Showing posts with label Traditional/Classical Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Traditional/Classical Art. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Pinnacle Peak, Arizona
Pinnacle Peak is the subject of my latest painting (I haven't come up with a title yet), a small piece I squeezed in between other projects. The size is 08" x 10" / 20cm x 25cm and, as usual, is acrylic on panel:
Sadly, the desert scenery has been removed and the Peak is now surrounded by streets, houses, shops and golf courses. I'm glad I had an opportunity to see it in its natural glory way back in March, 1983.
(Note: Pinnacle Peak Park is still located on the other side of the Peak, and one can still access the hiking trails that meander across the hill -- only the view just ain't the same).
Mark Junge
www.MarkJunge.com
Friday, January 24, 2020
Painting Dreams
My earliest days as an artist were when I was deeply into surrealism, especially imagery that seemed to appear like dreams I've had.
I still love those images. Many of Salvador Dali's works were like that, and his realistic technique made the "dreams" totally believable -- a look that I embraced.
Suburbs of a Paranoic-Critical Town |
Detail |
(Sorry the detail of the painting isn't sharper).
For the dreamy effect, this is one of my favorite Dali paintings -- in particular, the gal holding the bunch of grapes, looking directly at the viewer, is exactly the type of thing I see in MY dreams.
Yet, another artist made paintings that appear to be even more dreamlike -- those of Belgium artist Paul Delvaux. The people (often women) sit or walk as if they are in a dreamlike trance.
Many of Delvaux's figures are nude, and I don't want to freak out my more conservative readers. So here is an example of a Delvaux painting without too much nudity (or lesbian activity, which he seemed to be into):
The Retreat - Paul Delvaux |
Delvaux usually painted females, a few males, architecture, trains and human skeletons -- often in some combination within a piece.
His realism technique isn't, in my opinion, as nice as Dali's, but Delvaux's images appeal to me more. The latter's art reminds me so much of what I see when I sleep (except my dreams have more variety). I get a kick out of my dreams, but I've rarely painted actual dreams of mine because I often feel like they wouldn't lend themselves to a single image. (If I made videos and had the means to pull them off, THAT might be different!)
I'll continue to paint traditional, classical realism-inspired landscapes. But painting surreal scenes gets my soul into my work in a way that realism doesn't. We'll see what I come up with!
Mark Junge
www.MarkJunge.com
Labels:
Art,
Dream,
Landscape,
Painting,
Paintings,
Surrealism,
Traditional/Classical Art
Friday, September 13, 2019
The Colorado High Country in the Fall
August was a month devoted to moving. I HATE moving -- but in the long run, it will be worthwhile.
Elk Meadow 36" x 48" / 91cm x 122cm |
Mark Junge
www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com
www.FineArtAmerica.com (for prints)
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Maroon Bells -- An Oldie but Goodie Painting
Maroon Bells (my first of several paintings I've made featuring this famous mountain in Colorado) is something I started in the late 1990s and reworked several times since then. The date on it is 2004, which was the year of my last update. And now, I've developed so much more as an artist that it's tempting to tweak it some more. We'll see if I do that or not.
Maroon Bells |
Most images of these wonderful mountains feature a lake in the foreground. As it was, I had to hike to this spot from the entry gate where I parked, and the lake is another two miles (3.2km) toward the mountains from this spot. I had already walked 6 miles / 9.7km from the gate -- 6 miles is where the Bells first come into view -- and I was pretty tired by then, especially after carrying my camera bag and tripod the whole time. And it was mostly clear when I started out, but then began clouding up -- typical for Colorado weather! So this is as far as I went, and after walking back to my truck -- 12 miles / 19.3km round trip, I felt miserable and called in sick to work the next day!
I did see deer during the hike, but they weren't where I showed them in the painting. OK -- so I cheated! ☺
Thankfully, I have photos of Maroon Bells and the lake from a previous year in June when the road was open and I could drive to the parking lot where the lake is. In autumn, so many people want to go there, they close the road to all vehicles except for tour buses that haul people back and forth from nearby Aspen. I didn't have time to find out where in town the buses stopped, hence the hike.
SO -- if you ever get a chance to go up there, I highly recommend it. Late September - early October are the peak times for fall color, which doesn't last long. Find out in advance how and where to catch the buses, unless you REALLY like walking!
Mark Junge
www.SouthwestSpaces.com or www.MarkJunge.com
www.FineArtAmerica (for prints)
Monday, July 15, 2019
Quenching the Land
Quenching the Land is a painting I made years ago -- I think before I even began this blog.
Quenching the Land 16" x 20" / 41cm x 51cm |
It's no secret that deserts are hard-up for rain; thus, when it comes, it's such a blessing to the plants and animals that live there.
The scene features a grouping of monzogranite boulders in Joshua Tree National Park with its namesake Joshua trees and some yuccas in bloom. The painting is hanging in the Hi Desert Nature Museum in Yucca Valley, CA.
Mark Junge
www.MarkJunge.com
www.SouthwestSpaces.com
www/FineArtAmerica.com (for prints)
Thursday, July 4, 2019
The Garden of the Gods
The Garden of the Gods is one of a number of paintings I made years ago of a magical city park in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The red sandstone fins and spires create an almost unearthly, awe-inspiring region.
The Garden of the Gods |
When we lived in Colorado Springs during the 1990s, I made many visits to this park. No admission fee, and it was a place to escape and, sometimes, to alleviate the homesickness I often had for the places I loved and missed in California.
It's unlikely we'll ever make the trip back to CO Spgs, but thankfully, I took many photos of the place from many different viewpoints. I expect I'll have lots of additional images in mind of Garden of the Gods should I decide to paint them.
Mark Junge
www.MarkJunge.com
www.SouthwestSpaces.com
www.FineArtAmerica.com (for prints)
Superbloom
Superbloom is the title of my latest painting. It shows some of the rolling hills of California when nature featured a spectacular display of wildflowers, especially the fluorescent orange of California poppies. The size is 11" x 14" / 28cm x 36cm, acrylic on panel.
Superbloom |
It's hard to say when the next wet winter and superbloom will happen, but I'm sure glad we were able to see THIS one! I expect to make several paintings from this trip -- this one is only the first!
Mark Junge
www.MarkJunge.com
www.SouthwestSpaces.com
www.FineartAmerica.com (for prints)
Labels:
California,
Flowers,
Landscape,
Painting,
Poppies,
Traditional/Classical Art,
Wildflowers
Thursday, April 25, 2019
One Night in the Redwoods
One Night in the Redwoods is the title of my latest painting. I've never been in a redwood forest at night, but I imagine it to look like a daytime scene except darker! ☺
One Night in the Redwoods |
The size is 16" x 20" / 41cm x 51cm. I wanted the piece to have a dreamy, moody look; hence, I made blurry most of the items in the painting. The gal is obviously a nymph (if redwood forests don't have nymphs, they otta!) The "model" was a statue I have and have seen elsewhere online with different titles -- Shyness, Shame and others. (My favorite title is Abbandonata (Forsaken), sculptor unknown). But in this case, I removed what little clothing she had on, and she is on her knees instead of standing.
One Night in the Redwoods is somewhat of an autobiographical image and very much reflects my own thoughts about life. If this comes through, I've done my job!!
The next painting -- one I've already started -- will have lots of color and flowers. An opposite of this piece.
Mark Junge
www.MarkJunge.com
www.SouthwestSpaces.com
www.FineArtAmerica.com (for prints)
Labels:
Art,
Ferns,
Figurative,
girls,
Painting,
Paintings,
Redwoods,
Traditional/Classical Art,
Women
Dioramas in Progress
Besides working on my fine art paintings, I've also been busy with a commission from the local Hi Desert Nature Museum in Yucca Valley, CA. I'm making two habitat dioramas showing some of the wildlife and overall look of our Mojave desert!
So far, I'm still painting the background image which I hope to finish within a few days. I have to say, this is the largest painting I've ever done (86" wide x 67" high / 2.2m W x 1.7m H). And I'm working on the painting on site -- not in the studio, where I would use an easel and all my paraphernalia laid out where I'm used to having it. Oh, well.
Here's how it looks so far -- a slightly modified scene from Joshua Tree National Park:
Daytime Diorama |
Then, if I'm not too tired, I work in my studio on my paintings, too!
It'll be nice to have both dioramas finished and see what the response is. I hope they will add much to the museum and that the public will love 'em!
Mark Junge
www.MarkJunge.com
www.SouthwestSpaces.com
www.FineArtAmerica.com (for prints)
Sunday, March 17, 2019
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!
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.FineArtAmerica.com (for prints)
|
Monday, March 4, 2019
Clouds
Clouds 8 x 10 / 20cm x 25cm |
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)
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
A Prickly Path
As is common knowledge, I love the desert. I love other types of scenery, too, but the desert keeps calling me back. (As it should -- I LIVE in the desert!)
So my latest painting is of the desert -- somewhere in the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix, Arizona, back in the days (early 1980s) when I could hike around and scramble up steep hillsides without too much trouble (although The Wiffee would not have approved of me doing so had she been with me that day). ☺
A Prickly Path 10" x 08" / 25cm x 20cm |
I added more space to form a path than there actually was at that time -- but I still wanted a sense of "better watch where you step, or you'll be impaled by cactus thorns."
In addition, there were saguaro cactus there, but none were visible from this spot. So I included one!
I enjoyed making this painting, which I started in November 2018! Unfortunately, the holidays and other stuff slowed me down quite a bit. But it's finally finished! Now I'm ready to move on to the next piece of desert art!
Mark Junge
www.MarkJunge.com
www.SouthwestSpaces.com
www.FineArtAmerica.com (prints)
Labels:
Art,
Clouds,
Painting,
Paintings,
Saguaro,
Traditional/Classical Art,
Wildflowers
Friday, December 14, 2018
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)
Labels:
Art,
Birds,
Critters,
Mark Junge Art,
Painting,
Paintings,
Traditional/Classical Art
Thursday, December 6, 2018
Autumn in the Mojave
Autumn in the Mojave is my latest painting (although lately it has felt more like winter in the Mojave!)
Autumn in the Mojave 11" x 14" / 28cm x 36cm |
The desert is an amazing place with many different moods, visible to those who spend lots of time here and are fortunate enough to catch the land during its fleeting moments of magic and mystery.
Mark Junge
www.SouthwestSpaces.com
www.MarkJunge.com
www.FineArtAmerica.com (for prints)
Thursday, November 15, 2018
Tropical Paradise (?!?)
When I was much younger, single and foolish, I was very much into "The Polynesian Look" -- not so much the little grass shack look, but with some remnants of life in that tropical paradise known as French Polynesia, particularly Tahiti Nui and the surrounding islands, especially Moorea and Bora Bora.
I used to drive by places (like apartments) that featured tropical/Polynesian landscaping. At night, some of them lit up tiki torches and, in one case, a small, natural gas-powered volcano. My favorite area at Disneyland was Adventure Land with the Enchanted Tiki Room, and -- in time -- the Tahitian Terrace Restaurant where they featured Tahitian dances and drumming at night. I loved listening to Martin Denny -- music with bird and animal sounds, as well as exotic musical instruments.
I even joined a Polynesian song and dance ensemble which I really enjoyed, but the funny thing is: I seemed to lose the romanticized images I had of the Islands. Maybe it all became too realistic, and even today I've never recaptured the romantic visions I had of being in Tahiti, or Hawai'i, for that matter. (Now, I'm into the Southwest and the deserts).
Today, as an artist, I would like to paint a landscape that will be somewhat imaginary but based on photos I've seen. (I've never been to these places I used to dream about). It will take time to paint all the vegetation and leaves and stuff, and I probably would not want to sell it. But who knows -- maybe it will resurrect the passion I used to feel for French Polynesia.
A View in Otaheite Peha John Webber |
This painting is NOT by me, but it should serve as inspiration for the mood-inducing piece I'd like to create. This piece is A View in Otaheite Peha, John Webber (British), 1785. Beautiful, isn't it?
My painting will be a view looking down a white-sand beach around sunset, with a young lady walking across the sand and (maybe) some dancers in the background. It'll be a lot of work, but I think I can do it.
I know I'll never get to Tahiti -- it would be too much for me these days to deal with on a number of levels, plus we're too poor for that kind of stuff! But a painting of an idealistic Tahiti might be tropical paradise enough for me!
Mark Junge
www.SouthwestSpaces.com
www.MarkJunge.com
www.fineartamerica.com (prints)
One last thing: I now have some small paintings on etsy.com. check 'em out and see wotcha think!
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
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)
Sunday, October 7, 2018
Ready for the Gallery
OK -- the five paintings I've been slaving over for months are finished, varnished and framed. They're ready for the gallery.
It may not seem like much, but it takes a long time when one paints the way I do. I paint in transparent layers, so it's like doing the same painting over and over and over again! The results are worth it, but it's not for those who want to get a lot done in a short time period!
I'll repeat the gallery's address plus their phone number which I didn't have last time:
60WestGallery Fine Arts
220 E Wickenburg Way
Wickenburg, AZ
541-206-2543 The gallery's "soft opening" is October 11, 2018. If nothing goes wrong, I should have my paintings there in time, along with several other artists plus the owner who is himself an artist.
I can't come for the opening (or the grand opening in November), but I'll be there in spirit -- and my paintings will be there! I hope you have a chance to drop by and see the offerings.
Mark Junge
www.SouthwestSpaces.com
www.MarkJunge.com
www.FineArtAmerica.com (for prints)
Labels:
Art,
Autumn,
Clouds,
Desert,
Monument Valley,
Painting,
Paintings,
Traditional/Classical Art
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
Last of the Snow Paintings -- for Now!!
Well, I finished up the last of the five paintings with snow in the landscapes for the new gallery in Wickenburg, AZ. It's kind of nice to have that pressure done with! We'll deliver them to the gallery in time for the "soft" opening and may still be there by the grand opening in November. If they don't sell first!
Totem 24" x 30" / 61cm x 76cm |
Four Peaks 24" x 30" / 61cm x 76cm |
But in winter on rare occasions, this area can get light snow on the desert floor and lots of snow in the mountains.
These two paintings plus the previous three will be shown in the soon-to-be-open 60West Gallery in Wickenburg, AZ. I don't believe they have a telephone number or website yet, but the address is as follows:
60WestGallery Fine Art
220 E Wickenburg Way
Wickenburg, AZ
The gallery is far enough away where I don't expect to be there very often, except to drop off paintings. But I hope you'll be able to stop by and see these works in the flesh!
Mark Junge
www.SouthwestSpaces.com
www.MarkJunge.com
Labels:
Art,
Desert,
Landscape,
Mark Junge Art,
Monument Valley,
Painting,
Paintings,
Saguaro,
Traditional/Classical Art
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