Autumn Equinox -- at Last!!

Autumnal equinox finally arrived today (although the day's almost over as I write this). Autumn is when my world turns into a fantasy land -- fall colors, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. (Once Christmas ends, the magic seems to end, too, and the time that follows is kind of a downer).

I thought I'd celebrate the beginning of this special time by posting images of some autumn paintings by artists I greatly admire.

View of La Crescenza                             Claude Lorraine
Looks like the beginnings of fall in Rome

Nutting                                                    Thomas Moran

Autumn on the Wissahickon                     Thomas Moran

Autumn                                                     Thomas Moran

The Autumnal Woods                  Thomas Moran

Autumn                                                Frederick Edwin Church

Autumn Woods                                                  Albert Bierstadt

Cresheim Glen, Wissahickon, Autumn                      Thomas Moran

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com
 

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)

Joshua Tree Rocks!

I don't know if Joshua Tree Rocks! is a phrase that would be understood a hundred years from now -- the whole double entendre thing -- but it's the title of my latest painting!

Joshua Tree Rocks!                   16" x 20" / 41cm x 51cm

The title refers to a site located in Joshua Tree National Park in California, USA and the many collections of monzogranite rock formations arising out of the otherwise flat earth. Joshua trees, the Park's namesake, are scattered about, and following winter rains, the place gets wildflowers like these in April or May.

Admittedly, I've never seen many flowers in this particular place. Nearby, yes, but not here. Also, the yellow-flowered shrubs, goldenbush, were once plentiful, but most of them seem to have disappeared even after heavy winter rains. I think the ongoing drought has forced many of them to die, which is unfortunate.

I painted the scene to make the rock formation the center of interest. We artists know how to do things like that, y'know! 😀

In the end, I wanted a beautiful, warm (but not hot) view of a place I love. Enjoy your mini-vacation!

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

Snowline

Another painting with snow!! My latest effort is Snowline, 24" x 36" / 61cm x 91cm.

Snowline                                                                               24" x 36"

Snow is rare in the Sonoran desert regions of southern Arizona, but it does occur. It's sunset, and I chose to place the snow higher up from the desert floor, and even then, it's a light dusting that, soon after the sun rises again, it will be gone.

I included some critters typical of Sonoran desert fauna -- two desert bighorn sheep and a great horned owl who seemed to have taken each other by surprise.

Snowline -- detail

Frankly, the owl was the most difficult thing to paint. On the painting, the owl is less than 1" / 2cm tall, and it's hard to include enough detail to make the owl look like an owl with its head turned! But I'm happy enough with it, so there it is!

Snowline is another in a small series of paintings that will feature light amounts of snow, mostly in desert settings. They will be offered for sale at the 60WestGallery, due to open next month in Wickenburg, AZ. Maybe I'll see you there!

Mark Junge
www.SouthwestSpaces.com
www.MarkJunge.com
www.Fineart America (for prints)

The Dallas Divide

The Dallas Divide (which is in Colorado, not Texas) is the title and subject of my latest painting. It features Mt. Sneffels and the Sneffels Range of the San Juan mountains and seems to be my favorite mountains to paint.

The Dallas Divide           11" x 14" / 28cm x 36cm

It's fall, and the cottonwoods have put on a coat of bright yellow leaves as a woman rides her horse in the morning light.

The Dallas Divide is the name of an area that includes this scene (actually, it overlooks part of Ralph Lauren's Double RL Ranch). Behind where you would be standing is the Dallas Creek, and a smaller wash runs in front of you which -- according to the maps -- is called the Dallas ditch. Typical of areas that receive extra water, the ditch is lined with trees and shrubs.

Autumn in Colorado was always my favorite time of year -- the weather tends to be pleasant, and the colors are phenomenal. In addition, the jagged, sawtooth peaks of the San Juans are what I love to see in mountains.

Fall is yet a ways off, as is the heavy snow fall that is bound to come. For now, I'll simply enjoy the peace and beauty of this special place.

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

Classical Realism

Years ago, I totally picked up on the art style referred to as "classical realism." It's a look that sometimes romanticizes a subject, but regardless, the work is executed in a realistic way that also elicits an emotional response.

The painting I often use as my signature piece is an example of classical realism -- or as close to it as I'm capable of getting:

A Place of Wonder, Mark Junge

  
I thought for a long time that once an artist achieves this skill level, doing something way different or simple -- like abstract expression -- wouldn't even be considered:

 

Morning Fjord, Silvia Vassileva

Yet, I've gotten to a point where classical realism has become almost "too hard" to do...it involves an amazing amount of drudgery and time to execute. I guess I'm getting tired in my old age, and I don't seem to have the energy to make paintings like A Place of Wonder anymore.

I'm not planning on quitting that style, however. Not yet. But I'm finding I spend less time than ever before on painting these days. I don't seem to enjoy painting, although I still love the final results.

We'll see how it goes. But don't be surprised if I start mixing in other styles of painting with the classical realism stuff!

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

New Painting of Joshua Tree National Park

At long last, I finally finished another painting of Joshua Tree National Park, CA: one of my favorite places on earth!

So far, the painting is untitled -- but I hope to remedy that situation soon. Size is 11" x 14" / 28cm x 36cm.

The hill-mountain in the background is one of the many formations in the Park that was never named. But I love all of the many peaks it has, and it seems to be my favorite mountain there. I've painted it before from various angles -- this version is the frontal-most I've done so far. More to come I suspect.

The rocks are made of gneiss ("nice") which often look like a HUGE dump truck came along and unloaded rocks and boulders into an enormous pile. Little large plant life occurs on these hills except for some grasses and such. This mountain has a few Joshua trees on the very top of the hill toward the right -- there must be some loose soil there for the JTs to take root and grow.

And, of course, I included a desert cottontail bunny-rabbit hiding in the shadows.

This is one of those scenes that, frankly, was kind of pain to create -- lots of detail. But in the end, I couldn't have done it any other way!

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

Glen Eyrie, Garden of the Gods, Colorado

Glen Eyrie, Garden of the Gods, Colorado is both the title of this blog post and, more importantly, the title of a painting by my #1 art hero, 19th century artist Thomas Moran.

Glen Eyrie, Garden of the Gods, Colorado

The painting is an impressive 36" x 50" (91cm x 127cm).

I had several opportunities to see it when we lived in Colorado Springs, CO in the 1990s. The piece was acquired by someone who made a deal with the city to make improvements in Garden of the Gods park in exchange for exclusive rights to operate a gift / souvenir shop.

Glen Eyrie is privately-owned and includes the view in the artwork. The Garden of the Gods appears in the distance, with Cheyenne Mountain forming the backdrop. (I believe the spire is called Echo Rock).

The painting was displayed in a couple of sites in Colorado Springs, and I made it a point to visit this gem as often as I could in April, 1999. I fell in love with the painting immediately, and the effect hasn't worn off after all these years.

Echo Rock, Glen Eyrie, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Then, just recently, I stumbled across a photo of the area, shown above. Comparing this image with the painting, Moran essentially rendered the scene accurately, but with a few changes. Ol' Tom also added his magical lighting and colors, making the end product irresistible to guys like me!

I expect it's just a matter of time before I paint my own version of this special place -- hopefully without making it look like I totally ripped off Moran's treatment of Glen Eyrie. But it'll be similar, I'm sure.

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

 

The Heart of the Andes

"The Heart of the Andes," Frederic E. Church, 1859, 66-1/8" x 119-1/4" / 168cm x 302.9cm). Entire painting and a detail.

One of my favorite and inspirational paintings in the universe. This sucker is almost 10 feet long; yet, look at all the detail Church painted into the scene. I can't say for sure what the dimensions are of the "detail," but as you can see, he painted every leaf and stem. No blobs of paint that we're supposed to use our imaginations on. Church painted as much detail per unit of measurement as I do, but he did it on big BIG canvases! In fact, paintings like this are what inspired me to work that way.

The plant and animal life are accurate, too. I know some PhD. botanists who love Church's work because they can speciate the plants. This scene is a composite of views from Columbia and Ecuador and shows a number of habitats all at once -- from lowland tropics to the alpine mountain peaks.

So if you ever get to New York, get thee to the Metropolitan Museum of Art where this gem is hanging. Unless they've moved things, "Heart of the Andes" is directly opposite Albert Bierstadt's "Rocky Mountains."

The Giver of Life

The Giver of Life is the title of my latest painting. The title refers to the rains that grace our desert area every so often -- and with the rain comes life.

Giver of Life                           30" x 40"

The view is of Mount San Jacinto (west of Palms Springs, CA) as seen from across the Banning Pass in an area called the Devil's Garden, so named for containing a forest of barrel and cholla cactus. (Many of the cacti are gone -- in the 1920s, Los Angeles people came, dug out many of the barrels and transplanted them in their yards, only to die soon thereafter; plus, wildfires have destroyed many specimens).

I have seen the mountain look just like this after a storm, except the peak was often obscured by clouds. I exposed the peak, highlighting the brilliant white snow at the top.

To the left, we see a red tail hawk on the wing, coming out after the rains and looking for tasty goodies to eat.

The desert can be a spectacular place to be if you are there at the right time. My goal is to capture those special times.

(By the way, my website URLs are SouthwestSpaces.com and MarkJunge.com). ☺