Still Painting -- Slowly!

 Here it is, June already, and the year is almost half over!! Good grief!!

Late last month I went into nearby Joshua Tree National Park before the heat would set in and dry up whatever wildflowers were left. Even so, there weren't as many as I had hoped, but I still got some awesome material for more paintings.

I'm working on one now, although I'm being rather pokey about it. I seem to have developed a major lazy streak!! (But then -- after being a workaholic for so many years in college and after, I think I'm entitled).

This is a hill I'm painting numerous times before, each a little different from each other:

(The road, of course, won't be included in the painting!)

Continuing the continuation!!

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com

Joshua Tree National Park

 

Sheesh! I haven't been over to nearby Joshua Tree National Park for a long time. It IS one of my inspirational places to go for doing paintings, after all. (Of course, the Covid-19 shutdowns didn't help).

So I went there today! Weather was pleasant-to-warm, no high winds and I was in the mood. Besides, I needed some fresh material for paintings, and it's just good to go there once in a while!

Had to do some hiking and a little climbing for the picture of the red barrel cactus -- but I think it was worth it!

Oh -- and I saw a couple of lizards, too. This one is a female side-blotched lizard. (The other was a horned lizard, but I couldn't get a clear shot of that little guy).

Cute, huh?

I had hoped to make it to some other spots, but sunset came all too quickly, so -- another time. Soon. Before the oven heat begins. Such is life in the desert!

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com

Solstice

Today is winter solstice -- the shortest day of the year (in the northern hemisphere, anyway).

Some people have almost religious-like celebrations on summer and winter solstice days (as well on spring and autumnal equinoxes). I don't do that, but winter (and, to a lesser degree, summer) solstice and the days before and after are great days. Why? Well, for landscape photography, of course! Which leads to paintings!!

In southern California, the sun tends to be low almost all day on winter solstice. I like low sun when I take pictures of the great outdoors -- the lighting and shadows are awesome when the sun hits the land at an angle. (Unlike summer solstice, when the sun is overhead much of the day and gives flat lighting on featureless landscapes).

Summer solstice can be a good day for photography, too, when early in the morning and late in the afternoon. The sun is further north than in the winter, and sometimes this can provide a lighting direction that gives better photo opportunities than in the winter -- it can make the difference between side lighting in the winter and backlighting in the summer, with very different looks.

I didn't have time to go out today and take pictures here in the Mojave desert and in Joshua Tree National Park. But the "pull" to get out there and do some shooting always hits me when winter solstice rolls around.

Maybe next year, huh? 😊

Mark Junge
www.MarkJunge.com

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:

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

 

MORE Zillions of Flowers!!

The California "superbloom" has been goin' on for awhile. Here are a few photos of the area outside of Walker Canyon, just north of Lake Elsinore, CA. (We didn't go into Walker Canyon itself -- too many people, too many cars parked there, and too many people leaving the trails so they can take pictures of loved ones IN the flowers -- with all the trampling one would expect!)

Poppies

California Wildflowers

Horses and Wildflowers

I already have a painting in progress of California Wildflowers!

Superblooms are a relatively rare event in southern California; hence, people go a little nutzo when it happens. I understand -- I just wish those people would have a little more respect for the land and the flowers.

OK -- soapbox time is over! Have a beautiful spring day, wherever you are!

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

 

Zillions of Desert Flowers!

By now, it's common knowledge the southwestern deserts, including the California deserts, are experiencing a superbloom thanks to the many rain storms we've had over the past months. More flowers than usual appear like magic and transform the typical desert browns to carpets of unbelievably zonking color that appears almost fluorescent!

The color doesn't always show very well in photos, but of course, in paintings (such as the ones I plan to do), the color will jump off the canvas or panels!

Yellow and lavender flowers light up the desert floor.

Yellow desert dandelions are in full bloom as
the stick-like ocotillo prepares for a show in a few weeks.

A barrel cactus blossoms in front of a chuparosa.

A stick-like ocotillo, a palo verde tree and
yellow-flowered brittlebush set off Indian Head Mountain.

A red-flowered chuparosa nestles
in a clump of lavender-colored phalecia.

The gently-scented pinkish blooms of

sand verbena color the waves of dunes.

These images, along with many others I made (and may continue to take) will certainly lead me to create paintings that highlight the desert at its blazing best!

Mark Junge
www.MarkJunge.com

www.SouthwestSpaces.com

www.FineArtAmerica.com (for prints)

Watch the Birdie(s)

One of the things I love about our home in the desert is seeing all the wild critters that come by -- bunnies and birdies, in particular.

We have a hummingbird feeder that hangs where we can see it from inside the house. Of course, it isn't just hummingbirds that enjoy the sugar-water. House finches and several species of desert-dwelling orioles have a sweet "tooth," too!

This is probably my favorite birdie to see (although hummingbirds are awfully cute, too!) This is a hooded oriole,  Icterus cucullatus. The males around here are a brilliant, almost fluorescent, yellow with black and white markings. They're so colorful!

One thing I've noticed about these and other birds -- they're incredibly cautious! Whenever they land on the feeder (which is out in the open), they sit there and look in all directions, carefully making sure nothing is going to attack them while feeding. Once they're satisfied it's safe, they'll take a quick drink, then return to looking for predators.

They'll repeat this routine several times until they finally get enough sugar-water, then they fly off.

It reminds me of the advice given to humans -- be aware of your surroundings! With so many human predators in the world, we need to be cognizant of who is nearby and what they may be doing. As the birds instinctively know, it's a dangerous world, and while an attitude of fear isn't necessarily called for, we must be ready to respond to anything that may be dangerous to us.

The birdies know. They woundn't live very long if they don't follow through. We should do the same.

(Someday, I'm gonna have to paint a hooded oriole!)

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

Dedication

I first started doing "real" outdoor art shows in February, 1989. The first was in Palm Springs, CA followed by several others. The best part of those shows was getting to know some of the other artists who, like me, returned to do the shows as they came along.

One of the artists I met was a photographer who sold small framed prints of his pictures. I often wondered how well he did with his enterprise. He was a Seventh-Day Adventist, a Protestant Christian group that believes the traditional Sabbath day, Saturday, should continue to be the Sabbath and not Sunday as most other denominations believe.

The art shows were typically three-day shows...Friday - Sunday. Well, this fella was ready to sell on Fridays, closed up his booth on Saturdays, and returned on Sundays for more sales and to take it all down at the end.

I have to admire him for his dedication to his convictions, but I always wondered how well he could do by missing out on an important sales day -- Saturday.

Maybe he had retirement income going for him and selling photos was not his #1 source of revenue. Obviously, he felt it was more important to attend church than to be present at the art shows, in spite of possibly missing out on filling his wallet a bit more. Perhaps God would reward the guy in non-material ways than are much better than money.

I suspect the photographer is no longer of the earth -- he was already along in years in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I'd guess he is in the Lord's presence now, reaping the eternal benefits of his commitment to God.



www.SouthwestSpaces.com
www.MarkJunge.com

 

Wildflowers in the Desert

April has been a busy month for me. Unfortunately, I've gotten little painting done because of all of the other things that have fallen this month -- doctors, dentists (both which remind me of how old and dilapidated I'm getting) and other stuff.

BUT -- a couple of worthwhile things happened that needed to fit into the schedule. One was my gallery reception -- I'll save that post for next time when I get more pictures.

The other was going out looking for wildflowers outside of Joshua Tree National Park (I may have to go there pretty soon, too).

Unfortunately, the rainfall was less than hoped for, and what rain there was appears to have been quite sporadic. But The Wiffee and I did locate a few places that showed some unexpected splendor.

Near the Pioneertown Mountains Preserve, Sawtooth Mountains in the background

Beavertail Cactus in Bloom

Closeup, Desert Mallow

Yucca Valley, CA

We were lucky to have a warm, beautiful day to see these gems. Of course, they look better in real life -- for some reason, photos don't quite capture it. I hope my paintings of these places will.

 

Finding Light in the Desert

Finding light in the desert...well, OK, it's normally not hard to find light in the desert, of all places. But finding the right kind of light can be problematic.

One of the major blessings of living so close to Joshua Tree National Park -- a place I love to paint -- is being able to pop on over there any time I need to so I can be there when the time -- and the lighting -- is right.

Dawn

The above image is one of my prints that is available at FineArtAmerica.com. I went to the Park just before sunrise so I could be in a good spot to capture the rising sun along with some Joshua trees and the monzogranite rock formations that climbers love to scramble over.

For, you see, it isn't just any kind of light that I look for. Lighting changes so much during the day and in different seasons. Early-morning and pre-sunset light (my favorites) come from different directions, and summer lighting at those times comes from further north than winter lighting which is more from the south. As both a photographer and a painter (especially the latter), it helps to go to the Park knowing what kind of light to expect. And since I know the Park reasonably well, I often know where I need to go to take advantage of the light I'll find.

In fact, sometimes I develop an idea for a painting and then go to where I will find a locale to match. Sometimes I'll wait as long as six months to return to the site i want to photograph/paint because I know the lighting will be what I want to depict.

The photo above that I took will assist me in a painting I want to make, hopefully soon. Since I wanted to offer it as a print, too, and I don't have an ultra high-resolution camera that costs more than our house, I had to Photoshop it just a little -- I used a watercolor look which a.) makes it appear to be a watercolor painting, and 2.) hides the blurred edges that would show at larger magnifications since my camera is only an 8MP camera. And: I cheated and added the image of the red-tailed hawk in flight. Personally, I think the image turned out well.

In the end, both photography and painting work better when the artist chooses his/her lighting carefully. And if the artist lives close to a place that makes it quick and easy to get to a favorite spot when the lighting is fantastic, so much the better.

Sometimes I Long for the Old Days

Sometimes I long for the old days. With photography, that is.

In many ways, digital photography has been a real blessing -- no film, no processing, no darkrooms, instant results (if the pic didn't turn out, you can do a re-shoot on the spot). And, of course, the images are immediately website/Internet-friendly with minor tweaking. Even infrared photography is so much easier to deal with, as in the following picture:

What bothers me is: all of the 35mm cameras and accessories that are just sitting in a large camera bag and a box. I put a LOT of money into getting the best items that were available for my Minolta X-700 (and XGM) cameras, including zoom lenses, fixed-focal lenses, closeup extension bellows and two lenses to use with it, slide copier... I never totalled up how much $$$ I spent on all of it. But now it all just sits there.

Meanwhile, I'm using digital cameras that were affordable and they do the job (mostly), but they can't begin to compare in quality to my 35mm setup.

Oh, well. There's a season for everything, I guess. Maybe someday the 35mm season will return.

Moving Along...

I returned from the art show safe and sound, and I think all I've done since then is sleep! I guess I really should be moving along.

No sales...apparently, the economic recession/depression hasn't recovered that much after all. A few artists sold a few items, but overall, most of us sold some inexpensive prints or nothing at all.

As you might expect, it's a bit discouraging to put in the time and money (about $500 total) to do a show and leave with nothing but a goose egg (i.e., -0-), but at least it isn't as though everyone sold but me -- that would have been REALLY discouraging!

Still, I felt comfortable among those folks, and I already expressed an interest to the show's organizer that I'd like to do it again next year -- provided I have the $$$ to invest in it.

Here was my setup. The Show provided the lights, chairs (except for my folding chair on the right), pegboards and hooks, and I provided the paintings! I also took a picture with buyers milling around in the aisleways, but frankly, the crowds were a bit sparse this year.

 But at least I managed to get in some picture-taking of the countryside coming and going. For a desert-dweller like me, it's easy to get green-deprived! This view is a little north of Buellton, CA along US Hwy 101. Besides the oaks and green grass, this spot had LOTS of blue-flowering lupine (which, I believe, are what the Texans call bluebonnets).

I can see some paintings coming out of the photos I took, most likely with some creative rearranging of elements while keeping the overall flavor of the area. I think that in the end, the trip will end up being worthwhile, if only because of the new paintings I'll be making.

God-willing, see you in Paso Robles next year -- with desert paintings AND central coast paintings!

Autumn Revisited

When one lives in the desert, one must give up certain things in exchange for other, hopefully equally good things.

Fall colors are one of those things. We have some trees and shrubs that change color -- cottonwood trees, when they occur, are an example -- but mostly, the view looks pretty much the same all year round.

So last weekend, The Wiffee and I went up into the mountains; specifically, a place called Big Bear. The mountains in this area do have native trees that turn to yellow, albeit not a bright yellow. But the oak trees that are planted along the streets can be magnificent!

One of the streets in the Village area. It looked better in real life than in the picture, but you can see examples of colorful trees!

We parked under this bee-you-tee-full oak tree. The Wiffee even collected some of the leaves.

We ate lunch at The Old Country Inn, which makes the BEST pumpkin soup in the universe! We've made this pilgrimage an annual tradition -- our wedding anniversary is 19 October, but we drove to Big Bear on the 20th so we'd have more time to relax, have fun and eat pumpkin soup!

Now...what does this have to do with desert paintings, you may be asking yourself? Well, nothing, really. I don't know if I'd ever do paintings of the Big Bear area. But it was sure a nice escape for a day.

But now it's time to return to working on some non-autumnal desert art!

Mount of the Holy Cross

I've heard some people express disbelief at paintings they had seen that featured a mountain with a cross etched in the rock. I'd hear comments like "No way...how cornball...that would never happen in nature."

Y'know what? They're wrong! There IS such a mountain!

The mountain is the Mount of the Holy Cross. It's in Colorado, east and slightly south of Vail right off of the Interstate 70. There's even a turnoff for it. I've never been there myself (one of those things I always meant to do when we lived in Colorado), but others have told me there's a parking lot for it, and one has to hike in a little on a trail before it comes into view.

The Mount of the Holy Cross has been known to white explorers and artists since the 19th century. Since I don't have photos of my own, I'd like to share some historical photos so I won't violate any living photographers' copyrights.

 Here are two images by 19th century photographer William Henry Jackson. When there's just the right amount of snow, the cross stands in sharp contrast to the rock around it.










To the left is a stereoscopic (3D) photo of the Mount. If you know how to look at stereo pictures without a viewer (your eyes must be looking straight ahead as though staring into the distance, not crossed as when you look at things up close), you'll see the rock outcroppings at the bottom seem to push the Mount itself back away from you.









Now we're looking at some paintings by my favorite 19th century artist, Thomas Moran. I never read how many times he painted the Mount of the Holy Cross, but here are four examples of his work -- all different, but equally impressive!

 

So, yes, there ARE mountains with crosses on them!

Sleep and Nature at Its Best

Ah...some good news since my last post: apparently I'll be getting a CPAP machine (100% covered by insurance) to treat my sleep apnea problem. HURRAY!!! I know it'll be an adjustment at first, getting used to having a mask on my face. But I've heard from other artists I know that once the patient gets used to it, they won't go back to sleeping without it. It'll be interesting.

Meanwhile, The Wiffee and I took a trip around SoCal this week, although it rained a good part of the week. It figures. But at least I was able to take a few worthwhile pictures to use in painting some artwork. Some of these were plants like tree ferns and cycads, which will appear in any additional dinosaur paintings that I make. And then there are views like this desert mountain west of Palm Springs, CA. No comments needed:

Desert Senna

The low desert (Palm Springs area) has been pretty much finished with the spring flowers, but we're still getting 'em in the high desert!

Actually, the spring annuals are essentially done, but the shrubs are blooming now. The photo shows a plant called desert senna. As you can see, they have yellow flowers. When that many of them bloom, it's an inspiring sight -- and they are fragrant, to boot!

Think I'll be painting this in the near future? You betcha!

The Vast Spaces

Yesterday I spent the day in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, which is northeast of the Palm Springs area. I had two items on the agenda: look for wildflowers, and visit an art show that I've done myself a number of times.

Flowers -- well, not as many as I was hoping for, but there were a few spots with color (as well as other petal peepers!):



The art show was fun. Many of the people I've met over the years have been other art show folks, and often the only times I see them are at art shows. And since I wasn't set up there trying to sell paintings, I was free to roam around, visit friends and do some serious catching up and networking.

By the time I left, the sun was getting low in the western sky, and I passed the spot in the Park that beautifully illustrates my tagline: The Vast Spaces of the Southwest.



In late afternoon, the textures of the distant mountains, the miles of open landscape peppered with ocotillo display much of what I love about the special places called the desert. I've never seen this area colored with the blooms of spring, but the spaces say all that needs to be said. Black-and-white infrared was more than enough to archive the moment and the feeling.

Spirit of Christmas Past

Well, Christmas is over, and I'll have to admit: I had trouble getting into it this year -- and for the last few years, actually.

Life as an artist can be hard enough even when the economy is good. But for many of us, it's been extremely difficult trying to survive when no one is buying art. That, in turn, makes it hard to feel very festive at this time of year.

Some are saying things are slowly getting better. I hope so. Hopefully not TOO slowly! I do have plans for diversifying somewhat: more subject matter, maybe even additional styles of working (under a pseudonym, most likely) and approaching galleries outside of desert areas which tend to have extreme ebbs and flows of population depending on the season.

If you're into prayer, I and my fellow artists could all use some of that. It would help to know if I'm on the right road, and if I'm not, which offramp should I take. That "lamp upon my feet" has gone out, and I need a match! Thanx!

A Few Summer Flowers

Although the desert is not totally devoid of flowers during the summer, they are a little scarce.

So it was fun to come across this bright red-orange crown on a barrel cactus (actually, two of the barrels on this property were flowering). This cactus is not in the wild, and I'm sure it's in bloom because it gets water that it wouldn't get if it were growing in the open desert.

But as a painter, it's helpful for me to know that these cacti can bloom in late summer/early fall. It's entirely possible that I'll paint this little beauty in a wild setting, with the "excuse" that summer thunderstorms gave it the incentive it needed to put on a show!

We painters can do that!

Smokey

Not Smokey the Bear, in this case... Smokey conditions!



By now, you may have heard of the fires that are burning in California. We tend to get rain at the end of the year and the beginning of the next, so by summer, everything is dry and ready to burn.

So far this year, we haven't had any fires in the desert. But the wind is blowing smoke from the other fires into our area. (A friend in Colorado mentioned the hazy conditions in her state are coming from California fires, too).

The desert is not particularly inspiring to be in right now. Besides the smokey smell and thick haze, it's also hot and humid -- none of that "dry heat" for the time being).

I'm still working on paintings of the high desert. But I'll have to admit: I'm not working from life!