Gurney pursued his interest in drawing and painting at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, sketching outdoors at every opportunity. A cross-country railroad trip with friend and fellow artist Thomas Kinkade resulted in The Artist’s Guide to Sketching (1982), his first published book. Later, he painted jungle and volcano backdrops for major motion pictures, which piqued his interest in the fantasy genre. His art soon appeared on the covers of science fiction and fantasy novels, but his big break as an illustrator came from National Geographic. A string of challenging assignments for the publication provided the opportunity to work with scientists and historians, and the chance to recreate worlds that could never be photographed.

Gurney’s daydreams soon inspired an interest in archaeology and lost civilizations. During his youth, National Geographic magazine provided ready access to tales of adventure and the cultures of the world. The artist recalls many hours spent after school excavating his suburban backyard for arrowheads or “even a lost temple.”Īs a student at the University of California at Berkeley, James Gurney sought out professors with a passion for archaeology and paleontology, and studied collections in regional museums. He created careful drawings of Egyptian scarab carvings for a scientific publication, and after participating in an archaeological dig, decided to major in anthropology.

Home > Artists > James Gurney James Gurney Born: JBiographyĪs a young boy, James Gurney (b.1958) found it difficult to find books on dinosaurs, a subject that always captivated him. In Palo Alto, California where he grew up, a childhood museum visit provided his first encounter with the skeleton of a formidable Allosaurus and a lifetime love of the prehistoric. When the museum was closed for the night, he pictured dinosaur skeletons “stepping over the railing and stalking through the corridors before returning to their platforms at daybreak.”

Dinotopia by james gurney