Western Tanagers

 

Western Tanagers is the title, and the subject, of my latest painting. Size is 10" x 8" / 25cm x 20cm.

I was blessed enough to see a male tanager in a desert willow tree at our previous residence. Obviously, these are among the many birdies that display "sexual dimorphorism" where the boys and the girls look differently.

The male is in his breeding plumage; in fall and winter, he loses the red from his head and looks pretty much like the female.

Nature lesson for today!

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com

Desert Cardinal

New painting of a desert cardinal (aka pyrrhuloxia), found in southern Arizona and New Mexico, and southwestern Texas, then south into Mexico.

Desert Cardinal                                                   8" x 10" / 20cm x 25"

I added just a little green over the branch in the lower lefthand corner so the green doesn't appear to end abruptly at the branch...but I haven't scanned the slightly improved version of the painting yet.

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com

Cactus and Clouds

Life has a way of putting us (me) behind schedule. I dealt with Covid in January and seemingly got past it. Then last month I had a bout of vertigo -- that dizzy feeling where the world seems to be spinning around you even if one is sitting or lying down! Thankfully that's over with now. Vertigo can be an after-effect of Covid -- I've had brief episodes of vertigo before, but this time it lasted a week. NOT FUN!!!

At least I did manage to squeeze in a new painting of the Arizona desert -- it's entitled Cactus and Clouds, measures 11" x 14" / 27.9cm x 35.6cm, and depicts an area southwest of Wickenburg, AZ:

Otherwise, I'm now working on a painting requested by a friend -- sort of Halloween-ish, but it's not of Halloween. I may post it here, but I may not, in which case I'll write about something else.

I'm still feeling fatigued a lot and often don't feel like doing much, but I try to find a balance -- paint while I still can, but be lazy when I want to be lazy! After being a workaholic for so long, I've learned to love laziness!!

Spring is almost here. Enjoy the turn of the season, pray for Ukraine, and thank you for your support.

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com

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

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

Hooded Oriole

For a quick flash of fluorescent color in a sometimes drab southwestern desert, nothing can beat a male hooded oriole!

Hooded Oriole                                   8" x 10" / 20cm x 25cm

The glorious color of this little beauty must be seen to be believed! In full sunlight, its yellow-orange and black feathering is a delight to the eye.

They have a sweet "tooth" and will share hummingbird feeders with the hummingbirds -- the feeder we have is where we're most likely to see the orioles. The females visit the sugar water, too, but are colored a muted green. The orioles tend to nest on the undersides of fan palm fronds in basket-like nests that hang from the fronds. (It must be quite a ride on windy days!)

I painted this oriole sitting on the branch of a palo verde tree, another resident of the desert. I considered including the yellow flowers of the tree, but then I decided I didn't want anything yellow to compete with the dazzling yellows of the bird.

Hooded orioles winter mostly in Mexico. So if you ever want to see one in the southwestern deserts of the US, come to the desert in the spring or (gasp!) summer for a striking flash of color!

Mark Junge
www.SouthwestSpaces.com
www.MarkJunge.com 
www.FineArtAmerica.com (prints)