Ramshackle Review

Maison d'Ailleurs   

Watercolor by James Gurney

Maison d'Ailleurs                                   Watercolor, 5" x 8"

The Maison d'Ailleurs (translated: 'House of Elsewhere') is a museum of 'science fiction, utopia and extraordinary journeys' in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland. In 2003, Dinotopia creator James Gurney painted this plein-air watercolor sketch of the Maison d’Ailleurs (the white building) when the museum hosted the first of two Dinotopia exhibitions. This painting first appeared on his blog Gurney Journey, and we thank James Gurney for permission to share it here.

James Gurney is known for his plein-air landscape paintings, as well as his award-winning illustrations of fantasy and historical subjects. He is the author and illustrator of the best-selling illustrated book series Dinotopia, which has been translated into eighteen languages. He has created a commemorative pane of stamps (“The World of Dinosaurs”) for the US Postal Service, and painted reconstructions of life scenes from the Mochica, Kushite and Etruscan civilizations for National Geographic magazine.