUL31SDxziqq4rfD0Bg-PDHQPodAsN3eVENHXCqcK_9VKY6p8aF1g9wfLwaLpouJXKMgxktn5YRMi4XATqy-EHA/s1600/Ebulon_Maquette.sm.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ8mn6P3P8MrP-89G-pnlHhey4AnstsaJ8tfWvq0PjIzKP2v8kveHk4fEFA8XlJTU2R4h6vLnvMEvLcfJMUvp5n0DS7Du-oN5FMO2u-zipGWKJBgBgEJkD_MOSO5644ECiXJsHes2sTrM/s1600/Ebulon+Cutaway.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ8mn6P3P8MrP-89G-pnlHhey4AnstsaJ8tfWvq0PjIzKP2v8kveHk4fEFA8XlJTU2R4h6vLnvMEvLcfJMUvp5n0DS7Du-oN5FMO2u-zipGWKJBgBgEJkD_MOSO5644ECiXJsHes2sTrM/s400/Ebulon+Cutaway.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />The sleeping chambers are on the top level, with windows looking out through the eyes of the statue. Below that are workshops and a privy or toilet to the right. The next level contains kitchens and dining areas. The bottom level of this cutaway view reveals a storehouse for barrels of salted fish, and a roosting area for the skybaxes, which leads out to a flight platform on the lap of the seated figure. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8luJL1ADmqibcEh9koWI6xWf3mG5N-cjf5_Na8_Q54IJJQyEBivrYoUL31SDxziqq4rfD0Bg-PDHQPodAsN3eVENHXCqcK_9VKY6p8aF1g9wfLwaLpouJXKMgxktn5YRMi4XATqy-EHA/s1600/Ebulon_Maquette.sm.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8luJL1ADmqibcEh9koWI6xWf3mG5N-cjf5_Na8_Q54IJJQyEBivrYoUL31SDxziqq4rfD0Bg-PDHQPodAsN3eVENHXCqcK_9VKY6p8aF1g9wfLwaLpouJXKMgxktn5YRMi4XATqy-EHA/s320/Ebulon_Maquette.sm.jpg" width="161" /></a><br />Various views of the Ebulon figures in the book <a href="http://www.dinotopia.com/dinotopia-store.html"><i>Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara </i></a>are all based on this rough clay maquette. It was about four inches high, and it only took about a half hour to sculpt. I recycled the clay after photographing it. <br /><br />A physical maquette pays great dividends in the understanding of lighting. Note the warm reflected light in the shadow planes on the right of the figure, compared to the cool tones of the fill light. This information is very hard to invent, and it makes all the difference in convincing the viewer of the reality of an imagined world.<br /><br />From<a href="http://www.dinotopia.com/dinotopia-store.html"><i> Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara,</i></a> published in 2007

The Stone Figures of Ebulon

Inside the seated stone figures of Ebulon of Dinotopia are many levels of rooms hollowed out from the rock. The sleeping chambers are on the...

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Mud Trap

A couple of months ago, <i>Scientific American </i>magazine asked me to illustrate a feature for the upcoming March issue about an amazing discovery: a group of small dinosaurs who died together, trapped in mud.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_EY82VDrlEleaH_gtrJ49a7SB0AzgL_a3Kdpilf6wJcn39OBbTorb4CtPpc6GC2RXQEXeEahm-pCiXefzeR9_LbQKLE-xL988v91Yv2OcskHURLTJDh4NL017oMeDwCu-1W_aGf_rATU/s1600/Mud_Trap.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_EY82VDrlEleaH_gtrJ49a7SB0AzgL_a3Kdpilf6wJcn39OBbTorb4CtPpc6GC2RXQEXeEahm-pCiXefzeR9_LbQKLE-xL988v91Yv2OcskHURLTJDh4NL017oMeDwCu-1W_aGf_rATU/s320/Mud_Trap.sm.jpg" width="316" /></a><br /><embed base="http://admin.brightcove.com" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="videoId=776220647001&playerId=1399191810&viewerSecureGatewayURL=https://console.brightcove.com/services/amfgateway&servicesURL=http://services.brightcove.com/services&cdnURL=http://admin.brightcove.com&domain=embed&autoStart=false&" height="550" name="flashObj" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" seamlesstabbing="false" src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/1399191810" swliveconnect="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="510"></embed><br />When I delivered the oil painting of the scene (above), I also produced <a href="http://bcove.me/b7jp6uae">a short video</a> showing how I did the painting.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQRrEA0s6O73IhuUuZTgi7a9OOJJHeS7oFkJVkGX-uNAr_Fuj9pBz3F8Ma4gs7bFjA_BnIeETKyJZYCRMOoKYSWC13e6INlobTkFXDkGwswnBF7HAQxYuCzfa9yVXdfFbe_61Tq8Hc_E/s1600/Sino.Maquette_sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQRrEA0s6O73IhuUuZTgi7a9OOJJHeS7oFkJVkGX-uNAr_Fuj9pBz3F8Ma4gs7bFjA_BnIeETKyJZYCRMOoKYSWC13e6INlobTkFXDkGwswnBF7HAQxYuCzfa9yVXdfFbe_61Tq8Hc_E/s400/Sino.Maquette_sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_EY82VDrlEleaH_gtrJ49a7SB0AzgL_a3Kdpilf6wJcn39OBbTorb4CtPpc6GC2RXQEXeEahm-pCiXefzeR9_LbQKLE-xL988v91Yv2OcskHURLTJDh4NL017oMeDwCu-1W_aGf_rATU/s1600/Mud_Trap.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>Yesterday <i>Scientific American</i> put the video up on their official website, along with <a href="http://www.blogger.com/Scientific%20American%E2%80%99s%20official%20blog%20post:%20http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=dinos-gurney-video">a blog post </a>describing my analog process of making the maquette—you know, pencil, clay, glue, and paint. The cracking "mud" in the foreground of the maquette above is flour and water baked in the wood stove and painted with acrylic.<br /><br />If it wasn’t below freezing outside, I would have been out in the real pond muck wallowing around to see what it feels like to die in quicksand. <br />-----<br /><a href="http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1869637971?bckey=AQ%7E%7E,AAAAAFNl7zk%7E,OmXvgxJOvrEbn_k3B6RUMOYsPKmzkjgT&bctid=776220647001">Direct link to video </a><br /><a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=dinos-gurney-video">Scientific American blog post</a><br />More from Scientific American about <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=dinosaur-death-trap">the new dinosaur discovery by Paul Sereno.</a>

Mud Trap

A couple of months ago, Scientific American magazine asked me to illustrate a feature for the upcoming March issue about an amazing discover...

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Dinotopia Originals at Brafa Festival

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwI6uNNCmKeIkgLaTztmLF4zNr1FZBFMzhQYxthTWcAPJFzf_pPukT3WPXFAmrlrlOsUXoA8P-iuXQJlDug3qyYpAhMS-eSmsnZ-HTDcnFfrlYTiUBfQawrX0o0AMGBQyPyogqzdyFv_s/s1600/Arthur_and_Telescope.vsm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Two original oil paintings from Dinotopia will be offered for sale at the Brafa art festival in Belgium, which officially begins today, January 21st and will be on show until January 30th.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwI6uNNCmKeIkgLaTztmLF4zNr1FZBFMzhQYxthTWcAPJFzf_pPukT3WPXFAmrlrlOsUXoA8P-iuXQJlDug3qyYpAhMS-eSmsnZ-HTDcnFfrlYTiUBfQawrX0o0AMGBQyPyogqzdyFv_s/s1600/Arthur_and_Telescope.vsm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwI6uNNCmKeIkgLaTztmLF4zNr1FZBFMzhQYxthTWcAPJFzf_pPukT3WPXFAmrlrlOsUXoA8P-iuXQJlDug3qyYpAhMS-eSmsnZ-HTDcnFfrlYTiUBfQawrX0o0AMGBQyPyogqzdyFv_s/s400/Arthur_and_Telescope.vsm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />The paintings include “Arthur and Telescope,” the illustration on page 1 of <i>Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara (2007)</i>, and “Imperial Palace,” which appears both on page 132 of <i>Chandara</i> and page 154 of <i>Imaginative Realism.</i><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAtHm5cAnzoN0tRyI-e3FZFoXDvsts80F00RexvfnW2JMjGpUXI7vkB9kTO-nEcMeJ9tkdQ0F_myzwFcMBjjdsd1NOsciNzp-5TJe40YYOOGPOsSt5X9jdGK5XF96-7dKfiwbf0_O0QJ0/s1600/Imperial_Palace.vsm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAtHm5cAnzoN0tRyI-e3FZFoXDvsts80F00RexvfnW2JMjGpUXI7vkB9kTO-nEcMeJ9tkdQ0F_myzwFcMBjjdsd1NOsciNzp-5TJe40YYOOGPOsSt5X9jdGK5XF96-7dKfiwbf0_O0QJ0/s400/Imperial_Palace.vsm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />The paintings will be on view at booth 115, the Daniel Maghen Gallery, which has a select assortment of fantasy and comic art from Europe and America. For more information contact Olivier Souille at Galerie Daniel Maghen at info (at) danielmaghen.com. <br />--------<br /><a href="http://www.danielmaghen.com/fr/index.htm">Galerie Daniel Maghen </a><br /><a href="http://www.brafa.be/">Brafa Festival</a>

Dinotopia Originals at Brafa Festival

Two original oil paintings from Dinotopia will be offered for sale at the Brafa art festival in Belgium, which officially begins today, Janu...

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The Stockbridge Stomp

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfvLgfb_dlLFeVNrHsRAa10cN_cEW44-Fsx4P48bPFwCNHnrOIxuOLHc13I4leOYSRKpML8IgJicmSIKwMnx58OPIavCW-Z72Ckbf6PmfL_Dz7o3vFbwH16M8lYkli3w6M3xSn4yJnXoY/s1600/Saurian_Steps.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>When the Norman Rockwell Museum in Massachusetts hosted a Dinotopia exhibition in 2006, a small group of Dinotopia fans from all over the world assembled at a mini-convention called “The Stockbridge Stomp.” <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC3lUdG0x2LjLkN5UA9LXmCpvFZPZvVL74Z_AdFgRXb_n4URUJgnFf71S42sZyCT4L-PbkclP2RY00SdMEEb_w96idSlfl-Epesb0CiS6TKfSFg-lLQSGxz2Ae2lmqPA01OE8MdH3vIGY/s1600/Stock.Stomp.Montage.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC3lUdG0x2LjLkN5UA9LXmCpvFZPZvVL74Z_AdFgRXb_n4URUJgnFf71S42sZyCT4L-PbkclP2RY00SdMEEb_w96idSlfl-Epesb0CiS6TKfSFg-lLQSGxz2Ae2lmqPA01OE8MdH3vIGY/s400/Stock.Stomp.Montage.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />I joined them for the festivities and then invited them to my studio a short drive away, so that they could pose for a painting I was working on. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfvLgfb_dlLFeVNrHsRAa10cN_cEW44-Fsx4P48bPFwCNHnrOIxuOLHc13I4leOYSRKpML8IgJicmSIKwMnx58OPIavCW-Z72Ckbf6PmfL_Dz7o3vFbwH16M8lYkli3w6M3xSn4yJnXoY/s1600/Saurian_Steps.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfvLgfb_dlLFeVNrHsRAa10cN_cEW44-Fsx4P48bPFwCNHnrOIxuOLHc13I4leOYSRKpML8IgJicmSIKwMnx58OPIavCW-Z72Ckbf6PmfL_Dz7o3vFbwH16M8lYkli3w6M3xSn4yJnXoY/s400/Saurian_Steps.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />We had a big bowl of homemade soup together, and then they put on costumes, some of which they brought with them. They posed in small groups, imagining themselves standing beside a Styracosaurus and a Chasmosaurus. Many of the figures in the painting were based on that impromptu gathering. <br /><br />The painting appeared on the title page of<i> Dinotopia Journey to Chandara. </i>The painting also appears in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Guide-Realist-Painter/dp/0740797719/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top"><i>Color and Light,</i></a> page 116.<i>  </i><br /><br />This painting will be one of about 40 paintings from <i>Dinotopia Journey to Chandara,</i> opening today at the The Alden B. Dow Museum of Science and Art in, Midland, Michigan. <br />----------<br /><a href="http://www.mcfta.org/">The Alden B. Dow Museum of Science and Art/ Midland Center for the Arts</a><br /><a href="http://www.arttoartpalettejournal.com/2011/01/prehistoric-giants-are-killer-visuals/">Web article about the exhibit, which includes “Bigger than T. Rex: Giant Killer Dinosaurs of Argentina.”</a><br /><a href="http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/saginaw/index.ssf/2011/01/dinosaur_exhibit_will_thrill_k.html">Exhibit review on MLive.com </a><br /><a href="http://www.dinotopia.com/dinotopia-store.html"><i>Journey to Chandara </i>at the Dinotopia Store.</a><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dinotopia-Journey-Chandara-James-Gurney/dp/0740764314/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_4"><i>Journey to Chandara </i>on Amazon.</a><br />Thanks to all the Stompers!

The Stockbridge Stomp

When the Norman Rockwell Museum in Massachusetts hosted a Dinotopia exhibition in 2006, a small group of Dinotopia fans from all over the wo...

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Air Jousting

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH-kAaTSE0Efgj4AsYH51pNw0SMu_ayx3-DQXcunWcybPUpp7_W3KmflE5jdvcn7Tt0QTGP3Fwuh60BB12kmqp-DdNVI6O5e_pnVdTFrtuDMyIqW_oW6c8IY-_dTYDz_Td8Qy_E_4o2NQ/s1600/Air+Jousting.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Advanced pterosaur pilots, or “skybax riders” as they are called in Dinotopia, learn the sport of air jousting. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzn340u5qOan9qtFFdy17hH283LCqWLyvPDN02INbqWh1-qP0rEBj5Tb3bmJGQ-9iXKShcrVcwsp-1PohhuF5RBRvb6Chay_gN2P77qZvnA_gcCYLknCTELaO5_4QZAcSbTYa9zPKD2BQ/s1600/Air_Jousting.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzn340u5qOan9qtFFdy17hH283LCqWLyvPDN02INbqWh1-qP0rEBj5Tb3bmJGQ-9iXKShcrVcwsp-1PohhuF5RBRvb6Chay_gN2P77qZvnA_gcCYLknCTELaO5_4QZAcSbTYa9zPKD2BQ/s400/Air_Jousting.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />The armor is a lightweight version of horse jousting armor from the Middle Ages in Europe, where the rider can only see through a narrow slit in his sallet, or helmet. The protection for the eyes of the skybax makes him blind during the approach. A dismounted skybax rider must parachute to the ground.<br /><br /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH-kAaTSE0Efgj4AsYH51pNw0SMu_ayx3-DQXcunWcybPUpp7_W3KmflE5jdvcn7Tt0QTGP3Fwuh60BB12kmqp-DdNVI6O5e_pnVdTFrtuDMyIqW_oW6c8IY-_dTYDz_Td8Qy_E_4o2NQ/s1600/Air+Jousting.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH-kAaTSE0Efgj4AsYH51pNw0SMu_ayx3-DQXcunWcybPUpp7_W3KmflE5jdvcn7Tt0QTGP3Fwuh60BB12kmqp-DdNVI6O5e_pnVdTFrtuDMyIqW_oW6c8IY-_dTYDz_Td8Qy_E_4o2NQ/s320/Air+Jousting.sm.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />The final oil painting was published in <i>Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara (2007),</i> but it was based on a quick marker sketch that I did much earlier.<br /><br />Beginning January 20, the original painting will appear along with more than 40 of my other paintings, in the exhibition: <a href="http://www.arttoartpalettejournal.com/2011/01/prehistoric-giants-are-killer-visuals/"><i>Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara, The Paintings of James Gurney, </i></a>at the The Alden B. Dow Museum of Science and Art in Midland, Michigan. The show is the same as the one recently in Lucca, Italy.<br />______<br /><a href="http://www.mcfta.org/">The Alden B. Dow Museum of Science and Art/ Midland Center for the Arts</a><br /><a href="http://www.arttoartpalettejournal.com/2011/01/prehistoric-giants-are-killer-visuals/">Web article about the exhibit, which includes “Bigger than T. Rex: Giant Killer Dinosaurs of Argentina.”</a><br /><a href="http://www.dinotopia.com/dinotopia-store.html"><i>Journey to Chandara </i>at the Dinotopia Store.</a><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dinotopia-Journey-Chandara-James-Gurney/dp/0740764314/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_4"><i>Journey to Chandara </i>on Amazon.</a>

Air Jousting

Advanced pterosaur pilots, or “skybax riders” as they are called in Dinotopia, learn the sport of air jousting. The armor is a lightweight v...

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Action Figures in Action

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheIb1ibv-c4WWc_r95H0UML3xrajIK7y8gQ21Fj3h7G66-eLKGWCdqDGdozrVlkiUiZA0ikM2r3oiEALtigtsb9FpmGxYy_WeiHbfe8F7ciNtborssM5L5DllQ8P-YVpPZ9pEwwwBEk3I/s1600/Setting_Up_Ring_Riders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh36oDtJRMi-DFjQD5I_eZVYMGCLijEA6vYJg-DubG9n88xpmwxmye2Y1TGHlyMwLQwNVvb1IiicY5bAE3xEW1mFRX_GiK8EM2swI1w-FarVofIxwmuGgRG59xNjRC51RAXiLw2jsLdfZI/s1600/Deinocheirus+Maquette.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh36oDtJRMi-DFjQD5I_eZVYMGCLijEA6vYJg-DubG9n88xpmwxmye2Y1TGHlyMwLQwNVvb1IiicY5bAE3xEW1mFRX_GiK8EM2swI1w-FarVofIxwmuGgRG59xNjRC51RAXiLw2jsLdfZI/s320/Deinocheirus+Maquette.sm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>A couple of action figures glued to the saddle of a homemade Deinocheirus filled the bill for helping imagine an olympic event in Dinotopia.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheIb1ibv-c4WWc_r95H0UML3xrajIK7y8gQ21Fj3h7G66-eLKGWCdqDGdozrVlkiUiZA0ikM2r3oiEALtigtsb9FpmGxYy_WeiHbfe8F7ciNtborssM5L5DllQ8P-YVpPZ9pEwwwBEk3I/s1600/Setting_Up_Ring_Riders.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheIb1ibv-c4WWc_r95H0UML3xrajIK7y8gQ21Fj3h7G66-eLKGWCdqDGdozrVlkiUiZA0ikM2r3oiEALtigtsb9FpmGxYy_WeiHbfe8F7ciNtborssM5L5DllQ8P-YVpPZ9pEwwwBEk3I/s320/Setting_Up_Ring_Riders.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />I also built a maquette of the pagodas, made from wire, dowel rods, and tissue paper. I discarded the paper pagodas after the photo shoot, but by then they had served their purpose.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjorDZ79-4oAZ1nogFNF6sNXQFxRI9DM-dM7cjEsQRxgg8xCnoUtu-nbalNfwYMorUFgCJtN5OOV5bgVwTH3e4YuSfR60uHXir5y2LB-baHJ9MEX7I6VH0c4SOaIEBf7eMpykLq7ha7sTY/s1600-h/Ring+Riders.vsm.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331233829517515234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjorDZ79-4oAZ1nogFNF6sNXQFxRI9DM-dM7cjEsQRxgg8xCnoUtu-nbalNfwYMorUFgCJtN5OOV5bgVwTH3e4YuSfR60uHXir5y2LB-baHJ9MEX7I6VH0c4SOaIEBf7eMpykLq7ha7sTY/s400/Ring+Riders.vsm.jpg" style="display: block; height: 241px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />Here's the finished painting, which is currently on exhibit, along with the dinosaur maquette (and the little action figures) at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, through Jan. 2.<br /><br />In addition, the show of children's book art has two original paintings from Norman Rockwell's "Willie Was Different," original art by Tasha Tudor, and more. <span class="yiv1151573262yiv12768678568330215-07122010"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span> <br />--------------<br /> <a href="http://www.berkshiremuseum.org/exhibition/fot.html">The Berkshire Museum's Festival of Trees through January 2</a><br /> This process is documented in <i>Imaginative Realism: A Guide for the Realist Painter.</i> (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Imaginative-Realism-Paint-Doesnt-Exist/dp/0740785508/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252362855&sr=1-1">Available at Amazon</a>, or <a href="http://www.dinotopia.com/dinotopia-store.html">signed at the Dinotopia Store</a>)<br />Previously: <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/05/backyard-posing-party.html">Backyard Posing Party </a>

Action Figures in Action

A couple of action figures glued to the saddle of a homemade Deinocheirus filled the bill for helping imagine an olympic event in Dinotopia....

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Exhibition at the Lucca Festival in Italy

One of the early civilizations of Dinotopia was centered in Poseidos, where machines replaced living creatures.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXHBvzWNhp1XEVzRzZCRj8FUyM8zJcvWNIHUAVoWWsO-xU7tcHbrrU4VQ-dAbQwV0teQkVjCp_qPLaO1aW7iSrzqXw3BklzZMSCi0xU3xwrETeh4NSpqCSSw4GkXx2RWh4wKoAiKXpX322/s1600/Escape_from_Poseidos.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXHBvzWNhp1XEVzRzZCRj8FUyM8zJcvWNIHUAVoWWsO-xU7tcHbrrU4VQ-dAbQwV0teQkVjCp_qPLaO1aW7iSrzqXw3BklzZMSCi0xU3xwrETeh4NSpqCSSw4GkXx2RWh4wKoAiKXpX322/s400/Escape_from_Poseidos.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />The ships in the harbor resembled giant fish. Flying vehicles called skimmers were fashioned after trilobites. Not a scrap of dirt or foliage remained in the island capital. <br /><br />The book <i>Dinotopia: First Flight </i>(1999) follows the adventures of one young cadet who escaped that dystopian empire and tried to foil its plans to invade the rest of Dinotopia.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4tj90iv6LYiJLggenaRRsTSvzMukoQxYeRIk8i28zjR5K7oS2Ut6HaKdRu6eKdvjTptr0xkjmBW7KkLY4dr_NFsFyiITQst6DOJhHUK4n5Pwrs4sHJKJ2arKzyUN_-fvvYIdUeg2EXQXt/s1600/Exhibition_Gurney.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4tj90iv6LYiJLggenaRRsTSvzMukoQxYeRIk8i28zjR5K7oS2Ut6HaKdRu6eKdvjTptr0xkjmBW7KkLY4dr_NFsFyiITQst6DOJhHUK4n5Pwrs4sHJKJ2arKzyUN_-fvvYIdUeg2EXQXt/s320/Exhibition_Gurney.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />This painting will be reproduced in the upcoming book <a href="http://www.dinotopia.com/dinotopia-store.html"><i>Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter.</i></a> It was also included in the exhibition, concluded November 1 at the Ducal Palace in Lucca, Italy.

Exhibition at the Lucca Festival in Italy

One of the early civilizations of Dinotopia was centered in Poseidos, where machines replaced living creatures. The ships in the harbor rese...

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Mostra Gurney

Per allestimento e per atmosfere, la mostra che maggiormente colpisce è quella dedicata a James Gurney, 'padre' di Dinotopia, diventato in pochi anni un classico per ragazzi, capace di far respirare ai giovani lettori l'atmosfera di un continente perduto.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsTe4SMp_u0cj0XAF0V7fqALW8MKfVefYTQOMlItkXoQaTuBvJnmzx8gB52mnH8eYrnHR-jkhuQ0MdG6Cpz6myM5rm24KZt067c6XPMqFnKL8RKrOyxEu8M_yKThABoAO9iFUbUTP3IE7/s1600/LuccaExhibit.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsTe4SMp_u0cj0XAF0V7fqALW8MKfVefYTQOMlItkXoQaTuBvJnmzx8gB52mnH8eYrnHR-jkhuQ0MdG6Cpz6myM5rm24KZt067c6XPMqFnKL8RKrOyxEu8M_yKThABoAO9iFUbUTP3IE7/s400/LuccaExhibit.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Tradotto in 18 lingue, la saga fantastica di Dinotopia è famosa in più di trenta Paesi, ma ancora, tra le lingue in cui è disponibile, manca proprio l'italiano, nonostante in Italia questo autore abbia il suo seguito tra gli appassionati di fantasy e di illustrazione fantasy.  (<a href="http://www.loschermo.it/articoli/view/29803">di più</a>)<br /><br />English:<br />One exhibit in the Lucca show is dedicated to the work of James Gurney, 'father' of Dinotopia, which has become a classic for children, inspiring young readers with the mood and atmosphere of a lost continent.  The fantastic saga of Dinotopia has been translated into 18 languages and distributed in more than thirty countries, but unfortunately an Italian edition is not currently available.  (<a href="http://www.loschermo.it/articoli/view/29803">Read the rest of the article</a>) <br /><br /><a href="http://www.loschermo.it/articoli/view/29803">Lo Schermo Online </a><br /><a href="http://www.luccacomicsandgames.com/">Lucca Comics and Games</a>

Mostra Gurney

Per allestimento e per atmosfere, la mostra che maggiormente colpisce è quella dedicata a James Gurney, 'padre' di Dinotopia, divent...

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Tajan Auction This Weekend

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglca_U4QWkGfitVsIsdRDu358l64Guv0O-1P-s0FeF7qypb8ejhlAsufed6ubMOHfUUVZxXO95IABnOVFaF6v87Xf-_a_hVFO-BJhCzSnDEWwyZOKxI8PlBDaVn892GqUDskhMRRb7UZGL/s1600/Tajan_Auction_Gurney.sm..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglca_U4QWkGfitVsIsdRDu358l64Guv0O-1P-s0FeF7qypb8ejhlAsufed6ubMOHfUUVZxXO95IABnOVFaF6v87Xf-_a_hVFO-BJhCzSnDEWwyZOKxI8PlBDaVn892GqUDskhMRRb7UZGL/s640/Tajan_Auction_Gurney.sm..jpg" width="370" /></a></div>This weekend is the auction of comics and fantasy art at the Tajan auction house in Paris. There are three original Dinotopia paintings, the only Dinotopia originals that I’ll offer for sale this year, and the first ever from Journey to Chandara.<br />------<br /><a href="http://www.danielmaghen.com/fr/index.htm">Galerie Daniel Maghen</a> is the expert adviser in the sale. For more information, please email Olivier Souille at "info@danielmaghen.com"<br />See the range of work for sale at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryRoom.asp?Page=4&GSub=103982&Order=Date">Comic Art Fans.com </a><br />or at<a href="http://www.tajan.com/fr/departements/bde/bde.asp"> Tajan</a>

Tajan Auction This Weekend

This weekend is the auction of comics and fantasy art at the Tajan auction house in Paris. There are three original Dinotopia paintings, the...

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Imperial Palace

The second of three original Dinotopia paintings for sale in the upcoming auction shows the Imperial Palace of the city of Chandara.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwcnvHbFBaBvhud-OhaQkjRnaZraiHKlY_vUSGz4WcEGz83eUvOyQZWB-qNoQ32oHeYzcap0Ps0DCZjrlcOvQNPavMRqhcaVuTdes8PzbKnv1HslTHmTLBJwriSengMdodSzSsYpT_Ycgk/s1600/IMPERIAL+PALACE.sm..jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519002146724514498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwcnvHbFBaBvhud-OhaQkjRnaZraiHKlY_vUSGz4WcEGz83eUvOyQZWB-qNoQ32oHeYzcap0Ps0DCZjrlcOvQNPavMRqhcaVuTdes8PzbKnv1HslTHmTLBJwriSengMdodSzSsYpT_Ycgk/s400/IMPERIAL+PALACE.sm..jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 208px;" /></a>The view looks east across the Zhengtao River. The emperor’s palace occupies a high and remote prominence in the center of the city. Morning sunlight illuminates the top of the gold dome and the flying buttresses, while thunderclouds assemble over Silver Bay.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjubF4tH-asHabBC_Cp-IjJqPRi8CQQUd0q7q_Pxl-8nsfE2w0EaMM0T16e_ycPlku8oF97NWjR-lRj4ZBcpm4jCzNbvQgG-GlVWzQAMy6RtBIa40Y7dHID6c8LQKEZlCdHdlfLoJ_xuFt6/s1600/IMPERIAL+PALACE.det..jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519002141161014354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjubF4tH-asHabBC_Cp-IjJqPRi8CQQUd0q7q_Pxl-8nsfE2w0EaMM0T16e_ycPlku8oF97NWjR-lRj4ZBcpm4jCzNbvQgG-GlVWzQAMy6RtBIa40Y7dHID6c8LQKEZlCdHdlfLoJ_xuFt6/s400/IMPERIAL+PALACE.det..jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a>My approach was inspired by several artists of the past who specialized in otherworldly moods in landscape: Frederic Church, Isaac Levitan, Andreas Achenbach, Hans Gude, and Jean Ferdinand Monchablon.<br /><br />The painting is in oil, and appeared in <span style="font-style: italic;">Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara</span>, which was published in USA, France, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Greece. It also was published in <span style="font-style: italic;">Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn’t Exist.</span> Other paintings from the book toured museums in Yverdon, Switzerland, Newcastle, England, and Nantes, France.<br />-------<br /><a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/09/dinotopia-originals-to-be-in-tajan.html">Earlier post about another painting in the Tajan auction.</a><br /><a href="http://www.danielmaghen.com/fr/index.htm">Galerie Daniel Maghen</a> is the expert adviser in the sale. For more information, please email Olivier Souille at "info@danielmaghen.com"<br /><a href="http://www.tajan.com/fr/departements/bde/bde.asp">Tajan’s October bande dessinée auction</a> (the final online catalog is still in preparation).<br /><a href="http://jamesgurneyoriginalart.blogspot.com/">James Gurney Original Art blog</a><br /><a href="http://www.dinotopia.com/">Dinotopia website</a><br /><a href="http://jamesgurneyoriginalart.blogspot.com/">James Gurney Original Art blog</a><br /><a href="http://www.dinotopia.com/journey-to-chandara.html">Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara<br /></a>

Imperial Palace

The second of three original Dinotopia paintings for sale in the upcoming auction shows the Imperial Palace of the city of Chandara. The vie...

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Norton’s Last Week / Poster Offer

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB0XwPk0fpDGLKCbUhgRDegLMAqvC3Wtpwqy2K5jI7Llm9MqD5n4kgejZuwDNtCdIUtPKdODDuVd6dsIvXO1EEX2YqtGtKM7ssS8CETZW_uVjlBFkAUD9PqKK6nWwyDiEvwqQbI_RWC0tT/s1600/Norton.Dinotopia.03.sm.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511593575694087074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB0XwPk0fpDGLKCbUhgRDegLMAqvC3Wtpwqy2K5jI7Llm9MqD5n4kgejZuwDNtCdIUtPKdODDuVd6dsIvXO1EEX2YqtGtKM7ssS8CETZW_uVjlBFkAUD9PqKK6nWwyDiEvwqQbI_RWC0tT/s400/Norton.Dinotopia.03.sm.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" /></a>This is the last week of the Dinotopia exhibition at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach Florida. This coming Sunday, September 5 is the last day.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMSO21yVFENDXfRI_5B_Ws8SF2SlSZRqOlwlVg0thm72Mjb8VqOITKBrvyBtDLo4RAscO15j6JjxB7nD8GQsLYlkKWUr3PSZ9VeVy1L6xkrkkWhpitUl2wgWiuK5y3iV3mXHnnJ2Rb0LIp/s1600/Norton_Poster_Dinotopia.sm+copy.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511593570562392082" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMSO21yVFENDXfRI_5B_Ws8SF2SlSZRqOlwlVg0thm72Mjb8VqOITKBrvyBtDLo4RAscO15j6JjxB7nD8GQsLYlkKWUr3PSZ9VeVy1L6xkrkkWhpitUl2wgWiuK5y3iV3mXHnnJ2Rb0LIp/s400/Norton_Poster_Dinotopia.sm+copy.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 301px; height: 400px;" /></a>U.S.A. customers can order a signed, official museum poster for $20.00 plus $3.50 for postage/handling. Payment should be by check payable to “The Dinotopia Store” PO Box 693, Rhinebeck, NY 12572. If you like, download an <a href="http://www.dinotopia.com/order_form.html">order form here.</a><br />------<br /><a href="http://www.norton.org/Exhibitions/Current/Dinotopia/tabid/436/Default.aspx">Norton Museum: "The Fantastical Art of James Gurney" Through September 5</a>

Norton’s Last Week / Poster Offer

This is the last week of the Dinotopia exhibition at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach Florida. This coming Sunday, September 5 is...

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Solving a Puzzle

The mailman delivered a little blue box wrapped in a ribbon.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_mxFtRSr3WqkdQxwjj4aKAZt0jwFp3erh7TekRR28AcJ08F74FN_Oi3NwQ6b0NeYlMi4uURAixR_Cr71INS1cQs5k2ljkvyHUAWw7MedXbv5G8NECGDrkAuq08ecKWfCN7F9MkbhxWRD/s1600/Stave_Puzzles.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500083308430676082" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_mxFtRSr3WqkdQxwjj4aKAZt0jwFp3erh7TekRR28AcJ08F74FN_Oi3NwQ6b0NeYlMi4uURAixR_Cr71INS1cQs5k2ljkvyHUAWw7MedXbv5G8NECGDrkAuq08ecKWfCN7F9MkbhxWRD/s400/Stave_Puzzles.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 297px;" /></a>We opened it and poured the contents on the table. It was a jigsaw puzzle, but there was no picture on the package. The pieces were crisply sawn out of cherry plywood. <br /><br />They felt completely different from the usual cardboard puzzle pieces. They slid together with a satisfying snap. This was no ordinary jigsaw puzzle. It was a whole new tactile experience.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtz0Ro0TtMH27KCHN2R_9_W7Cbj6-_uSSAuzy144kQtCarePbv5PucVkgCI7YUNVsj1NLzSH9vr_yc2vyvDZSYuxzZG2nu2IlCzi6OZ14CIabXQADxtTt6VUl3mEoJgjjtg8J-rFwxooXo/s1600/Stave.Gurney.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500083308923677010" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtz0Ro0TtMH27KCHN2R_9_W7Cbj6-_uSSAuzy144kQtCarePbv5PucVkgCI7YUNVsj1NLzSH9vr_yc2vyvDZSYuxzZG2nu2IlCzi6OZ14CIabXQADxtTt6VUl3mEoJgjjtg8J-rFwxooXo/s400/Stave.Gurney.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 302px;" /></a>Some of the pieces were cut in silhouettes. There was a snake, a clown, a dollar sign, a dog, and a boy and a girl holding hands. Someone had carefully cut around the shape of a face. <br /><br />Other pieces were designed to bamboozle the average puzzler, such as straight edges inside the puzzle, or irregular extensions that stuck out of the rectangular perimeter. <br /><br />One piece was initialed with the name of the clever craftsperson who did the cutting.<br /><br />The puzzle went together in 22 minutes, even without looking at the picture. HA, HA, HA….those devious puzzlemakers thought they could befuddle me. But no, you cannot fool the artist who painted the picture: It’s “The Uses of Soybeans.” I know every atom of that image.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8v6pFjJRAPPEV1o_-YVu3O0B20OEPccP_ZaICijM5hgZXUT83bB9NOccF8RQa3yWKxm5-PUKdfrjeDtLdtbXPK1wATXZpXq4vpN_Rxp7_96Ax4MmBML2dKsd4k3d6C0KDc7P2tE1UrGq6/s1600/Stave_Jigsaw.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500083304008027426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8v6pFjJRAPPEV1o_-YVu3O0B20OEPccP_ZaICijM5hgZXUT83bB9NOccF8RQa3yWKxm5-PUKdfrjeDtLdtbXPK1wATXZpXq4vpN_Rxp7_96Ax4MmBML2dKsd4k3d6C0KDc7P2tE1UrGq6/s400/Stave_Jigsaw.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 322px;" /></a>We had such fun building the puzzle that we have decided to make it an annual tradition.<br /><br />Stave puzzles is a new licensee for Dinotopia and my other artwork. They sent this puzzle as a gift to celebrate our new business venture. If you love puzzles, or if you want to experience puzzling on a whole new level, have a peek at their website. <br /><br />They’ve got a nifty assortment of one-of-a-kind images by me, and they would be delighted to handcraft a brain-frazzling puzzle for you or for someone you would love to torment. <br />---------<br /><a href="http://www.stavepuzzles.com/?p=James_Gurney&searchlight=gurney">Stave Puzzles.com introduces James Gurney</a> (with a puzzle for a 20% discount ). <br /><a href="http://www.stavepuzzles.com/?p=store&artist_id=856">Stave’s JG assorted products </a>

Solving a Puzzle

The mailman delivered a little blue box wrapped in a ribbon. We opened it and poured the contents on the table. It was a jigsaw puzzle, but ...

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Draw-Through

Here’s the preliminary line drawing for a Dinotopia painting called “Flight Past the Falls.” I did it on a separate piece of paper, photocopied it, and transferred it to the canvas with an Artograph projector. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1B49jAYjkcPyDc2CE_0J-mKcZStTp5F0pkggEu7RdNdsEOQ_-dTS2Nfqm4wuxWYVcDXHCAgYqPGn_-dr_nOD0Ow-PP54OjQuW0ewsmMzb9AnTaIuarWoMXn6Q_8e_TaDIVwx1gix49EC4/s1600/Flight.Past.Falls.Prelim.sm.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497878607457480610" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1B49jAYjkcPyDc2CE_0J-mKcZStTp5F0pkggEu7RdNdsEOQ_-dTS2Nfqm4wuxWYVcDXHCAgYqPGn_-dr_nOD0Ow-PP54OjQuW0ewsmMzb9AnTaIuarWoMXn6Q_8e_TaDIVwx1gix49EC4/s400/Flight.Past.Falls.Prelim.sm.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 322px;" /></a>The rider on the pterosaur was drawn on a separate layer of paper and moved around until I got the position I wanted.<br /><br />What I want you to notice is the “draw through,” which means the lines carried across to invisible parts of the form. For example:<br />1. Circular curve of the bottom half of the globe.<br />2. Chest of pterosaur hidden by wing.<br />3. Eye level or horizon hidden behind falls.<br />4. Curvature of Moorish arch hidden by the flanking buttresses.<br /><br />Note also the centerline markings on the globe, and the winged sculpture. Also note the perspective grid on the side of the drawing.<br /><br />Draw-through helps you keep track of what the form is doing when it slips behind something else. If you work out the draw-through on a separate piece of paper from the finished work you don’t have to worry about erasing the lines or covering them up. <br /><br />You can apply the draw-through principle to figure drawing or any drawing, especially in the early stages. It will make your final drawing or painting more solid and convincing. When an architect draws a building elevation, she knows where the windows and doors are located on the back side of the building.<br />---------<br />Earlier GJ post about the <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2007/11/skybax-model.html">skybax model and the finished image</a>.

Draw-Through

Here’s the preliminary line drawing for a Dinotopia painting called “Flight Past the Falls.” I did it on a separate piece of paper, photocop...

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Skybax Maquette

In 1990 I constructed a reference maquette for the Quetzalcoatlus or “skybax” in Dinotopia. <br /><br />If you’re thinking of making a maquette for a dragon or pterosaur, you might try some of these techniques.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrPfEwUixy0FqsxBv3LTFRdgQ3lx8gmfM3NXHKuSay9LTmHKd7dvgmrHFCoKU0aNg7vmr5bTIhFjp2E3YPvuZzTjqcBVwC5NdBL1sJx8j3tYtueNMW1zzaqydrCz7tvKy6EIlkjSo6N9Dz/s1600/SkybaxModel.sm.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495666168153996418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrPfEwUixy0FqsxBv3LTFRdgQ3lx8gmfM3NXHKuSay9LTmHKd7dvgmrHFCoKU0aNg7vmr5bTIhFjp2E3YPvuZzTjqcBVwC5NdBL1sJx8j3tYtueNMW1zzaqydrCz7tvKy6EIlkjSo6N9Dz/s400/SkybaxModel.sm.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 398px; height: 400px;" /></a>I wanted to make this "hero" model to be fully posable so that I could position the wings in up and down flying positions. I also wanted to be able to fold up the wings so that I could imagine it perched on the ground.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYbOG8KXQAsSngr1eSkm5Gji4joh9MGucq2Ex9op94MaXxcEaD2CWXHGOZA8108dGXZCXGeWsoycHwF0ARCDJFnST2u09yUrgDq7bCt7HgEw8QOAtRkELAkvrT21J7FVmTuUndrk4fr7Ta/s1600/Skybax.Maquette.sm.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495666155158817714" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYbOG8KXQAsSngr1eSkm5Gji4joh9MGucq2Ex9op94MaXxcEaD2CWXHGOZA8108dGXZCXGeWsoycHwF0ARCDJFnST2u09yUrgDq7bCt7HgEw8QOAtRkELAkvrT21J7FVmTuUndrk4fr7Ta/s400/Skybax.Maquette.sm.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 326px;" /></a>It has a skeleton of aluminum armature wire running from head to tail and out through the wings. Toothpicks serve as wing bones, pipe cleaners as legs, and zigzagging floral wire support the wing. The head is made from a chunk of pine, with Sculpey bulking up the crest and eyes. <br /><br />The neck is made from flexible squishy foam, allowing it to bend or twist. The prone rider is made from Sculpey, resting on a saddle glued together out of scraps of leather.<br /><br />The wing membrane gave me the most trouble. My wife donated a pair of her old stockings, which I stretched over the wing bones and coated with a thin layer of latex. I added another layer of latex a few years later, but the wings got too thick and lost their elasticity. <br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1zvy5wg2n_i6D9L-dy1pLbND148flhPrsguKT-6rgH5ufF2kwTq3eFfNYBpofPV07Xrt1aMKwZQeq2pProh9MBT1WsiWbrQfwIz8oXjOGKjpawvSjgQ5nbVlvTqIZgc-_pLRnVxC9bGP-/s1600/SkybaxModel.rider.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495666161108424466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1zvy5wg2n_i6D9L-dy1pLbND148flhPrsguKT-6rgH5ufF2kwTq3eFfNYBpofPV07Xrt1aMKwZQeq2pProh9MBT1WsiWbrQfwIz8oXjOGKjpawvSjgQ5nbVlvTqIZgc-_pLRnVxC9bGP-/s400/SkybaxModel.rider.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 230px;" /></a>The whole thing was knocked over several times by the cat. During one crash landing the rider lost an arm, so I replaced it with cardboard.<br />-----<br />Previously on GJ: Cellphone tour spotlighting "<a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/07/cellphone-tour.html">Skybax Rider</a>" painting.

Skybax Maquette

In 1990 I constructed a reference maquette for the Quetzalcoatlus or “skybax” in Dinotopia. If you’re thinking of making a maquette for a dr...

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Cellphone Tour

Here’s a fun way that you can experience the Dinotopia exhibition that’s now in West Palm Beach, Florida.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpXQGz6tGs7hCi2oBbjITQ5AU1u80Wj-lJlYPW3M1jxyX0_Cl9CsYvFMrIha0nsUgaa2XeN6Q3uzvOOCKtRELjvC82L77gmXI19f4v_iZdEqLajsiQdt3NWnecs50h2A-BTnseY8o17poN/s1600/Norton.Dinotopia.11+copy.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491239637332898066" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpXQGz6tGs7hCi2oBbjITQ5AU1u80Wj-lJlYPW3M1jxyX0_Cl9CsYvFMrIha0nsUgaa2XeN6Q3uzvOOCKtRELjvC82L77gmXI19f4v_iZdEqLajsiQdt3NWnecs50h2A-BTnseY8o17poN/s400/Norton.Dinotopia.11+copy.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 227px;" /></a><br />In the back of one of the exhibition rooms is a painting called “Skybax Rider.” <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Ghz7FpV6PZNEVuMKZQ5_ohmcTlbHRAWdWNFsPvZJugeUvTEgOqBx17p77mWwyFsWfNIMHIHEpReHKQLPtG7zMepMdgV-zZNHayQQvpI3rlKXwaWUc_GL6CEuXvV6YTV2O14nDskstD4Z/s1600/Skybax+Rider.sm.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491239647416918210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Ghz7FpV6PZNEVuMKZQ5_ohmcTlbHRAWdWNFsPvZJugeUvTEgOqBx17p77mWwyFsWfNIMHIHEpReHKQLPtG7zMepMdgV-zZNHayQQvpI3rlKXwaWUc_GL6CEuXvV6YTV2O14nDskstD4Z/s400/Skybax+Rider.sm.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 333px;" /></a>If you have a telephone handy, dial the following number, and you can hear me in your ear talking about it. Dial 561-515-4185. Then hit extension #4.<br />------<br />Tour hosted by <a href="http://www.oncellsystems.com/ ">OnCell systems </a><br /><a href="http://www.norton.org/Exhibitions/Current/Dinotopia/tabid/436/Default.aspx">"Dinotopia: The Fantastical Art of James Gurney" at the Norton Museum of Art<br /></a>

Cellphone Tour

Here’s a fun way that you can experience the Dinotopia exhibition that’s now in West Palm Beach, Florida. In the back of one of the exhibiti...

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Color Correcting

The last few days I’ve been color-correcting my <a href="http://www.andrewsmcmeel.com/products/?isbn=0740797719">upcoming book.</a> Since the subject is “color and light,” my publishers and I want to get it as accurate as we can. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4wcm_9Q0Sen5q2FrDcQBdLDTXJgXr_8NAJ4z5ru6eiYr8hoSB7-_KdtJjy5YfWTvyIavjmYNFxkcUcSLFgsLaGShcwFHe1pkXxlE9RIMEniJC37D1mnyZUfqulBDo5WFLPJgxcAL93wDR/s1600/ColorCorrect.sm.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490811436419196818" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4wcm_9Q0Sen5q2FrDcQBdLDTXJgXr_8NAJ4z5ru6eiYr8hoSB7-_KdtJjy5YfWTvyIavjmYNFxkcUcSLFgsLaGShcwFHe1pkXxlE9RIMEniJC37D1mnyZUfqulBDo5WFLPJgxcAL93wDR/s400/ColorCorrect.sm.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 310px; height: 400px;" /></a>Each of the 270 or so separate color illustrations has to be checked and marked up on the press proofs.<br /><br />Fortunately we have most of the original art available for comparison. This painting, called “Doorway to Mystery,” was first published in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dinotopia-World-Beneath-James-Gurney/dp/0060280069">Dinotopia: The World Beneath</a>, a copy of which lies open next to the page proof. The blue-greens of that water are especially hard to capture.

Color Correcting

The last few days I’ve been color-correcting my upcoming book. Since the subject is “color and light,” my publishers and I want to get it a...

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Dinotopia Contraband

Josh Turner says:<blockquote><br />“I worked as a Correctional Officer during the summer before my last year as a undergrad. Every few hours, we were to pick a cell at random and check it for contraband. Since it was a pre-release center, we rarely found anything of interest. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh34SwFlM0pIWglK9-A99iftp44ymjQdKXsC5GpYxw38AJROBDVarRDV-zUYUvxeHauFlG2QQEJac6aeMglaW7PEASP7LAIhGm1kHYQydfX_Jd-LfE8FxWEluILMOEyTh3Od3hAsiB3583L/s1600/Dinotopia.Contraband.sm.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481174147449261586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh34SwFlM0pIWglK9-A99iftp44ymjQdKXsC5GpYxw38AJROBDVarRDV-zUYUvxeHauFlG2QQEJac6aeMglaW7PEASP7LAIhGm1kHYQydfX_Jd-LfE8FxWEluILMOEyTh3Od3hAsiB3583L/s400/Dinotopia.Contraband.sm.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 261px;" /></a>“Once, I flipped over a mattress and found three Dinotopia bookmarks and a beautiful picture of an unmanned Skybax. Upon closer examination of the room, I found that the bookmarks had been used to create a really snazzy pen and ink drawing that combined the Tree Town scene with the Skybax over Waterfall City with random dinosaurs and small mammals.<br /><br />I saw a lot of strange things as a guard, but I never expected to see dinosaurs!”<br /></blockquote><br />Thanks, Josh!

Dinotopia Contraband

Josh Turner says: “I worked as a Correctional Officer during the summer before my last year as a undergrad. Every few hours, we were to pick...

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Gurney at Norton en Español

<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/D4P9yD4CAxE&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/D4P9yD4CAxE&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />Review of the Dinotopia exhibition at the Norton Museum by Colombian model and TV personality Sonia Velasquez. ¡Muchas gracias!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUewzYVnkfI&feature=related">More about Sonia.</a><br />Another review of the <a href="http://www.examiner.com/x-17674-West-Palm-Beach-Fine-Arts-Examiner~y2010m6d4-Dinotopia-The-fantastical-art-of-James-Gurney-slideshow">exhibit in English</a>.<br /><a href="http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=38491">Art Daily report on the show</a><br /><a href="http://artnews.conteart.com/2010/06/norton-museum-of-art-presents-dinotopia-the-fantastical-art-of-james-gurney/">Fine Art News</a>

Gurney at Norton en Español

Review of the Dinotopia exhibition at the Norton Museum by Colombian model and TV personality Sonia Velasquez. ¡Muchas gracias! More about S...

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Ozymandias

The painting on the cover of Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara shows a convoy of dinosaurs and people crossing the desert, passing huge statues from one of Dinotopia’s ancient civilization. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzLflxoy0VQA_U0DuSnbTXHT2lWzV8AfFJ6U4KgNdODLvX02n6sQggp3jety6clrBTHyPnqMFOxpp7ruz2JjnS3CW6SVUM-futsMGIesdCwhIDaWsh5F4O82xHDSanq53GnuhBaHysqMQw/s1600/Desert+Crossing.Face.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478875089706978738" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzLflxoy0VQA_U0DuSnbTXHT2lWzV8AfFJ6U4KgNdODLvX02n6sQggp3jety6clrBTHyPnqMFOxpp7ruz2JjnS3CW6SVUM-futsMGIesdCwhIDaWsh5F4O82xHDSanq53GnuhBaHysqMQw/s400/Desert+Crossing.Face.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 314px;" /></a>As I painted the fallen stone face on the right side of the picture, I was thinking of Percy B. Shelley’s 1818 sonnet “Ozymandias,” which describes a traveler’s encounter with a colossal ancient statue in the desert: “Near them, on the sand, half sunk, a shattered visage lies.”<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYAqbqdrhNLVfx-LGCkI7ovgUDzfcq8POW3zOV4pIi3SlZ5VAiZIMLc35FE1I9hqcN9R3v1sbGfX8jjRrv25Wjzfzd03K24DuS37Wa2vDKsa1Z7NxBC-N0O6K-4MDlxtxolVaS8D1Ff4f0/s1600/Desert_Crossing_Detail.sm.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478875092330519362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYAqbqdrhNLVfx-LGCkI7ovgUDzfcq8POW3zOV4pIi3SlZ5VAiZIMLc35FE1I9hqcN9R3v1sbGfX8jjRrv25Wjzfzd03K24DuS37Wa2vDKsa1Z7NxBC-N0O6K-4MDlxtxolVaS8D1Ff4f0/s400/Desert_Crossing_Detail.sm.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 357px;" /></a>The inscription on the stone at the lower left echoes Shelley’s theme of the mute arrogance of a vanished civilization. The phrase says “EVERLASTING DOMINION” in Dinotopian footprint alphabet, ancient Greek, and Aramaic (written with Hebrew letters).<br /><br />The features on the fallen face in the painting are based not on Egyptian forms, but on casts of Michelangelo's David.<br />----------<br /><br />Links:<br />The painting is on view in <a href="http://www.norton.org/Exhibitions/Future/Dinotopia/tabid/436/Default.aspx">"The Fantastical Art of James Gurney"</a> which opens at the Norton Museum tomorrow.<br /><a href="http://www.dinotopia.com/dinotopia-store.html">The Dinotopia online store</a>, where you can order a signed copy of Journey to Chandara.<br /><a href="http://dinotopia.wikia.com/wiki/Footprint_alphabet">Dinotopia Wiki on the Footprint Alphabet</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozymandias">Wikipedia on the poem Ozymandias</a><br /><a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2008/09/plaster-casts.html">Previous GJ post on using plaster casts, including the David casts.<br /></a>

Ozymandias

The painting on the cover of Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara shows a convoy of dinosaurs and people crossing the desert, passing huge statues...

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Dinotopia at the Norton Museum of Art

The staff of the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida is putting the final touches on the Dinotopia exhibit, which will open this weekend.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSoD1Zb3wh5osAM2x8nFBeVBGk5mRWMVUvULz16ccoygsIIlq3hVJsMGOuZcDrGVWvx_ynLq6ty7jrUTybZTZIhW6mGunXAm7IpjdzDdW32RD2I37N_EHkAdvuEfjTvsC4mfe0w094xb6/s1600/Installation.Dinotopia.Norton.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477820008435993026" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSoD1Zb3wh5osAM2x8nFBeVBGk5mRWMVUvULz16ccoygsIIlq3hVJsMGOuZcDrGVWvx_ynLq6ty7jrUTybZTZIhW6mGunXAm7IpjdzDdW32RD2I37N_EHkAdvuEfjTvsC4mfe0w094xb6/s400/Installation.Dinotopia.Norton.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a>“Dinotopia: The Fantastical Art of James Gurney” contains over 50 original oil paintings, along with preliminary sketches, plein air studies, scale maquettes, and dinosaur fossils. This will be the first venue to show the sculpt of the Protoceratops Bix made by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.<br /><br />I’ll be attending, this weekend, with a colored pencil drawing workshop on Saturday, June 5 from 1:00-4:00 (there’s still space available), and I'll give a lecture on Sunday at 3:00, with a booksigning afterward. Come by and say hi and get a book or poster signed.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiKmU5SzMpEL-EC123LN0qTPe2ljYbVMn41V8pn6tM4HRLvNoVSJuZBdlLXDA9hcLOeYjdBHh1t7SMV5WYhpTvoJ34h43MVmO5PML4cOJJuNq401KZwjTBteqFv4a_n32wzSkewCxF04AH/s1600/Norton_Poster_Dinotopia.sm.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477820012653192482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiKmU5SzMpEL-EC123LN0qTPe2ljYbVMn41V8pn6tM4HRLvNoVSJuZBdlLXDA9hcLOeYjdBHh1t7SMV5WYhpTvoJ34h43MVmO5PML4cOJJuNq401KZwjTBteqFv4a_n32wzSkewCxF04AH/s400/Norton_Poster_Dinotopia.sm.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 301px; height: 400px;" /></a>There will be a whole family day celebration on Sunday June 6 from 1:00 to 5:00 with live animals and activities. And there will be events going on all around town during the whole summer. The exhibition will be up through September 5. Call 561. 832.5196 for more information.<br /><br />Norton.org <a href="http://www.norton.org/Exhibitions/Future/Dinotopia/tabid/436/Default.aspx">Dinotopia Exhibit</a>.<br />Download the <a href="http://www.norton.org/Museum/PressOffice/tabid/65/Default.aspx">full PDF of press release with schedule.</a>

Dinotopia at the Norton Museum of Art

The staff of the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida is putting the final touches on the Dinotopia exhibit, which will open thi...

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