The Artist's Guide to Sketching

by James Gurney, Thomas Kinkade

THE BACKGROUND OF THIS BOOK -- In the early 1980's, a couple of fresh-faced art students Thomas Kinkade ("The Painter of Light") and James Gurney (Dinotopia) found themselves working as background artists on the Ralph Bakshi/Frank Frazetta sword & sorcery film Fire and Ice. They had met in 1976 as freshman college roommates. Before they became established in their careers, they "sketched their way across America" as art hobos, hopping freight cars, finding adventure, and drawing, drawing, drawing. Much of this attitude and some of this biography made its way into the book, The Artist's Guide to Sketching -- a book firmly committed to the idea that artists need to get outdoors -- into the real world -- and draw from life. ABOUT THIS BOOK -- This is not a traditional "how to" book. The authors place a lot of emphasis on using the environment to capture mood and say that the sketching artist must allow his feelings and impressions to show themselves in the finished work. Sketching isn't rendering. It is expressing feelings. TOPICS COVERED IN THE BOOK -- Realities of sketching outdoors; materials; accuracy; creating mood; sketching people; sketching man-made objects; capturing motion; sketch vs. a study; the sketchbook as a chronicle of the artist's daily life. BOOK DETAILS -- hardback with dustjacket; cloth over boards with a sewn binding; 160 pp; b&w illustrations throughout.

Genres: Art, Drawing, Nonfiction, Reference, Art Design

160 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1983

About the author

Born June 14, 1958 in Glendale, California. Raised in Palo Alto, the youngest of five children of Joanna and Robert Gurney (a mechanical engineer). Earned a B.A. in Anthropology in 1979 with Phi Beta Kappa honors from the University of California at Berkeley. Studied painting at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena,California, where he met his wife Jeanette. In 1984 they moved to the Hudson Valley of New York State, where they raised two sons, Daniel and Franklin.

Reviews

[Gina Lento · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a shame that this book is out of print. These guys were Urban sketching before it was a “thing.” I am a sketcher and I still found a lot of useful information in this book. If you can borrow it from your local library, read it and take lots of notes. This was a valuable suggestion in the later chapters and a head smacker for me. Gurney/Kinkade are right, you remember more if you sketch and take notes.

What’s amusing is that artists kept files for
Reference photos and today we have the internet and apps like Sktchy. I agree that keeping sketchbooks is very useful and the more you sketch the more fodder you have for creating other work. When you see their work today and where they started (in this book) you can see how valuable sketching is to the artist.

Glad I was able to get my hands on a copy to read, finally!

[Nick Garza · Rating 5 out of 5]

My background as an "artist" is pretty much non-existent. I don't know how to draw or sketch or paint or make music or anything like that, but I really wanted to learn how to draw/sketch. Like any fan of the library this means grabbing every book on the subject I could find and seeing what sticks. From the approximate dozen drawing books I tried, Gurney's was the *best*. The only reason I'd consider it "finished" is because I ran out of renewals and had to give it back to the library. I'd gladly borrow it again to review any number of subjects.

Gurney presents clear steps, inspirational sketches of his own, and a wide variety of examples/subjects to study. I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn how to draw the world around them.

[Serge Pierro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having recently become interested in James Gurney's art and books, I was looking forward to seeing what he had to say about Sketching. I was surprised by the amount of different media, that both he and Thomas Kinkade used throughout the book. It was very interesting to see how two top artists go about their business via their sketching routine. Each sketch is initialed by the artist who did it and an anecdote is presented alongside it. Lots of useful information for artists of all genres and media.

[loafingcactus · Rating 4 out of 5]

James Gurney has wonderful education Youtubes and a Facebook community for artists. We all know who Thomas Kinkade was. Before all that, they were two art students who hoboed around the US riding the rails. This books is clearly by two young people trying to translate to the world how to experience the world as they had been experiencing it.

I hadn't really looked into what this book was about before I got it and it is very different from what I expected. I thought it was going to be about how to draw, how to sketch. Instead it is a lot more about the experience of being the kind of person who sketches. There is some time given to creating minimal art boxes to bring with you, and a couple of pages on perspective and such. But the topics are more things like how to deal with people staring at you while you sketch.

That topic makes it seem much thinner than it really is... its the whole EXPERIENCE, all the things, written down. Excellent book. I have the re-released 2025 edition.

As a companion to this book I would suggest my other favorite art book, Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling. That book is a lot heavier on techniques than the Gurney book, but it too focuses on the experience of what you are DOING when you are out sketching.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book that was out of print has been expanded, remastered and republished. It's absolutely gorgeous, filled with beautiful paintings and drawings. It mixes the tale of the authors' shared experience living as vagabonds, traveling in boxcars and sketching along the way, along with useful information on drawing outdoor sketching. I am savoring it slowly, page by page.

[PottWab Regional Library]

SM

[Tenille Roylance · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved loved loved every page. full of beautiful pictures and great practical advice for a newbie like me

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

some really solid examples of how people work on their sketching. Hatching samples, pictures from sites, samples of compositions.

[Has Wild]

i am artist thats why