FREEWAY OVERPASS, markers and charcoal, 11” x 17”. Why do thumbnails? It's a low-risk way of thinking visually. My goal here is to capture a feeling of speed and drama. I want to convey the headlong race of forms stretching across the landscape . I try a few different compositions, but they don't work. The first thumbnail on the left is too cluttered with trees and poles. The overpass dips out of the picture, rather than surging out. In the final art at the top of this post, I allow the eye to follow the movement of the overpass into the middle ground space. I accent this area with stron ..read more

PATROL HELICOPTER, 1981, gouache on illustration board, 9½” x 13”. Here's the story: A field in Glendale, California, contains what I’m told is the world’s largest collection of police helicopters. It’s a calm, sunny day, ideal for trying out gouache paint. But I’m not expecting what’s about to hit me. I pass through a gate in the chain-link fence and approach a building. Inside, two women with headphone radios are communicating with police helicopters around LA. One looks up, adjusts her headphones, and asks, "What can I do for you?" "I'm an art student," I say. "I wonder if I could set ..read more

The Artist's Guide to Sketching isn't really a "how-to" book, but we do have a chapter with a with a step-by-step sequence explaining how to achieve accurate measurements and perspective. The way you do it is to first rough in the big shapes, check measurements and slopes, draw perspective guidelines, then refine the detailed underdrawing. Chris (CF) Payne says: "While all three of James’ books are profound and valuable, The Artist’s Guide to Sketching may be the best, if not the most important. The lessons are supremely important, and each presented with visual samples and clearly writ ..read more

Gang members may look intimidating, but if you catch them in public places, they make great models. Two Young Gang Members, published in The Artist's Guide to Sketching This idea applies to goths, bikers, punkers, ravers, metalheads & bodybuilders. In my experience they’re keenly aware of the effect their appearance has on ordinary, mundane people. They know it’s a costume, either temporary or permanent (as in the case of body modifications). More on Substack    ..read more

Join me in Carmel, CA on Saturday, March 15 from 12:00-2:00 for a presentation and book signing. I'll be talking about my friendship with Tom Kinkade and how it led to the book "The Artist's Guide to Sketching." This will be the only public event in the Bay Area for this book (the other events are at art schools and animation studios), and the first time I've done an event at a Thomas Kinkade gallery, which should be an interesting experience for all of us ..read more

The new edition of The Artist's Guide to Sketching releases today, and I want to thank everyone for your enthusiasm and kind words. We offered copies for sale in our little web store (sorry, USA only) and so many of you wanted signed copies that we had to enlist the help of the whole family to help us pack and ship. We have already sent out over 800 copies, and many of you have received them, or you will soon. If you ordered a copy and haven't gotten it yet, here's the update—we're almost caught up and hope to have every order that we receive by today in the mail by the end of this ..read more

Northeast Public Radio's Joe Donahue wanted to know this about sketching: "Do you do it to relax?" "What do you see that catches your eye?" "When does a sketch become a painting?" "How long can you focus on a subject?" "What do you consider your main work these days? This is why authors love to be interviewed by Joe Donahue. He asks questions you can’t prepare for, which makes you think about your topic in a new way. Link to Interview ..read more

 New post about riding the rails ..read more

John S. Sargent, like most portrait artists of his time, insisted that models moved and spoke while they posed, unlike the contemporary practice of having subjects hold dead still. More here.  ..read more

Nathalia says: "I wish you could have captured a quick, cheap digital image of all of the drawing you made and SOLD. Just to have a record. Ya know?" Hi, Nathalia, this is the closest we've got: a photo of some of the sketches we did around 1980-1981. Most of them ended up on the cutting room floor. We probably had three sketches for every one that made it in the book, and many that have never been seen. We had no way to sell them at the time, and I'm glad we didn't because it allowed us to rescan them for a much better printing of the new book compared to the first edition ..read more