Zillions of Desert Flowers!

By now, it's common knowledge the southwestern deserts, including the California deserts, are experiencing a superbloom thanks to the many rain storms we've had over the past months. More flowers than usual appear like magic and transform the typical desert browns to carpets of unbelievably zonking color that appears almost fluorescent!

The color doesn't always show very well in photos, but of course, in paintings (such as the ones I plan to do), the color will jump off the canvas or panels!

Yellow and lavender flowers light up the desert floor.

Yellow desert dandelions are in full bloom as
the stick-like ocotillo prepares for a show in a few weeks.

A barrel cactus blossoms in front of a chuparosa.

A stick-like ocotillo, a palo verde tree and
yellow-flowered brittlebush set off Indian Head Mountain.

A red-flowered chuparosa nestles
in a clump of lavender-colored phalecia.

The gently-scented pinkish blooms of

sand verbena color the waves of dunes.

These images, along with many others I made (and may continue to take) will certainly lead me to create paintings that highlight the desert at its blazing best!

Mark Junge
www.MarkJunge.com

www.SouthwestSpaces.com

www.FineArtAmerica.com (for prints)

Clouds

Clouds                            8 x 10 / 20cm x 25cm

Clouds is the title of my latest painting, finished -- at long last -- this past weekend. (Sometimes it seems to be harder and harder to work on paintings and to finish them in a timely manner -- so frustrating!)

The size is 8" x 10" ( 20cm x 25cm ) on panel -- a size I've been using lately to make a lot of paintings. Easy to pack up and ship, and for many people, small and miniature art is a desirable size to collect those images of memories of happy times in the desert. Or wherever.

This scene shows my favorite view -- in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in southern Arizona, looking south toward the distant Sonoita (or Sonoyta) Mountains of Mexico and featuring those vast, wide-open vistas that one can see from this spot.

I was actually there when the clouds created alternating patterns of sun spots and cloud shadows on the landscape as I depicted in the painting. However, I have heard from friends that the organ pipe cactus on the right has died since I was last there.

A place of beauty, peace and serenity -- as long as one has water, food, A/C in the summer and heat in the winter! Otherwise, the desert is a harsh environment! But I prefer to show it at its most glorious.

Mark Junge
www.MarkJunge.com
www.SouthwestSpaces.com
www.FineArt America.com (prints)