Blue on Blue: Western Scrub Jays

 

Blue on Blue: Western Scrub Jays is my latest painting. The size is 8" x 10" / 20cm x 25cm and features a couple of scrub jays that we find out here in the desert. This species of jay have no crests on their heads. The two are sitting on a monzogranite rock typical of those in Joshua Tree National Park, CA, USA.

I've always enjoyed being around these birds. They're bold, colorful and always seem to be cheerful; or at least, they cheer ME up! I should paint more of these!

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com

MEEP MEEP!!!

 

Meep meep!! I bet everybody knows who makes that sound!!

Of course, it's the roadrunner from the Warner Bros. cartoons who loves burning up the asphalt as he evades Wile E. Coyote or even just because speed is fun! The roadrunner's name is Beep Beep, although it sounds like "Meep meep" when he "speaks."

I just finished a painting of a greater roadrunner (but not the cartoon one), for a collector who is accumulating a series of artworks depicting birds of the Southwestern deserts.

Meep Meep!                                                                 8" x 10" / 20cm x 25cm

The scientific name is Geococcyx californianus -- "Californian earth-cuckooo". As you might guess, they are in the cuckoo family.

I decided to keep the background very simple so the roadrunner would stand out in bold relief.

Enjoy!

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com

 

The Beauty of Autumn Colors

Sometimes I think I must be part duck. When autumn hits, I get this excitement that I can't explain. If I were a duck, maybe I'd want to migrate! (But I don't feel like going anywhere). 😀

But autumn is the start of an entire holiday season, each with its own look and feel. Autumn itself is kind of a holiday to me -- cooler temperatures (except here in the desert!) and the harmonious color combination of reds, oranges and yellows -- again, not as much in the desert.

Autumn never used to be a big deal to me until I discovered duck prints -- images of different species of ducks (with mallards being my favorites) set against fall landscapes and marshes, typically as hunters might like to see them.

I'm not a hunter, but I happen to love mallard ducks -- alive, not to eat!

So I painted a Colorado autumn scene with a small group of mallard ducks swimming peacefully in a pond. Somewhat imaginary, but it wouldn't be unheard of to stumble across a scene like this:

Aspen Pond            10" x 08" / 25cm x 20cm

I also finished a painting of a rufous hummingbird. I don't associate them with fall, but ya gotta admit: they ARE fall-colored!

 

Rufous Hummingbird          08" x 10" / 20cm x 25cm

I already have someone who is interested in this piece; Aspen Pond may appear on my website, or I may just keep it. I have to decide.

My website URLs, by the way, are www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com.

Enjoy the colors of the season!

Mark Junge

 

King of the Whole Wide World

King of the Whole Wide World: Gambel's Quail is my latest painting.

It also happens to be the title of a song by Elvis Presley that he sang in his movie, Kid Galahad. I always liked the title, tho' and somehow it seemed appropriate for a male quail calling out to the world.

Size is 08" x 10" / 20cm x 25cm, acrylic on panel. I think I already have a buyer for it!!

Paradise Found

I FINALLY finished a painting that I started months ago following our whirlwind trip to Hawaii last October.

Paradise Found, 30" x 40" /  76.2cm x 101.6cm

 

Paradise Found (Detail)

The scene is based loosely on Tunnels Beach (aka Makua Beach) on the northeastern shores of Kauai. (We didn't make it there, but the pictures I saw made the distant mountains irresistible). Rather than going into a strict rendering of how Tunnels Beach looks, I added a lot of fantasy to the scene to make it into a "paradise found": a world that I would want to escape to; just beauty and peace everywhere; in a land inhabited by nice, caring people; music and dancing that stirs the soul and landscapes of unimaginable serenity and magic.

Of course, I doubt there ever was such a place as this, and especially not in modern times. Even Hawaii struck me as being a paradise lost but with some of its beauty remaining.

I had intended the vahine walking toward us to be an actual person, but she's small enough in the painting (3.5" / 8.9cm) where getting that tiny face to look like someone just didn't work.

Also, many of the plants I depicted would not grow this close to the shore -- too intolerant of the salt spray. But: it IS MY fantasy!!

And the tiki -- well, it looks like a pregnant female. She may be a goddess of fertility or something like that. I added it just to give more Polynesian flavor to the image. The dancers and drummers are definitely Tahitian, but this is not intended to be any real place.

I have other imaginary "paradise found" places in my head, too. Maybe someday I'll meet you there!

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com 

The Good News and the Bad News

 The good news and the bad news...

First, the good news -- I sold a painting off of my website (which, in case you forgot, is www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com)! Totally unexpected. Surprises like that are nice!

This is the piece that sold:

Hooded Oriole                                                      08" x 10" / 20cm x 25cm

(The red dot in the lower right corner means it sold!!)

Now for the bad news...

I keep reading (mostly on Facebook) a lot of stuff about the political situation in this country, along with some rather vicious attacks on people who -- in all good faith -- happen to disagree with them. I've been the victim of such attacks myself.

And it's getting to me. I feel so discouraged all the time, and it's getting worse. I'd leave Facebook if it wasn't for the good stuff -- information from real friends, artwork others have posted, stuff like that.

But maybe the good news isn't worth dealing with the bad. I've got some serious thinking to do. (Sigh......)

Mark Junge

Half Over!

Well, good grief! June is already over with, and I realized I didn't write ANYthing for the entire month!

As if that ain't bad enough -- I realized the year is half over, and there's so much to do yet!!!

I guess when one is old and (mostly) retired, one just doesn't do as much as one used to!

June was a month of: 1.) sometimes not doing anything, and: 2.) continuing to unpack and work on stuff from our move last August. We -- ME, mostly -- never really had time to sort through things, empty boxes and maybe getting rid of stuff we moved that we really don't need anymore!

So I did paint, but I didn't finish anything.

So, since it's summer, maybe I'll just post a pic of a painting I did a couple of years ago that shows summer (but not how summer looks in southern California!), and by next month, I should have new works to post.

Summer Pastoral                  acrylic/panel                 16" x 20" / 40.6cm x 50.8cm

I hope your Independence Day was fun and uplifting. Thank you for your support!

Mark Junge
www.SouthwestSpaces.com or www.MarkJunge.com

Sacred Places in Maui

A Sacred Place is the tentative title of my latest painting, the first in a series I expect to do following our trip to the Hawaiian Islands last October.

A Sacred Place                                                              08" x 10" / 20cm x 25cm

This scene depicts Iao Needle ("Iao" is pronounced "yeow") in Iao Valley in Maui, Hawaiian Islands. The area was a sacred site to the old Hawaiian people who conducted ceremonies to their gods -- unclear which ones, since it seems to depend on what reference one looks to.

It seems to be cloudy there often, and it was overcast on the day we were there. Someday I may do another painting of the Needle with bright blue skies and sunshine, but for now, I wanted to hint at a sense of mystery in this Valley.

This was the first place we visited when we arrived in Maui. I had seen the Iao Needle in pictures before, so I was thrilled to be able to see the thing in real life.

Aloha!

Mark Junge
www.MarkJunge.com
 

California's Central Coast

My latest painting is a commissioned piece that shows Atascadero along California's central coast.

The client owns a retirement home in the area and wanted some paintings that highlighted the beauty of the landscape there, especially when wildflowers are at their peak!

Southern California is a beautiful place during March and April. When the rest of the country is still enduring snow and freezing temps, winters here are pleasant, and -- except for the desert -- we experience green Christmases, with flowers soon to follow.

A second commission will be coming. It will feature a grove of trees on the client's property.


Mark Junge
www.MarkJunge.com

Bryce Canyon National Park

Here are two paintings of Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah (in the USA) that I was commissioned to do, using photos that the client provided.

 
















I've been to the Park several times -- but I've never painted it before. All of those rock formations and hoodoos have a lot of detail in them, and even the above paintings didn't capture all of the ruggedness of the place.

Still, I think they turned out reasonably well, and I was able to use colors and contrast in ways that straightforward photographs can't capture.

And now -- I can concentrate on ANOTHER commission!

Mark Junge
www.SouthwestSpaces.com
www.MarkJunge.com

Dino Drawings

I think I finally finished one set of commissioned paintings, now it's on to a second set of two for another collector.

That doesn't mean I stop thinking about other paintings I want to do, probably for myself, or maybe to post on Fine Art America to make prints for sale.

But in the meantime, drawing is a fast way of making art compared to painting. Like making dino drawings!

Deinonychus

Dimetrodon

Of course, nobody knows exactly what dinos look like. All we've got are bones and, in some cases, fossilized impressions. (And fossilized dino eggs and dino poop!) But the computer-generated image (CGI) critters we see in the movies are convincing enough to get us excited about these ancient animals!

Incidentally, Dimetrodon, a denizen of the Permian era, is not considered a dinosaur, but was a synapsid -- more reptilian (and even mammal-like in some ways) and was wiped out in the mass extinction event at the end of the Permian, before true dinos began to appear. Too bad -- as a kid, this was my favorite "dinosaur."

Back to painting. I'm sure more drawings will follow.

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com

A Future Painting

We-e-e-l-l-l...

My original intention was to write in this blog at least once a week. But lately, it's been down to once a month!

But, I'm older (as we all are), gotten into a lazy state of mind, not highly motivated, and tired. Stuff that's been going on in the country -- coronavirus, politics and the extreme hatred out there, stuff like that -- has been taking my focus off of what I need to be doing.

So what images are in my head these days?

Jamaica  -- 1871                                                                     Frederick Edwin Church

Jamaica is a painting I've loved for a long time. I plan to paint a scene similar to this, except it will be of Hawai'i or other Polynesian island, and it will combine elements of existing landscapes and some imaginary aspects as well.

I'd like to get started on it soon, but: 1. we're still unpacking from our move last August -- seven months ago!; and: 2. I need to get some commissions finished, hopefully VERY soon!

The time will come, God willing, and it'll give me something to look forward to!

Mark Junge
www.MarkJunge.com

Pinnacle Peak, Arizona

Pinnacle Peak is the subject of my latest painting (I haven't come up with a title yet), a small piece I squeezed in between other projects. The size is 08" x 10" / 20cm x 25cm and, as usual, is acrylic on panel:

Sadly, the desert scenery has been removed and the Peak is now surrounded by streets, houses, shops and golf courses. I'm glad I had an opportunity to see it in its natural glory way back in March, 1983.

(Note: Pinnacle Peak Park is still located on the other side of the Peak, and one can still access the hiking trails that meander across the hill -- only the view just ain't the same).

Mark Junge
www.MarkJunge.com

 

Painting Dreams

My earliest days as an artist were when I was deeply into surrealism, especially imagery that seemed to appear like dreams I've had.

I still love those images. Many of Salvador Dali's works were like that, and his realistic technique made the "dreams" totally believable -- a look that I embraced.

Suburbs of a Paranoic-Critical Town

Detail

(Sorry the detail of the painting isn't sharper).

For the dreamy effect, this is one of my favorite Dali paintings -- in particular, the gal holding the bunch of grapes, looking directly at the viewer, is exactly the type of thing I see in MY dreams.

Yet, another artist made paintings that appear to be even more dreamlike -- those of Belgium artist Paul Delvaux. The people (often women) sit or walk as if they are in a dreamlike trance.

Many of Delvaux's figures are nude, and I don't want to freak out my more conservative readers. So here is an example of a Delvaux painting without too much nudity (or lesbian activity, which he seemed to be into):

The Retreat - Paul Delvaux

Delvaux usually painted females, a few males, architecture, trains and human skeletons -- often in some combination within a piece.

His realism technique isn't, in my opinion, as nice as Dali's, but Delvaux's images appeal to me more. The latter's art reminds me so much of what I see when I sleep (except my dreams have more variety). I get a kick out of my dreams, but I've rarely painted actual dreams of mine because I often feel like they wouldn't lend themselves to a single image. (If I made videos and had the means to pull them off, THAT might be different!)

I'll continue to paint traditional, classical realism-inspired landscapes. But painting surreal scenes gets my soul into my work in a way that realism doesn't. We'll see what I come up with!

Mark Junge
www.MarkJunge.com