Came for the woodpile tutorial, left with a profound realization about “paint/draw/etc what you see”. James has the best way of explaining how the brain translates what we see and how we then create a unique shorthand as visual notation.
Oh, yes. I often find myself wanting to fix something that another artist painted during a speedpaint or mater class. There is no such feeling on the finished image, but it is during the process that I understand that I would have got a completely different result, because I would never in my life do the way the artist does on the video, I would do it differently. This is our difference. Drawing ten of us the same thing, we would never get the same result. Especially in paints, since there is a run not only in tone, but also in color. Every artist see differently. Two artists see differently too.
That’s so funny ! I find myself imploring the screen, “No !! Leave it ! Leave it ! That stroke is PERfect. Sometimes the painter changes it and I tell myself it’s a reminder to me not to interfere with my next “chance” brushstroke. . 🤣
Hi James, looking at your videos I'm always struck by the quality of your painting, the elegance of your script, the profoundness of your insights, your general ability for unceasing associative learning, etc. All of which must be the fruit of decades of disciplined hard work. Stopping short of writing a love letter I guess I'm just dropping by to say thanks for being on this website and sharing your knowledge. All the best, Elie
Wow, thank you! It's often frustrating for me to try to translate my thought process into words, because in reality my brain feels so chaotic when I'm painting. But I'm glad if you can glean some useful insights from these presentation.
learning to see was so vague to me for the longest time, and then I hit me, seeing is noticing things that you see, and learning to see things in the right order.
This was some of the best teaching and explanation that I've ever seen on how to translate complicated reality to a cohesive, representative painting. Brilliantly done!
I forgot to include results of a study that did eyetracking of artists vs. non artists: gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/11/do-artists-see-differently.html
@@JamesGurney Whoa ! Righr on Grrrr, I have a graphic arts background as well as painting etc and I silently lose it when people leave my window blinds crooked, carelessly nail a notice off kilter, arrange patio pavers out of horizontal plumb. OMG I don’t have OCD it just looks horrible to me. It’s as offensive as bad kerning in my book.
@@JamesGurney I just remembered about this video: ruclips.net/video/nzO5ViO_y8Y/видео.html It's about how kids and artists see. I think is really similar to that study! I think this topics about how artists analyze images are quite interesting ^^
As a beginner artist still in the learning phase, it seems to me that not only do artists see differently, but artists also think differently about what they see.
I am a detail person. You help me to see it differently so I don't have to put in every leaf and twig to make a good picture. Thank you for all you do for us!
As an artist, I guess you also choose what to see and not to see. I also think that other artist may see other things than I do, as if we are all wearing different filtered glasses, and that's ok. It's one of the aspects that makes us all different artists.
I am so moved, intellectually, emotionally and aesthetically by your sharing of your knowledge, your fine work, your sensitive and generous spirit. I am a beginner and I’m fillled with gratitude that I can simply flip on RUclips and have the awesome opportunity to enter your world Mr Gurney! That I’ve subscribed is a mute point; that I’m now privy to your thought and feelings about painting is a treasure of a gift. Thank you.
3:54 regarding seeing colours in photos that aren’t there...i have a short story i want to share. I was in St Augustine, FL a while back and was driving on the Bridge of Lions. It was cloudy with some sun rays/streaks peaking out from behind some clouds, and it had just begun to rain. There was slow traffic, so i was able to look past the bridge rails into the water, and i promise you, the scene looked amazing and immediately saw/imagined it... ...as an epic image from Pirates of the Caribbean or some other majestic fantasy movie. It was just beautiful and other worldly and just perfect. I couldn’t stop on the bridge to get a photo, and parking down the street was hard to find. I went back a few days later and was disappointed to find that that unique look was gone. This happens to me often; seeing a more exaggerated image of an already beautiful scene in my head. It also happened to me in DC...I’ve forgotten the name of the bridge there. Does this ever happen to anyone else? Also, thank you so much for this video. It really helps me reimagine my subjects and how i start drawing them. I usually draw without my glasses because my sight is blurry without them (and this helps a lot), but I’ve never started with geometric shapes before. Maybe that’s one of my problems. Hahaha.
This is only 11 mins long but somehow is one of the most informative paintings videos I've seen. It puts words to what painting is like. Thank you for another amazing video!
James you are genius! If you are reading this I will be so lucky.. I am from Mumbai India, 52 years old, just started painted 6 months back... I learn so much from you, can't put it into words. Love you and your work and wholehearted tututorials.
for me it's a simplification of shapes and forms i see, tubes, boxes and ovals are the most basic which help you ease into showing the perspective and position of the objects, then you can also dive into re designing these forms/shapes more to the character of what you're drawing, although human body parts or any animal's have quite specific and varied design (a lot of rythms and patterns too) that i would say having a source to learn from will accelerate the process of you managing to draw those usually (my only recommendation to this day is steve huston tbh). when you make art, you express yourself and the way you choose to see and translate life into the representational abstraction that it is! so each artist *will* see and do things as they feel and differently, i think that's the beauty of it, plus sharing it with other so relatable artists...
I could watch you paint all day. How you make a pile of split wood come to life is mesmerizing. I could almost smell the aroma of it, too. Now to listen to you again without watching…it’s how my mind weeds out distractions. Then on to the podcasts…unless you need help stacking all that. Henry Ford said “Chop your own wood, it will warm you twice”. But it’s much more than that…much, much more. Thank you for an enlightening video!
if we see our mental model, then artists have a different mental model. Where others see logs, you see shapes and values and contrast and edges and options for composition and so on. I see you doing great work and sharing generously. 1000 thanks.
I love to see artists show us the beauty in the seemingly unbeautiful. you are so good at helping new artists realize how your thought process works. I too taught art, talked about learning to 'see' right off the bat, and drawing loosely to block in before putting details. only one word I want us all to start saying/using in perception or execution is: (from your video) "the brain is providing us with models of what we're seeing and this is largely "subconscious" so that this fills in ... " 'unconscious' is the guy waiting for the ambulance, 'subconscious' (or subconsciously) is the guy painting and all his knowledge from experience or education is coming to the surface naturally.
I bought your book Color and Light recently and it's already been helping so much! Then I discovered you have a channel here and immediately subscribed. Thank you for everything!
It is obvious, for sure, how different the colors always are on photos, after you painted during a plain air! I've started having more and more plain airs because of James Gurney, and I'm very thankful for his existence!!! He brings a lot of motivation, knowledge and overall happiness with his videos! I've even started a you-tube channel inspired by James the Great!)
You explain in detail everything you do as you're doing it. I find that SO HELPFUL. You must get so much joy of accomplishment as your beautiful artwork comes to fruition. You are so much appreciated. Thank you James.
Thanks for those excellent close-ups. Breaking down that pile of wood into manageable blocks (no puns intended, LOL) of shapes and tones onto the paper really brings order to what could be a chaotic and overwhelming painting experience. Very helpful. Same with the foliage which I still sometimes struggle with. What a good boy Smooth is.
3 года назад
I'm the other way around, I see the colours first and then I go to the shapes and details. But it's the colours with its shades and lights what catches my attention first and decides me to paint something (or not).
It's interesting how our mood and our situation on each moment affects the art we create. Because we're a senscient creature. We relate ourselves to the world through feelings. And artists have their history as well, have their traumas, have all the things we bring with us through life, the good and the bad as imperfect humans. All these are placed within the art we create. That's one of the reasons I like impressionism so much, because it is sort of a well balanced blend between realism and feelings. It allows us some abstraction but without falling into something all abstract, you know. There's still some sort of a more clear material connection to the world we live so people who sees the work can relate themselves to it easier. And by the way, I don't want to criticize both the realism and the abstractionism with my statement, I just want to point out some of the relevant things that impressionism can bring us as well. I think all forms of art complement each other. Art have been helping me a lot to relieve my problems I have in life, I wish I was a better artist with thr proper discipline and techniques. But I have this strong thing in my soul asking me, bringing me into painting. This need inside me to express myself, to feel the paint in the brush, to relieve it in the canvas. It's such an instint, just like the thirsty for a glass of water. I hope the art I make could be of some use for others as well. Just like your art inspired me.
In the past three years I’ve been learning and studying how to draw, paint and see. I’ve always been a detail oriented person but I look even closer than ever at what appears to define an edge of the subject, the edge colors, the variance of colors that compose the highlights, shadows, and the spectrum in between. This heightened focus is now something I can’t “turn off.” Thank you for taking the time to share with us.
My answer to this would be, only when we need to. I feel like the world looks the same to me as it did before, but when I need to work, I can switch off my mind into a state that just sees things as they are. I love getting lost in a painting to the point you don't evne know what you're painting, then when you step back to see it as a whole, it all turns into the image
Thank you so much for your videos! I'm trying to get back into gouache these days after a biiig big art block filled with a lot of insecurities. This helps! so thank you!
Thank you! That’s exactly what I wonder: what does the artist “see?” I wonder what I see, and how can I break it into pieces as you have done? It’s fascinating. Thanks!
The attention to detail Gurney puts into everything he does is just mind-blowing... I mean even in the description box he carefully gathers a lot of relevant information related to the video. That attention to detail for sure makes a difference.
We paint what we think, even artists have diferent ways of think about what is being seen. Even our mood can change the way we see/think. Great thought
Wonderful....I have watched your snow pile in the parking lot many times and it's a big favorite :) Now the woodpile is added to my favorite list :). Always learning....thank you James for your generous videos.
James, I always appreciate your insight into your thinking, perspective, and processes. It makes me think and adds a philosophical element to your videos that I very much enjoy.
You and I think similarly, although I use oils and my style is photo-realistic. I establish a sketch first, sometimes when complicated, using velum. Next, I "block in" or "back-paint" the major color themes, using acrylics, because they dry quickly, then I return to drop in all the shadows and highlights using a standard grid approach. My paintings often take from 30 to 100 hours to complete. I'm a stickler for detail.
Thank you for sharing this video sir. I’m not able to paint right now; this pandemic has not been easy. I am thankful I have not lost anyone close but I haven’t had the thing that I love doing most. Watching your videos helps tremendously. I feel the soul of discovery and your work is a refreshing breath of a true painting spirit. I send my well wishes and gratitudes to you master Gurney.
I have learned so many truly insightful things watching your videos over the last few years. The Philosophy and Physiology of vision, and our perception of reality is a fascinating subject. Learning to narrow it down over time and honing in, is the biggest take away for me so far, and it has changed how I perceive creating in general.
for me drawing/painting is like summoning something from a the plane of your mind ✍️👁👁 the skill level of the artist helps for eyes to capture details and colors. the brain understands your minds eye more clearly and exports all of that into a canvas/paper. The hands learn to follow that synchronization to pull that from the unseen inside our minds to what is seen to everyone by using lines and shapes. The process is truly magical ✨
This is good stuff, but I would offer an additional model...perhaps the underlying model. When we look at things we identify them and see the "template" in our mind rather than really look at what we're seeing. When we look at a "chair" we really see our template for that kind of chair and maybe notice obvious adjustments (like an accent piece or maybe a stain). So while we look at that specific chair, we really just take note of "chair a" plus "accent thing". Artists on the other hand, either naturally or train themselves, to look at the details of the chair they are drawing. They don't see a chair, they see lines in space...they don't see a "Brown" chair, they see an interplay of colors changing with the light hitting it just so. I say all this (and it's not new btw) because it helps to explain the various tricks for seeing those "lines in space" as described here and elsewhere.
I've heard that the software used to process the captured photos varies considerably depending on the manufacturer. Japanese cameras like Sony can take cool colors beautifully, and iPhones can take warm colors beautifully. Also, the colors vary so much from one monitor to another that I don't know which one is the true color.
I started my painting journey last year watching vids like yours. The first rule I created for myself was #1 Paint what you see. Not what you think you see. An example is to look at something like a pot, cellphone or whatever. Look at it in detail. Then go into another room without the object and try to paint or draw it. Now go back to the pot and compare the painting / drawing to it. You should realize that it looks like a simplified take on the object. Whenever you take your eyes off the subject for, in my case, 4 seconds, while paining; you are NOT PAINTING WHAT YOU ARE SEEING but WHAT YOU THINK YOU SAW. The brain super simplified that object when it was being processed and removed the details. So when you recall it, you lost most of the details. It's similar to taking a picture and then making it small. Saving it. Then trying to blow it back up again. It lost the details when it was shrunk. Now it looks like a pixelated mess when you try to increase the size. I try to make the parallel on how our computer screens work. Think about playing a first person shooter game and having the screen refresh every 5-10 seconds. Do you think that will help you make the best decision on the thing in front of you? So why are you doing that while painting? Your eyes should be shifting back and forth from the subject to the painting while your hands move in free flow. Do not overthink your hand movements otherwise you'll start painting what you THINK you saw. Do not stare at the canvas for too long or you will start to paint what YOU THINK YOU SAW. This rule helped me get far in the painting process in 7 months. The other rule that helped me was not lying to myself when I got the form wrong. I didn't want to admit that the form I started with was not a good foundation. Then I spent countless hours trying to fix the painting. I should have just analyzed what I did right and wrong then restarted again or moved on to the next. Anyway rule #2 was #2 Learn your materials well so you know exactly how they work and how they react. So that when you are in the middle of painting something you are not surprised by the outcome. I took something simple and learned how to mix colors, use the tools to see what they do on canvas. This also includes building that muscle memory on moving your hand strokes to get desired results. My third rule was #3 #3 Only put the details that matter in the painting. I was painting an old man with a lot of wrinkles. The first time I tried I got hung up on the details I blasted through form/structure, lighting and shadows, etc. Just to get into painting in the wrinkles. The painting was a disaster. It was then I realized that I should, simplify the subject into simple shapes at the start of the painting. Then continue to add smaller shapes that start defining the subject. Then once I can see a resemblance of what I was painting, THEN add in the details... NOT ALL OF THEM!!! JUST THE ONES THAT DEFINE THE SUBJECT!!! I don't need 100 wrinkles to show that he is old....I only need 15 in the right locations. In about a year I was able to go from nothing to pretty decent getting like 75%-85% likeness. To me it's a fight between what my mind tries to simplify and process and what I actually see in front of me. Most veteran artists have the upper hand in this fight. They have many tools at their disposal. For example, one tool is learning anatomy. This helps put quick place holders on what should be in a certain painting for you to go back to and clean up and shape it to the subject you are painting. I am not versed well in anatomy so when I paint muscles, I only keep their shapes and hide my inefficiencies by keeping the painting a bit loose. Some artists know how they sit on the skeleton and make those muscles look wonderful.
I started this journey with this channel with a meme about a frog's perception as the artist wonders what it sees. I have not regretted investing further than that meme. God bless you James, you make great content, keep it up :)
I was at a cocktail reception for the officers from my ship in Rockingham, Western Australia. A woman walked up to me and said, " You're an artist, aren't you." She said she had a son who was an artist going to school in Darwin, and she noticed how I was taking in the room as only an artist would.
When I took my first drawing class as an adult, the instructor asked us what we hoped to learn in the class. I told him that I wanted to learn how to see.
I’m only a rank amateur but even after just doing a few Bargue plates, I would find myself watching TV and having all the shadow shapes jumping out at me. I can’t imagine what a full lifetime of art creation would do.
I’ve got this book on French Academic Painting in the 1900’s, and it stated that medical students would attend anatomy drawing classes, to learn to observe nature.
Such a great video! As my skills have developed, that I see details that I used to miss and my ability to parse out angles and shapes has improved. Hearing about the “top down” model of vision makes sense-I think much of my being an artist has been getting past my brain’s models for things to actually observe what’s truly there instead. 👍 I still struggle with complex scenes like this wood pile. Watching how you tackled it was very helpful! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us! 🪵
I made a comment on your battle vs. meditation video about my book, but your neuroscience statements here are very intriguing. I suggested in my book that caregivers use art to help with their caregiving. I really don't think the right hand is talking to the left in memory and cognitive problems. Did you ever think about a book just on using art for caregiving? Aso in Lifespan by David Sinclair, he states being hungry and cold are the best challenges to our body, so you out there freezing your butt off to paint helps your body too. :)
This life’s dim windows of the soul Distorts the heavens from pole to pole And leads you to believe a lie When you see with, not through, the eye. - William Blake
Just this week I was discussing with my husband the question this video addresses. My question to you is this, can a person learn to see the things that an artist does, OR do I just enjoy other people’s work and forget doing anything myself? I truly appreciate and enjoyed this video.
James, how you describe the appreciation off how the eye and brain make's things apparent, the view, as a person who photo's and paint's images, it bring's it together , thanks for the vid , Educational, Thanks
James, believe me, my brain isn't that complex. Love your vlogs. Still trying to work out how you painted that plane before you took off a few years ago! Many thanks for all the fine explanations.
That doggie was working hard to photo bomb his way into the composition. Thank you for another great tutorial
Smooth.
Beautiful boy.
this made my day haha
May it's try to paint bomb ☺️
out of all the artists who share their process and tips, yours has always been the most helpful; the most inspiring. thank you for sharing!!
Great tutorial messed around with most mediums from being a kid many moons ago, you have really inspired me to get seriously back into water colour 👍
Came for the woodpile tutorial, left with a profound realization about “paint/draw/etc what you see”. James has the best way of explaining how the brain translates what we see and how we then create a unique shorthand as visual notation.
Oh, yes. I often find myself wanting to fix something that another artist painted during a speedpaint or mater class. There is no such feeling on the finished image, but it is during the process that I understand that I would have got a completely different result, because I would never in my life do the way the artist does on the video, I would do it differently. This is our difference. Drawing ten of us the same thing, we would never get the same result. Especially in paints, since there is a run not only in tone, but also in color.
Every artist see differently. Two artists see differently too.
That’s so funny ! I find myself imploring the screen, “No !! Leave it ! Leave it ! That stroke is PERfect. Sometimes the painter changes it and I tell myself it’s a reminder to me not to interfere with my next “chance” brushstroke. . 🤣
and so many different techniques.
Hi James, looking at your videos I'm always struck by the quality of your painting, the elegance of your script, the profoundness of your insights, your general ability for unceasing associative learning, etc. All of which must be the fruit of decades of disciplined hard work. Stopping short of writing a love letter I guess I'm just dropping by to say thanks for being on this website and sharing your knowledge. All the best, Elie
Wow, thank you! It's often frustrating for me to try to translate my thought process into words, because in reality my brain feels so chaotic when I'm painting. But I'm glad if you can glean some useful insights from these presentation.
@@JamesGurney I can't talk when I draw or paint. I simply can't. I immediately stop seeing what's there and lose focus.
@@ptaylor4923 Same! It tears me out of the zone & snaps me back into reality. YUK!!
learning to see was so vague to me for the longest time, and then I hit me, seeing is noticing things that you see, and learning to see things in the right order.
Well said, that's it exactly.
I've never been so early to a James Gurney video!
I got here within 12 hours and almost 1,500 people beat me 😂
I've never been so late to a James Gurney Video!
This was some of the best teaching and explanation that I've ever seen on how to translate complicated reality to a cohesive, representative painting. Brilliantly done!
Before even watching this, the title, Do Artists See Differently ?
YES. It’s the first lesson my mom taught me.
I forgot to include results of a study that did eyetracking of artists vs. non artists: gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/11/do-artists-see-differently.html
@@JamesGurney Whoa ! Righr on Grrrr, I have a graphic arts background as well as painting etc and I silently lose it when people leave my window blinds crooked, carelessly nail a notice off kilter, arrange patio pavers out of horizontal plumb. OMG I don’t have OCD it just looks horrible to me. It’s as offensive as bad kerning in my book.
@@JamesGurney wow great website/ blog
@@JamesGurney I just remembered about this video:
ruclips.net/video/nzO5ViO_y8Y/видео.html
It's about how kids and artists see.
I think is really similar to that study! I think this topics about how artists analyze images are quite interesting ^^
@@ARIANA-eh2qt thank you I looked at that Video . Really good
As a beginner artist still in the learning phase, it seems to me that not only do artists see differently, but artists also think differently about what they see.
I like the way you put that. That's it, exactly. And it's what comes from training and practice.
I am a detail person. You help me to see it differently so I don't have to put in every leaf and twig to make a good picture. Thank you for all you do for us!
Yuuuuup I’m starting to “see” differently
As an artist, I guess you also choose what to see and not to see. I also think that other artist may see other things than I do, as if we are all wearing different filtered glasses, and that's ok. It's one of the aspects that makes us all different artists.
Right on Erik 🤣 One artist’s Blue-Green is another artist’s Green-Blue
Hey, Eric, Well put. So much of focused seeing is choosing what to ignore.
I am so moved, intellectually, emotionally and aesthetically by your sharing of your knowledge, your fine work, your sensitive and generous spirit. I am a beginner and I’m fillled with gratitude that I can simply flip on RUclips and have the awesome opportunity to enter your world Mr Gurney! That I’ve subscribed is a mute point; that I’m now privy to your thought and feelings about painting is a treasure of a gift. Thank you.
Your tutorial guides for breaking down the chaotic wood pile into patterns and visual cues was super helpful! Thank you!
What a treat when you see a notification from James Gurney pop on the phone. It feels truly special.
3:54 regarding seeing colours in photos that aren’t there...i have a short story i want to share.
I was in St Augustine, FL a while back and was driving on the Bridge of Lions. It was cloudy with some sun rays/streaks peaking out from behind some clouds, and it had just begun to rain. There was slow traffic, so i was able to look past the bridge rails into the water, and i promise you, the scene looked amazing and immediately saw/imagined it...
...as an epic image from Pirates of the Caribbean or some other majestic fantasy movie. It was just beautiful and other worldly and just perfect. I couldn’t stop on the bridge to get a photo, and parking down the street was hard to find.
I went back a few days later and was disappointed to find that that unique look was gone. This happens to me often; seeing a more exaggerated image of an already beautiful scene in my head. It also happened to me in DC...I’ve forgotten the name of the bridge there.
Does this ever happen to anyone else?
Also, thank you so much for this video. It really helps me reimagine my subjects and how i start drawing them. I usually draw without my glasses because my sight is blurry without them (and this helps a lot), but I’ve never started with geometric shapes before. Maybe that’s one of my problems. Hahaha.
Very informative video, I 100% agree that painting from photos seems to lack the same vibrance and color that you get from life
I really love rewatching all your vids mr. gurney, I hope I could meet you some time soon
This is only 11 mins long but somehow is one of the most informative paintings videos I've seen. It puts words to what painting is like. Thank you for another amazing video!
James you are genius! If you are reading this I will be so lucky.. I am from Mumbai India, 52 years old, just started painted 6 months back... I learn so much from you, can't put it into words. Love you and your work and wholehearted tututorials.
So true that a photo doesn't show the colours that you can see in real life looking at a subject . Thanks James , great video
for me it's a simplification of shapes and forms i see, tubes, boxes and ovals are the most basic which help you ease into showing the perspective and position of the objects, then you can also dive into re designing these forms/shapes more to the character of what you're drawing, although human body parts or any animal's have quite specific and varied design (a lot of rythms and patterns too) that i would say having a source to learn from will accelerate the process of you managing to draw those usually (my only recommendation to this day is steve huston tbh). when you make art, you express yourself and the way you choose to see and translate life into the representational abstraction that it is! so each artist *will* see and do things as they feel and differently, i think that's the beauty of it, plus sharing it with other so relatable artists...
I could watch you paint all day. How you make a pile of split wood come to life is mesmerizing. I could almost smell the aroma of it, too.
Now to listen to you again without watching…it’s how my mind weeds out distractions. Then on to the podcasts…unless you need help stacking all that.
Henry Ford said “Chop your own wood, it will warm you twice”. But it’s much more than that…much, much more.
Thank you for an enlightening video!
if we see our mental model, then artists have a different mental model. Where others see logs, you see shapes and values and contrast and edges and options for composition and so on.
I see you doing great work and sharing generously. 1000 thanks.
I love to see artists show us the beauty in the seemingly unbeautiful. you are so good at helping new artists realize how your thought process works. I too taught art, talked about learning to 'see' right off the bat, and drawing loosely to block in before putting details. only one word I want us all to start saying/using in perception or execution is: (from your video)
"the brain is providing us with models of what we're seeing and this is largely "subconscious" so that this fills in ... " 'unconscious' is the guy waiting for the ambulance, 'subconscious' (or subconsciously) is the guy painting and all his knowledge from experience or education is coming to the surface naturally.
4:00 I don't paint outside for various reasons, but this is one of my big frustrations with the photos I take to paint from reference
12 seconds ago, I'm so early!
I've been waiting for another video, I love them so much! Thank you for teaching us James Gurney :D
I bought your book Color and Light recently and it's already been helping so much! Then I discovered you have a channel here and immediately subscribed. Thank you for everything!
I've got Color and Light also. Amazing book.
That book is a CLASSIC! Required reading, so to speak!
One of my favourite painters talking about one of my favourite scientists (Hoffman)....! Man, doesn't get better than that!
It is obvious, for sure, how different the colors always are on photos, after you painted during a plain air! I've started having more and more plain airs because of James Gurney, and I'm very thankful for his existence!!! He brings a lot of motivation, knowledge and overall happiness with his videos! I've even started a you-tube channel inspired by James the Great!)
You explain in detail everything you do as you're doing it. I find that SO HELPFUL. You must get so much joy of accomplishment as your beautiful artwork comes to fruition.
You are so much appreciated. Thank you James.
Thanks for those excellent close-ups. Breaking down that pile of wood into manageable blocks (no puns intended, LOL) of shapes and tones onto the paper really brings order to what could be a chaotic and overwhelming painting experience. Very helpful. Same with the foliage which I still sometimes struggle with. What a good boy Smooth is.
I'm the other way around, I see the colours first and then I go to the shapes and details. But it's the colours with its shades and lights what catches my attention first and decides me to paint something (or not).
It's interesting how our mood and our situation on each moment affects the art we create. Because we're a senscient creature. We relate ourselves to the world through feelings. And artists have their history as well, have their traumas, have all the things we bring with us through life, the good and the bad as imperfect humans. All these are placed within the art we create. That's one of the reasons I like impressionism so much, because it is sort of a well balanced blend between realism and feelings. It allows us some abstraction but without falling into something all abstract, you know. There's still some sort of a more clear material connection to the world we live so people who sees the work can relate themselves to it easier. And by the way, I don't want to criticize both the realism and the abstractionism with my statement, I just want to point out some of the relevant things that impressionism can bring us as well. I think all forms of art complement each other. Art have been helping me a lot to relieve my problems I have in life, I wish I was a better artist with thr proper discipline and techniques. But I have this strong thing in my soul asking me, bringing me into painting. This need inside me to express myself, to feel the paint in the brush, to relieve it in the canvas. It's such an instint, just like the thirsty for a glass of water. I hope the art I make could be of some use for others as well. Just like your art inspired me.
I wish someone had explained "seeing" this way to me when I was a first year art student.
I wish anyone had taught me this at all, so same
Thank you. Over the last few years I have become a big fan of your videos. They have taught me a lot. Thanks
In the past three years I’ve been learning and studying how to draw, paint and see. I’ve always been a detail oriented person but I look even closer than ever at what appears to define an edge of the subject, the edge colors, the variance of colors that compose the highlights, shadows, and the spectrum in between. This heightened focus is now something I can’t “turn off.”
Thank you for taking the time to share with us.
My answer to this would be, only when we need to. I feel like the world looks the same to me as it did before, but when I need to work, I can switch off my mind into a state that just sees things as they are. I love getting lost in a painting to the point you don't evne know what you're painting, then when you step back to see it as a whole, it all turns into the image
I freeze when I see that amount of parts in a reference
Thank you so much for your videos! I'm trying to get back into gouache these days after a biiig big art block filled with a lot of insecurities. This helps! so thank you!
Absolutely the best art teacher I've ever had.
Thank you! That’s exactly what I wonder: what does the artist “see?” I wonder what I see, and how can I break it into pieces as you have done? It’s fascinating. Thanks!
The attention to detail Gurney puts into everything he does is just mind-blowing... I mean even in the description box he carefully gathers a lot of relevant information related to the video.
That attention to detail for sure makes a difference.
Things at the art desk are making so much more sense now. Thank you so much.
We paint what we think, even artists have diferent ways of think about what is being seen. Even our mood can change the way we see/think. Great thought
Wonderful....I have watched your snow pile in the parking lot many times and it's a big favorite :) Now the woodpile is added to my favorite list :). Always learning....thank you James for your generous videos.
Artist absolutely see more and differently! thank you
captivating... I would never tackle a wood pile... but you show it's not so difficult
What a guy. Even the shots and angles in the video are really well composed.
James, I always appreciate your insight into your thinking, perspective, and processes. It makes me think and adds a philosophical element to your videos that I very much enjoy.
Brilliant video and great lesson in overall drawing 👍 needs to be seen by everyone!!
Great Video James! The log analogy is just great as is drawing a distinction between learning to see and learning to handle paint.
You are my number one in watercolor and gouache, really enjoy your work!
You and I think similarly, although I use oils and my style is photo-realistic. I establish a sketch first, sometimes when complicated, using velum. Next, I "block in" or "back-paint" the major color themes, using acrylics, because they dry quickly, then I return to drop in all the shadows and highlights using a standard grid approach. My paintings often take from 30 to 100 hours to complete. I'm a stickler for detail.
Thank you for sharing this video sir. I’m not able to paint right now; this pandemic has not been easy. I am thankful I have not lost anyone close but I haven’t had the thing that I love doing most. Watching your videos helps tremendously. I feel the soul of discovery and your work is a refreshing breath of a true painting spirit. I send my well wishes and gratitudes to you master Gurney.
James, that was a really outstanding video which made me think hard about the way I approach painting. Well done.
Mr. Gourney you are a good teacher.
I think it's really cool that my mind goes through each of these steps as well.
I have learned so many truly insightful things watching your videos over the last few years. The Philosophy and Physiology of vision, and our perception of reality is a fascinating subject. Learning to narrow it down over time and honing in, is the biggest take away for me so far, and it has changed how I perceive creating in general.
for me drawing/painting is like summoning something from a the plane of your mind ✍️👁👁 the skill level of the artist helps for eyes to capture details and colors. the brain understands your minds eye more clearly and exports all of that into a canvas/paper. The hands learn to follow that synchronization to pull that from the unseen inside our minds to what is seen to everyone by using lines and shapes. The process is truly magical ✨
This is good stuff, but I would offer an additional model...perhaps the underlying model. When we look at things we identify them and see the "template" in our mind rather than really look at what we're seeing. When we look at a "chair" we really see our template for that kind of chair and maybe notice obvious adjustments (like an accent piece or maybe a stain). So while we look at that specific chair, we really just take note of "chair a" plus "accent thing". Artists on the other hand, either naturally or train themselves, to look at the details of the chair they are drawing. They don't see a chair, they see lines in space...they don't see a "Brown" chair, they see an interplay of colors changing with the light hitting it just so. I say all this (and it's not new btw) because it helps to explain the various tricks for seeing those "lines in space" as described here and elsewhere.
I imagine his wife shouting "hey I told you to chop the firewood, not to paint it!"
I've heard that the software used to process the captured photos varies considerably depending on the manufacturer. Japanese cameras like Sony can take cool colors beautifully, and iPhones can take warm colors beautifully. Also, the colors vary so much from one monitor to another that I don't know which one is the true color.
I see this channel at first time and I'm happy
I really like how these videos are done! This one is a really thorough and unique way to show people your process - thanks for sharing!
I started my painting journey last year watching vids like yours. The first rule I created for myself was
#1 Paint what you see. Not what you think you see.
An example is to look at something like a pot, cellphone or whatever. Look at it in detail. Then go into another room without the object and try to paint or draw it.
Now go back to the pot and compare the painting / drawing to it. You should realize that it looks like a simplified take on the object.
Whenever you take your eyes off the subject for, in my case, 4 seconds, while paining; you are NOT PAINTING WHAT YOU ARE SEEING but WHAT YOU THINK YOU SAW. The brain super simplified that object when it was being processed and removed the details. So when you recall it, you lost most of the details. It's similar to taking a picture and then making it small. Saving it. Then trying to blow it back up again. It lost the details when it was shrunk. Now it looks like a pixelated mess when you try to increase the size.
I try to make the parallel on how our computer screens work. Think about playing a first person shooter game and having the screen refresh every 5-10 seconds. Do you think that will help you make the best decision on the thing in front of you? So why are you doing that while painting?
Your eyes should be shifting back and forth from the subject to the painting while your hands move in free flow. Do not overthink your hand movements otherwise you'll start painting what you THINK you saw. Do not stare at the canvas for too long or you will start to paint what YOU THINK YOU SAW.
This rule helped me get far in the painting process in 7 months.
The other rule that helped me was not lying to myself when I got the form wrong. I didn't want to admit that the form I started with was not a good foundation. Then I spent countless hours trying to fix the painting. I should have just analyzed what I did right and wrong then restarted again or moved on to the next.
Anyway rule #2 was
#2 Learn your materials well so you know exactly how they work and how they react. So that when you are in the middle of painting something you are not surprised by the outcome. I took something simple and learned how to mix colors, use the tools to see what they do on canvas. This also includes building that muscle memory on moving your hand strokes to get desired results.
My third rule was #3
#3 Only put the details that matter in the painting.
I was painting an old man with a lot of wrinkles. The first time I tried I got hung up on the details I blasted through form/structure, lighting and shadows, etc. Just to get into painting in the wrinkles. The painting was a disaster. It was then I realized that I should, simplify the subject into simple shapes at the start of the painting. Then continue to add smaller shapes that start defining the subject. Then once I can see a resemblance of what I was painting, THEN add in the details... NOT ALL OF THEM!!! JUST THE ONES THAT DEFINE THE SUBJECT!!!
I don't need 100 wrinkles to show that he is old....I only need 15 in the right locations.
In about a year I was able to go from nothing to pretty decent getting like 75%-85% likeness. To me it's a fight between what my mind tries to simplify and process and what I actually see in front of me.
Most veteran artists have the upper hand in this fight. They have many tools at their disposal. For example, one tool is learning anatomy. This helps put quick place holders on what should be in a certain painting for you to go back to and clean up and shape it to the subject you are painting.
I am not versed well in anatomy so when I paint muscles, I only keep their shapes and hide my inefficiencies by keeping the painting a bit loose. Some artists know how they sit on the skeleton and make those muscles look wonderful.
Thank you so much for this video and explanation! This 11-minutes shot gave more than courses and some books!
I love your painting channel. I paint in acrylic but just bought a water color kit to try this. Thank you
I started this journey with this channel with a meme about a frog's perception as the artist wonders what it sees. I have not regretted investing further than that meme. God bless you James, you make great content, keep it up :)
truly loved this video! and thank you so much for all the resources linked as well
When you are faster than the youtube notification... thank you Mr. Gurney for posting.
what a great painting and discussion on perception! Thanks for all the great art videos!
I was at a cocktail reception for the officers from my ship in Rockingham, Western Australia. A woman walked up to me and said, " You're an artist, aren't you." She said she had a son who was an artist going to school in Darwin, and she noticed how I was taking in the room as only an artist would.
Phantastic video...as usual! You made me really happy again!
The pup sniffing was well needed and very appreciated!
Thank you, James. You are the best art instructor!
When I took my first drawing class as an adult, the instructor asked us what we hoped to learn in the class. I told him that I wanted to learn how to see.
your videos are also a form of stored sunlight master James
I’m only a rank amateur but even after just doing a few Bargue plates, I would find myself watching TV and having all the shadow shapes jumping out at me. I can’t imagine what a full lifetime of art creation would do.
I just looked up your channel right now to revisit it and you recently posted a video. What a coincidence!
I so love your videos! They are so expertly made. Your teaching and artwork is superb!
I’ve got this book on French Academic Painting in the 1900’s, and it stated that medical students would attend anatomy drawing classes, to learn to observe nature.
Muchas gracias, ideal para perderle el miedo a pintar leña! Tanto la adoro
The manipulated images/photographs are so helpful! I learned so many new things!
Such a great video! As my skills have developed, that I see details that I used to miss and my ability to parse out angles and shapes has improved. Hearing about the “top down” model of vision makes sense-I think much of my being an artist has been getting past my brain’s models for things to actually observe what’s truly there instead. 👍 I still struggle with complex scenes like this wood pile. Watching how you tackled it was very helpful! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us! 🪵
Thank you James! A brilliant teacher and artist you are!😁👍🏻
Great insights, and well- articulated. I agree with your thought on the "magic" of painting. I look forward to your next video!
what a legend. Had no idea you were on youtube! Instant sub.
I made a comment on your battle vs. meditation video about my book, but your neuroscience statements here are very intriguing. I suggested in my book that caregivers use art to help with their caregiving. I really don't think the right hand is talking to the left in memory and cognitive problems. Did you ever think about a book just on using art for caregiving? Aso in Lifespan by David Sinclair, he states being hungry and cold are the best challenges to our body, so you out there freezing your butt off to paint helps your body too. :)
This life’s dim windows of the soul
Distorts the heavens from pole to pole
And leads you to believe a lie
When you see with, not through, the eye.
- William Blake
"To See a World in a Grain of Sand..." , William Blake visionary artist and poet.
Just this week I was discussing with my husband the question this video addresses. My question to you is this, can a person learn to see the things that an artist does, OR do I just enjoy other people’s work and forget doing anything myself?
I truly appreciate and enjoyed this video.
Love how you take a possibly ugly scene and create beauty with it.
James, how you describe the appreciation off how the eye and brain make's things apparent, the view, as a person who photo's and paint's images, it bring's it together , thanks for the vid , Educational, Thanks
That brush looks very nice
This is soooo on point. Great, great video and breakdown of the painting process.
Great video. Thanks for sharing. The visuals really help with your explanations.
this is FANTASTIC explanation! thank you Sir!
this video is so helpful, thank you!!
James, believe me, my brain isn't that complex. Love your vlogs. Still trying to work out how you painted that plane before you took off a few years ago! Many thanks for all the fine explanations.