James Gurney
Stormy Seas  1992

As a boy, James Gurney loved adventure stories and the illustrated classics that were filled with dynamic imagery by America's Golden Age illustrators, such as Howard Pyle (1853-1911) and N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945). The grandfather of American illustration, Pyle was also a renowned teacher who advised his students to step through the picture plane to imagine every part of the scene portrayed--from the details of its setting and costume to the mood, weather, and time of day.

James Gurney has taken the advice of the masters to heart.  In this dramatic work, we are plunged into a churning sea with Arthur and Will Denison when their schooner Venturuer is struck by the sudden fury of a typhoon that would bring them to Dinotopia.

Illustration for Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time
Oil on board

Link to image of plaque at Norman Rockwell Museum