Showing posts with label Hawaii. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hawaii. Show all posts

Sunday, November 5, 2023

Hawaiian Skies - White-Tailed Tropicbird


White-Tailed Tropicbird is (sort of) my latest painting. I actually finished it earlier this year, but I couldn't decide if I was keeping the distant hills and palms or replace it with blue sky. I ended up leaving it as it was. Size is 8" x 10" / 20cm x 25cm.

I was surprised to learn that seagulls tend not to occur in the Hawaiian Islands. Apparently, they don't care much for the food they find there. Thus, they only stop by temporarily if they're migrating.

But the tropicbirds fill that ecological niche!

There is also a red-tailed species. I'll have to paint one of those birdies sometime, too.

Enjoy!!

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com

Sunday, June 4, 2023

Hula and the Desert

 What a combination -- paintings of Hawaii (with hula dancers) and the desert in Joshua Tree National Park!! Well -- somebody's gotta do it! 😃

I wish I was better at painting hooman beans than I am, but I guess I just need to paint them more often. But so far, this is what I'm able to do. Enjoy!!

                                    Moonlight Hula         11" x 14" / 27.0cm x 35.9cm

                                  Untitled                            5" x 7" / 12.7cm x 17.8cm


Thursday, May 6, 2021

Kaua'i Shores

 

As much as I love the desert, sometimes I get romanticized images of Polynesian islands in my head.

When we took a trip to the Hawaiian Islands in October 2019, I had hoped to see places that resembled the pictures I have in my brain, but we never did find places like that on our too-brief trip.

So I've taken to painting real-life scenes but with a certain, uh, embellishment! 😃

Hawaii,Kauai,beach,Tunnels,Makua,coconut palm trees,tree fern,ti plants,screw pine,hills,mountains
Kaua'i Shores         8" x 10" / 20cm x 25cm

The foundation of this piece is Tunnels Beach (aka Makua Beach) is northern Kaua'i in the Hawaiian Islands. The plant life is imaginary but is based on real plants that grow on Kaua'i, but not necessarily this close to the ocean. The only animal I depicted is the Hawaiian honeycreeper, the red bird sitting on the tree fern -- difficult to paint, since it's VERY small on the painting!

More Polynesian ðŸŒ´ðŸŒ´ðŸŒ´paintings to come, but now it's back to the desert ðŸŒµðŸŒµðŸŒµ in the studio🎨!!

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com


Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Paradise Found

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

Polynesia,Hawaii,Tahiti,Pacific Islands,Paradise,dancer,drummer,sunset,sundown,beach,sand,flora,plants,tropical,tiki
Paradise Found, 30" x 40" /  76.2cm x 101.6cm

 

Polynesia,Hawaii,Tahiti,Pacific Islands,Paradise,dancer,drummer,sunset,sundown,beach,sand,flora,plants,tropical
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 

Saturday, May 30, 2020

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.

Hawaii,Hawaiian,Maui,Mau'i,Iao,Needle,Valley,cloudy,overcast,mysterious,mystery,green,tropical,tropics,volcanic
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
 

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

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?

art, painting,Hudson River School, Frederick Edwin Church, Jamaica, tropics, palm tree,beach, jungle, rainforest, sailboat, village, beach
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


Friday, November 8, 2019

Paradise!


It's been a while since I've posted here. But it's been busy. A week in Hawai'i will do that to ya.

HAWAI'I??? Yeah, we splurged and took the most extravagant vacation we ever took.

Of course, I took lots of pictures of all that green foliage and turquoisey-blue water. It's so beautiful there!! Especially for a desert rat like me who's used to the browns and gray-greens of the Mojave. I'm gonna need to stock up on green paints so I can make some paintings of this magical place -- both actual sites and some that may be a bit more fantasy!

Here are just a few of the pictures I took:

Akaka Falls, Kona, Waimea Canyon, Kauai, Maui, Hawaii, Hana Bay, rainforest, rain forest, waterfall, ocean, sea, green, blue


Akaka Falls, Hawaii, Iao Needle, Iao Valley, rainforest, rain forest, waterfall, green, blue


Kauai, Na Pali Coast, cliffs, green, blue, clouds

As you can see, an artist could get totally lost in scenery like this. Guess I'll have to try it and find out!

www.MarkJunge.com
www.SouthwestSpaces.com