The Sonoita Mountains

New painting: The Sonoita Mountains (I've also seen it spelled Sonoyta -- I don't know if both spellings are OK or if one of them is wrong). The size is 8" x 10" / 20cm x 25cm.

The view shows the Sonoita mountains of Mexico as seen from Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in southern Arizona. These are my favorite desert mountains to paint -- I love the ruggedness of them. To me, they're reminiscent of a great ship sailing the desert seas. They're awesome!

So, what's next? Possibly a scene featuring the coastal redwoods of northern California in a light fog. I haven't entirely decided yet.

Enjoy!!

Mark Junge

www.SouthwestSpaces.com or www.MarkJunge.com

Sonoran Desert Moon

Sonoran Desert Moon is the latest in my never-ending series of desert paintings!

The size is 18" x 24" / 45.7cm x 61cm, a size that was always my favorite size, but I don't tend to work that "big" anymore.

The scene is in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, AZ, looking toward the Sonoita Mountains of Mexico. (I've seen the mountain range spelled "Sonoyta" -- I don't know which is the favored spelling). I sort of thinned out the vegetation somewhat, and I've never had the pleasure of seeing the view from a bird's-eye perspective.

In any case, I followed a 19th century Hudson River School tradition by painting the landscape this way. I added cloud shadows and a quarter moon that is partially obscured by clouds. (I actually painted in more clouds than I had intended to, but I decided to leave them. Maybe I'll do another piece similar to this, but with fewer clouds).

Enjoy!

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com