Dean Cornwell Paints---Rare Archival Footage

James Gurney presents archival footage of American illustrator Dean Cornwell at work as he paints an illustration from "The Robe," by Lloyd Douglas in 1947. The footage was shot by Frank Reilly, part of Reilly's "Artists at Work" series. According to Reilly himself, the purpose of the film "is to impress upon us the accomplishments of those among us now and to perpetuate their memory for the inspiration of those who are to follow."

[@MJ-fn4pu]

I personally knew Dean Cornwell. He was a true master and I have some of his beautiful mural works. I studied with Frank Reilly and have continued his teachings through the years. I am the author of The Student's Guide To Painting in which I have now written a 2nd. Enlarged Edition which is being released by Dover Publications. Thank you for sharing this video. It brought back some great memories. I am now 90 years old and Instructor Emeritus at The Art Student's League of NY. Jack Faragasso

[@JamesGurney]

Mr. Faragasso, I have your book (published by North Light) and love it. The chapter on light and shade is second to none.

[@MJ-fn4pu]

@@JamesGurney That means so much! Thank you!

[@MJ-fn4pu]

Thank you so much James for sharing this wonderful rare footage! I was so honored to have been taught by Frank Reilly and to have known Dean Cornwell. He did lots of traveling while studying and he used to pick up the props and clothing to bring back so that his paintings represented the times and places appropriately. I am so happy to have been a part of those times, to have known these masters and to continue the Reilly method of teaching.

[@Peter_H_Art]

You must have some great stories to tell from those days.

[@JamesGurney]

There's a bit more. It runs rather tediously on for 12 or 13 minutes, but I tried to get the best parts.

[@JFBArteist]

Thank you James, for puting together this video. Dean Cornwell is the artist that I set my standards to be like. He is the best!

[@jeffhreid]

That was amazing. I’m reading a book by a student of Frank Reilly now. It’s very interesting to see the knowledge and techniques passed from master to student over the years. Thanks for sharing.

[@JamesGurney]

Which student? There are several books by Reilly students, and each one has different pieces of the puzzle.

[@jeffhreid]

Ralph Garafola wrote the Frank Reilly painting book I bought. Very comprehensive.

[@jeffhreid]

The title is: Frank Reilly-The Elements of Painting

[@allfalledout8686]

Now would be a brilliant time for much more of this kind of historic look back with footage of older artists and their process, you do a great job of exploring the past James, thank you Sir.

[@Michelle-nk4ce]

wow, that was amazing to watch. I'm a huge fan of Dean Cornwell and have one of his beautiful Painting

[@JamesGurney]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@BlackMath69]

very cool ...thanks!!

[@wildfood1]

Thanks, Dean Cornwell is one of the best!

[@olsfumi635]

What an absolute delight and treasure to share

[@sandradodson540]

Fantastic! Thank you for sharing.

[@hawgey]

WOW thanks so much for posting this. never thought i would ever see something like this!!

[@pingchoi5021]

Awesome, big fan of Dean Cornwell's work. Thank you for doing this!

[@SuperDrogers]

thanks James, this ia amazing footage and gee I wish we could find all this films Reilly made! Don

[@JamesGurney]

Hi, Will, thanks! I've had technical issues so haven't been able to digitize it yet, but I'll give it a try again soon.

[@nealtse9125]

What a treasure, thanks for sharing.

[@TDuD3]

this is gold man! thank you so much!

[@drifterdax]

After looking at Cornwell's many paintings, it looks like he had more than one style. This shows a very tight version of his painting skill, but I have also seen a much loser version that is equally fascinating. What a Master!

[@deCaravagio]

Thanks a lot for this amazing video!!!

[@zeroman614]

Thanks so much

[@JamesGurney]

fenix--You're right, it does sound like that, but it comes from iMovie's sample music tracks. Thanks, Squealies!

[@scottcaple3552]

Thank you Sir!

[@davidgeister]

Excellent! What a find!

[@Lydomina]

The model he keeps in his studio looks like James lol.

[@MustafaJackson]

Extraordinary.

[@MirkAssassin]

Cornwell is awesome

[@brandonmuncy868]

Thank you for sharing this rare footage of Dean Cornwell at work. You've done a great job at narrating the video. I am curious, what is that big Frank Brangwyn book on your shelf?

[@JamesGurney]

It's a catalog for the Retrospective of Frank Brangwyn, by Brugge Stedelijke Musea, 1987, authored by Dominique Marechal. It is written in Dutch.

[@brandonmuncy868]

@@JamesGurney Thank you! I hope one of the very fine small illustration art book publishers produce a Brangwyn monograph someday.

[@jacobuswoolfeart]

Hi Mr. Gurney, so much respect for you. When Cornwell inks in the lines with a brush is he using ink or paint?

[@OO-O-f7w]

Thank you so much for this James, it's really amazing, just like your new book! :D cheers

[@sambraithwaite6888]

This is amazing to watch!!! Do you know if there's any footage of Andrew Loomis working?

[@JamesGurney]

Not that I've ever heard of.

[@sambraithwaite6888]

@@JamesGurney Thank you for getting back!!! I trust you've would have heard or seen something by now. In any case if I for some reason come across something I'll message here.

[@whatyoumaydo]

Thanks James! Is this all of the footage or is there an extended version floating around out there?

[@TheMrmomo55]

Great! Thx from Germany

[@wily98988]

Excellent! Thanks for this. Have you digitized the other 8 minutes? Any way you could pass it along?

[@Glacorite]

The reason TF2's Artstyle was born. Amazing.

[@greggreen6532]

When you say "INKED IN" do you mean WITH ink? Where might I get the full film? Thanks.

[@JamesGurney]

That's the only piece of film I know of where you can see him painting. Yes, he was using India ink I believe.

[@guilhermenunes5641]

Hey @James Gurney, is it possible to upload or make the 12 tedious minutes available ?? Also , why does he keep a model in his studio if he already has the pose drawn ?? Thanks in advance.

[@SaraiZMayes5]

Hi, I just discovered this video and I just wanted to ask if by any chance you know what medium he works with? Is it just acrylic? or watercolors?

[@JamesGurney]

Cornwell painted in oil on canvas, even after a lot of his contemporaries had switched to water media.

[@SaraiZMayes5]

Thank you so much for answering back and thank you for providing this awesome video!

[@TheCombatartist]

Are there anymore of these Riley movies "out there"?

[@sunstrumsharam5388]

at 1:39 holy brushstroke

[@larsonoilpaint]

Is that india ink, for the inking in? Big thanks, this is rad.

[@JFBArteist]

Its raw umber color oil paint

[@fenixdown22]

that music sounds like Band of Brothers

[@dougg1075]

Why flick upwards after each stroke

[@jrpellerin]

That's a mannerism carried by some art teachers to their students, and also it helps the artist to overly done the strokes. This style is attributed to Sargent style but the whole process of this painting is way different to Sargent.

[@nelsonferreira-aulasdearte]

@@jrpellerin could it also have to do with releasing muscle tension?

[@aninoko]

@@nelsonferreira-aulasdearte--- I tend to agree with that...based from experience.

[@TheComiKen]

@robertfunk888