James Gurney is the author and illustrator of the Dinotopia book series

. His most recent books are called Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist (2009) and Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter (2010). In 2008, he traveled with writer Alan Dean Foster to North Africa on a watercolor expedition, painting portraits of wild macaques in Gibraltar, Berbers in Moroccan casbahs, and Arab guards in the alleyways of Fez. But he's just as happy sketching in American laundromats and old diners. Follow his blog, Gurney Journey.

Click the thumbnails above to see images and captions.