Dinotopia: lost island and forgotten civilization: an extraordinary place where humans and dinosaurs live in harmony comes to life in this enchanting exhibition of one of the country's foremost fantasy illustrators

FROM THE SOOTHING, restorative environment of Waterfall City to the hidden wonders of Chandara, acclaimed author and illustrator James Gurney's magical Dinotopian world comes to life in an enchanting exhibition that features 44 original oil paintings from the best-selling illustrated books, Dinotopia: A Land Apart From Time (1992) and Dinotopia: The World Beneath (1995), as well as a preview of several never-before-seen works from the much-anticipated upcoming installment in the series, Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara. Moreover, fascinating examples of the illustrator's creative process, such as preliminary studies, reference photos, and handmade scale models also are on display.

Inspired by archaeology, lost civilizations, and the art of illustration, Gurney's Dinotopia, an extraordinary place where humans and dinosaurs live in harmony, fuses fantasy with realism and scientific accuracy. "The thing I love about dinosaurs is that they are on that balance point between fantasy and reality," Gurney explains. "It might be hard to believe that mermaids and dragons really existed, but we know that dinosaurs did--we can see their footprints and skeletons but we can't photograph them or see them, except in our imagination."

The Dinotopia storyline chronicles the adventures and remarkable experiences of Prof. Arthur Denison and his son Will on Dinotopia, a mysterious "lost" island inhabited by dinosaurs and shipwrecked travelers. This faraway land--wholly the product of Gurney's fertile imagination, scientific knowledge, and meticulous artistic ability--is a civilization like no other. The society has its own language, alphabet (dinosaur footprints that correspond to each letter of the Roman alphabet), colorful festivals, and parades. The lively cast of characters includes the inquisitive Prof. Denison; Will and Sylvia, the adventurous young Skybax riders-in-training: the devious curmudgeon Lee Crabb: the beautiful musician Oriana Nascava; and a multilingual, diplomatic Protoceratops named Bix.

As a young boy, Gurney found it difficult to acquire books on dinosaurs, a subject that always captivated him. A childhood museum visit provided his first encounter with the skeleton of a formidable Allosaurus, leading him to imagine the dinosaur skeletons "stepping oft of their platforms and tip-toeing through the hallways at night," only to return to their post by daybreak. Gurney's youthful daydreams inspired an interest in archaeology and lost civilizations. The artist recalls many hours spent excavating his suburban backyard for arrowheads and "even a lost temple." In college, he majored in anthropology at the University of California at Berkeley. From there he went on to pursue his lifelong interest in art, studying illustration at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., where he met his wife Jeanette, also an artist, who shared his love for sketching outdoors.

A cross-country trip with friend and fellow artist Thomas Kinkade resulted in The Artist's Guide to Sketching (1982). During his early career, Gurney painted jungle and volcano backdrops for animator Ralph Bakshi's Fire and Ice (1983) and became interested 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 magazine with a series of challenging assignments working with scientists and historians to re-create ancient worlds. Gurney's secret dream was to discover a lost city as significant as Troy or Machu Picchu and, so, in his spare time, he envisioned and painted "Waterfall City" and "Dinosaur Parade," which inspired the conceptual framework for what was to become the Dinotopia series.

His first book on the subject appeared in 18 languages in more than 30 countries and sold 2,000,000 copies. In 2002, Hallmark Entertainment produced a lavish $86,000,000 television miniseries for ABC based on the Dinotopia books that received record-setting ratings and an Emmy award for best visual effects.

"Dinotopia: The Fantastical Art of James Gurney" is on view through May 21 at the Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Mass.

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COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning