Three Little Paintings

I've been working on some small (8" x 10" / 20cm x 25cm) paintings in the "Under $300" category. All desert scenes, of course.

Joshua Trees 01

Joshua Trees 02

Sand Verbena

These, along with future paintings yet to be made, will be available at one of the local businesses where tourists and desert lovers will go and, perhaps, pick up one or more as a suitcase-sized souvenir. Check my website for more information on availability:

 www.SouthwestSpaces.com
 www.MarkJunge.com

 

Deserts and Everything Else

As a landscape painter, I have many, many options to choose from when deciding what to paint. Desert scenes tend to be my favorite, but there sure are a lot of other places that deserve to be captured, too.

This painting shows the Sneffels Range in Colorado, an especially beautiful region in the fall. Here, we are looking across a pasture of the Double RL Ranch -- designer Ralph Lauren's spread.

I love painting the desert, but views like Mount Sneffels cry out to be captured as well. I often feel like I don't do as well in catching the magic of these places as I do with the desert. BUT: what's an artist to do?

The desert has a mood to it like nothing else.  But sometimes I need COLOR, or the grandeur of mighty mountains or other features that the desert just doesn't have.

That's when I start thinking about Colorado, or the California redwoods, or even the ocean shores. And paint it all!

It's a big world, but somebody's gotta paint it!

Pinnacle Peak

Pinnacle Peak is the title (and the view) of my latest painting. This special place is located northeast of Scottsdale, AZ. The dimensions are 18" x 24" / 46cm x 61cm.

For some reason, this painting was hard to photograph and make it look like the painting. Close, but no cee-gar.

Here is a detail that shows the bunnies I painted in:

I like the way the painting turned out, but I left myself some room to re-do it several times over -- which I suspect I will do, in time.

Sadly, although the Peak itself is still there with it's hiking trails (it's included in Pinnacle Peak State Park), the surrounding desert is gone. The virgin desert I depicted is now homes, roads, golf courses, a resort, and -- I believe -- a few shops and eateries.

Who knows -- maybe someone who lives near Pinnacle Peak will want paintings on their walls showing how the area used to look!


 

How th' Heck Is It Going, Mark?

Well, let's see...we're in month #2 of 2016. How th' heck is it going, art-wise?

I AM getting paintings done -- better ones than ever, in my opinion! I'm slowly doing more online stuff done to get my presence out there, and I'm looking for worthwhile art shows to enter. Not the art fairs in parks and such, but the more prestigious ones -- hard to get in to, but I gotta try.

I have more prints of paintings on my page at Fine Art America, and I removed the manipulated photographs that I used to offer. (I still have a painting there that I "enhanced" slightly, but I'll soon remove the "enhancement").

I've revamped my website somewhat, including adding a page with paintings that are available for less than $300! My monthly newsletter no longer appears on my website; instead, I now use MailChimp.com to produce newsletters that look more like desktop publishing e-documents. (If you'd like to receive these newsletters, please e-mail me at our "Contact Us" page on the website and let us know).

And, although I had resisted the temptation before -- I decided I'll need to be represented in galleries somewhere, but I'm not so sure about southern California. I don't know where yet, but 
it just ain't hoppenin' here. ☺

 

However, I may frame and take the "Under $300" paintings to a place or two in Yucca Valley (CA).

Admittedly, I'm somewhat surprised and disappointed that no one on Facebook has acquired any of the small paintings. So within the next few months, my website may become nothing more than an online portfolio without "Buy Now" buttons. Galleries and other art professionals simply want to see websites as portfolios, complete with the sizes and prices of the works.

I've also been downloading and accumulating quite a large number of artworks by masters past and present to inspire me -- not to make money off of or to violate anyone's copyright, but just to study. (I could assemble a thick book of images by now!)

Finally, I've been talking with some peeps who have done well with the art biz and getting some advice about approaches that may be a bit outside the box. In fact, I expect to be meeting with one such artist over lunch next week for a brainstorming session.

So -- that's where it is for now. Sorry -- no pictures this time. For now, I'll just keep truckin'...uh, I mean, paintin'!!

Where the Sun Sets

Where the Sun Sets -- the latest in my "Art Under $300" series!

Where the Sun Sets                                        11" x 14"

The sun sets in the West, of course, and it actually sets further west than in Joshua Tree National Park (the sun sinks into the Pacific Ocean, as we all know!)

But as a fan of western movies, I've seen enough movie endings in which the hero rides off into the sunset; in fact, it's somewhat of a cliché. And as a fan of the desert, where better to depict a sunset than in the beauty of those vast spaces of the Southwestern desert?

This painting will be available for purchase later in the first week of February 2015 -- I still need to finish the coat of varnish and then give it adequate time to dry and harden. My website (and the specific page on which this artwork appears) is HERE.

Enjoy!

 

Dawn

Dawn is the latest in my series of "Under $300" paintings that I hope to have up on my website (SouthwestSpaces.com) in a week or so.

Dawn                                      11" x 14"

It's rare that I get out of bed in the predawn hours; however, I wanted to be in Joshua Tree National Park to catch those first rays of sunlight streaming across the landscape. So -- I did it! I drove out there in December, 2014 close to winter solstice, when sunrise would be as late into the morning as it could get! (I'm such a night person!) It's nice to be only about 15 minutes from the Park.

No flowers at that time of year, and thankfully, it wasn't especially cold, either. (It WAS cold and cloudy  on the same day in 2015 -- I'm glad I aimed for the previous year!) Just the rock formations that climbers love to climb on, some desert scrub and those cool Joshua trees.

I've been trying to decide if I want to continue painting nothing but Joshua tree artworks, or if I need to vary my subject somewhat. If I could be more efficient with my time, I could do these much faster and not really have to make a choice!

But getting up before dawn would NOT help. ☺

 

Joshua Tree!

Joshua Tree! is the latest in my "Art-on-a-Budget" series -- small paintings that I will offer for $200 USD or less.

As you can see, it's clump of Joshua trees with one of those highly-climbable rock formations that Joshua Tree National Park is known for.

Joshua Tree!      14" x 11" / 36cm x 28cm

In a sense, this is a "historical" painting. The tallest tree in the middle has long since toppled over and died, leaving only the surrounding suckers. This area is now a parking lot with the suckers and some of the small vegetation preserved in an opening in the pavement. The famous Intersection Rock is over to the left, out of the view of the scene which is the entry to the Hidden Valley campground.

The yellow-flowering shrubs are goldenbush (Ericameria linearifolia). Maybe it's my imagination, but they don't seem to be as numerous in the Park as they used to be.

I've painted this spot many times, although no two are the same. It seems to be one of my favorite views in the National Park, and I expect there will be more variations on this theme in the future!
 

Ocotillo Paradise

Ocotillo Paradise is the first of a series of affordable, "Art-on-a-Budget" paintings that I plan to place on my website (which, by the way, is www.SouthwestSpaces.com or www.MarkJunge.com).

Ocotillo Paradise

This new piece shows one of my favorite views of all time: south of Palm Desert, CA, overlooking Deep Canyon, ocotillos and brittlebush in bloom, and a hawk on the wing looking for goodies. Lots of open space, rugged mountains -- all of the things I love about the desert.

The "Art-on-a-Budget" series will be smaller paintings -- this one is 11" x 14" / 28cm x 36cm -- and will not sport the transparent, "stained glass" glazes that I normally prefer. This will save me lots of time, although the images themselves will be of the same high standards I set for myself in my artwork.

I hope I can make more paintings this way and offer them for less (I expect Ocotillo Paradise will be available on my website for around $200 USD, but I'm not sure yet). As usual, the art will be unframed. OR: I could frame them, but then I would need to add the framing and increased shipping costs to the total. At this time, the paintings will be available ONLY on my website, and possibly on other Internet sites.

And, of course, I'll continue to work on the time-consuming glazed paintings, too. ☺

May all this lead to a prosperous 2016!

More Insights from the Art Show

I have to say -- there are some things that happen at art shows that can make doing them worthwhile even when nothing sells, as with the show at the San Bernardino County Museum, 20-22 November 2015. I wrote about this in the previous entry, but three things struck me when talking with potential buyers that will affect what I do for the "Art-on-a-Budget" series of artworks I'll be making:

1. People like ocotillos in bloom;
2. People like skies with clouds, especially the small puffy "popcorn" clouds;
3. People like having the sun appear in the scene.

OK -- so -- I'll be painting lots of ocotillos, preferably with lots of colorful wildflowers around them. Always have clouds, and have more sunrises and sunsets --whether or not the image is a desert scene. Keeping these points in mind should be helpful in remembering subjects I like to paint anyway but also -- hopefully -- narrow it all down to subjects people will purchase.

(I've got these points written down so I'll remember them every time I sit at the confuser...uh, computer!)

Time will tell if these insights will be helpful or not. Meanwhile, I've got some painting to do and a website that needs optimizing so everyone can find it. It's gonna be busy!

By the way -- you can find my paintings at SouthwestSpaces.com or MarkJunge.com.

 

Things I've Learned at the Art Show

The art show last weekend came and went ... and NO SALES AT ALL!!! Grr-r-r-r...

I wasn't the only one. Other artists had no sales, or they sold only small, inexpensive sculptures or prints of paintings.

In spite my initial frustration and anger about how it all turned out, I think I picked up on a few things that may help me move ahead.

-- There is no "economic recovery." It's a lie the politicians -- especially the US president -- keep telling us. People liked my work, but I have to offer it more inexpensively.

-- All of the artwork at the show was realism -- no abstract, impressionism or other styles that seem to be more popular in southern California. (However, I was the only "pure" landscape painter -- everybody else had wildlife prominently featured in their works). So there may be hope in continuing to work in my favored style. 
Art shows just don't seem to work for me anymore. They haven't for a long time. And another artist told me many of the galleries in Scottsdale, AZ are closed up -- couldn't make it. This tells me to skip the art shows and to be REALLY careful with galleries -- they will not be my savior. I'll have to decide if I want to approach them at all at this time.

-- All of the paintings I showed received a positive response. I'll continue with desert paintings, but I'll definitely add more other kinds of western landscapes, especially Colorado mountain scenes, with or without ruins of 19th century mines. These two pieces seemed to be the crowds' favorites:




Badlands, 18" x 24" / 46cm x 61cm

Springtime Ocotillo, 8" x 10" / 20cm x 25cm










So I'll be painting more ocotillos, desert mountains and flowers! And for the local market, I'll be painting Joshua trees with those fantastic monzogranite rock formations, too.


To make these paintings more affordable, I'll have to pass on doing the time-consuming, transparent glazing that I love. It gives the works a stained-glass luminence, but it does take more time to do. So the glazed paintings will be for galleries, a few rare selected shows or for me to keep! I'll offer the "art-on-a-budget" paintings on my website (SouthwestSpaces.com or MarkJunge.com) and to local merchants/galleries who may get tourists.customers who want memories of our beautiful Joshua Tree National Park.

Does this sound like a sound plan? I hope so!! At this point and in this economy, art is all I have. Maybe with the things I learned at the art show, I can still make it!

 

Coming Soon! VERY Soon!!

It's coming soon ... VERY soon!!

Waddaya talkin' about, Dude?

Why, the art show that I've been getting ready for! Below I've posted a map showing where this event is taking place -- in Redlands, southern California, east of San Bernardino. Next weekend -- 21-22 November 2015. This will be your opportunity to see some of my paintings in person and even add to your collection -- or to start one.

Below is more information about the museum and the show:

It's an indoor show (thankfully!) and it appears will be pleasant -- that should encourage people to go out and see the museum and some art!

So if you're reading this, I hope you'll make some plans to head to Redlands -- west of Yucaipa and east of the I-215 interchange with the I-10. You'll see the entries for the Federal Duck Stamp competition, lots of nature-related artwork and chances to visit some artists -- including ME!

See ya soon! VERY soon!!

 

 

Busy Busy!!

Phew!! Lots going on, it seems... and not enough energy to do it all! ARGH!!

Let's see... I've got an art show to continue to get ready for -- in about a month. More on this soon.

We've had computer issues to deal with -- all better, for now anyway.

I DID manage to finish two new paintings that will go into my book; you know -- the one about autumn, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and maybe Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. This time of year has always been quite visual for me, and I'm making and assembling a series of paintings about the season. I always look for books like that in bookstores, and I never find any. FINE!! I'll create my OWN &*%$# book!

Meanwhile, I'm continuing to paint landscapes that I hope to get hanging (and selling) in one or more galleries somewhere.

AND -- it appears I have a commission in the works! A gal in 1930s-era clothing with her two horses. It's be interesting and fun.

Finally, I have an Easter-themed painting I've been thinking about doing for our church (well, really The Wiffee's church, but that's another story). It would be nice to get it done and out of my head -- hopefully before Easter 2016.

Can I do all this before next Easter? Don't know -- don't have the energy or drive to work as hard as I used to. No doubt about it -- I'm incredibly OLD!! OLD!!!

Well, maybe I can still get a few miles out of this fossilized carcass before it's all over. Time to "go to my studio and make stuff."

 


 

Arches and Feathers

Arches and Feathers is a reworking of a painting I "finished" in 2007. As is sometimes the case, it seemed like the painting needed a little tweaking...and finally, I stripped the removable varnish on it and set about to do some tweaking. (And repair a little damage that stripping the varnish caused).

And I think I finally have what I want!

Arches and Feathers                                 24" x 36"

The original 2007 work was the second in a series of three paintings I made of this formation in Arches National Park, UT. Balanced Rock appears in the distance on the left. This view was inspired by a painting by living artist D. Michael McCarthy, although this is not a copy of his artwork. (I wish I could have purchased his painting when I saw it in a gallery in Scottsdale, AZ!) I'd say we were both inspired by the magnificent work of the 19th century artist, Thomas Moran.

I included a redtail hawk turning and banking to its left. It's in shadow and appears dark (almost black). Placing it against the brightly-lit rocks created a focal point that draws the eye into the composition.

This little guy wasn't in the first version of the painting -- I think s/he adds a little life and even more mystery to the scene.

Besides, I read of another landscape artist who said he was told by an Indian friend that seeing hawks brings good luck and, if one appears in a painting, it brings good luck in sales! I hope that's true!

I still need to apply the finishing coats of varnish. I hope this will be a good attention-getter at a show I'll be doing in November (more on this later) and that the hawk will bring some luck, too!

SouthwestSpaces.com
MarkJunge.com

Badlands

Badlands is my newest painting!

Badlands              18" x 24" / 46cm x 61cm

This piece show the Carrizo Badlands overlook of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, CA. This is one of my favorite sites in the park, with the rugged hills, lots of ocotillo (those stick-like things with the red flowers at the tips) and lots of space to mediate on.

I don't do paintings of badlands formations very often. Frankly, badlands have a LOT of stuff to paint, and sometimes I'm just not patient enough, although I know I have to be to get the look I want.

I think I like the way this one turned out!


Your educational info:

• "Anza" refers to Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza, 1774;
• "Borrego" is Spanish for "sheep," especially a youngun;
• "Carrizo" is apparently the Spanish vernacular name of plants found in a carrizal, an area of reeds;
  
• "Ocotillo" (oh-koh-TEE-yo) = “little torch” in Spanish.

An Early Influence

Way, way back a long time ago (early '70s, when I was majoring in art at Cal State LA), I used to visit a weekly outdoor art show that took place on the grounds of Griswold's Old School House (in Claremont, CA), a complex that included a restaurant/smorgasbord, hotel, theater and shops. One of the regular artists there was a German immigrant who painted Southwest desert landscapes.

In my opinion, he was the best artist there in terms of achieving that classical, traditional look to scenes that the Old Masters never actually got to see. The artist typically had a mountain more-or-less centered, with either saguaro cactus or Joshua trees and lots of wildflowers. The works had such an old-world, skilled feel to them, and the landscapes appeared warm and inviting.

I wish I could have bought one of his paintings, but I wasn't working and didn't have the money for them, even though they didn't strike me as expensive. He often invited me to visit him at his studio and gallery in Pomona, but I never did.

And I never got his name or even a business card! At that time, I didn't realize that he would be an early influence on my present-day painting; in fact, he was really my first influence.

So I've been searching and searching for him, realizing he's probably deceased by now. What used to be called Griswold's has no records of that time.

Then, finally last night, I must have stumbled upon the correct search terms on Google, and I think I found him!

Karl Von Weidhofer

The Internet has only a handful of images of his artwork, but they resemble the ones I remember seeing at the art shows.

Desert Landscape          Karl Von Weidhofer

Sorry -- this was a small image, so the resolution isn't very high. And the composition isn't what I remember about the paintings I saw -- this view opens up in the middle instead of being blocked by a mountain.

Still, it should give you an idea of what it was that inspired me, even though I didn't know these paintings would come back to haunt me years later. The seed had been planted, and -- typical of my life in general -- it was a late-bloomer. And it blooms to this day.

This is a short bio of Karl as I found it in several places online:

Karl Weidhofer was born in East Prussia, Germany on June 8, 1920.  Weidhofer was in the German army when captured by the Russians during WWII.  While imprisoned for four years, he was taught to paint by a fellow prisoner. After the war he was reunited with his family in Bavaria.  He married and in 1954 moved to southern California.  For many years he worked as a lab technician for Pomona Tile Company while painting in his leisure.  In 1968 he became a full-time artist and began exhibiting his paintings in art shows held in malls and parks in southern California and the Southwest.  Weidhofer died at his home in Pine Grove, CA on Nov. 3, 2001.  Best known for his desert landscapes...

So -- is Karl the artist I remember? Maybe. The times and places mentioned in the bio would match where and when he would have been re: Griswold's in the early '70s.

He is indeed deceased -- lived to be almost 81 years old. I'll never get to tell him how he impacted my art forever.

But I'll continue to paint knowing Karl DID have that impact -- along with other artists who have shown me additional gems such as dramatic skies and lighting -- something Karl didn't get into.

Maybe you're painting right now in heaven, Karl. RIP.

The Santa Fe Look

If you've been around for a while -- say, the 1980s -- you may remember a decorating trend called "The Santa Fe look." The dominant colors were mauve and teal -- not colors you actually see in the city of Santa Fe, NM with its emphasis of Pueblo Revival architecture. Supposedly, these colors represented the Southwestern desert, perhaps before sunset. (I never thought that, but others did).

The furniture used a lot of smoothed-and-varnished natural wood tree limbs; fabrics used mauve and teal. Artwork was sometimes abstract; otherwise, it was quite desert-themed, with cactus, agaves and other prickly plants and/or pueblo Indian pottery, structures, ladders -- stuff like that.
 

By "Teresa"

Unfortunately, I only have Teresa as the artist's name...I believe i saw this on eBay. I hope she won't mind if I showcase her work here.

This piece is very typical of the wall decor that was common during those years. (Note -- I'm NOT putting this painting down). Although it is desert-themed, I never got into the Santa Fe look. Too trendy for me -- I was more interested in developing as a more classical-realism painter -- I goal I continue to chase.

In fact, I got so tired of what I was seeing, and how readily people bought these things, that I made a sort of surreal version of the Santa Fe look in protest.

Parasonoran Life Zone

 As you can see, the landscape features broken stand-up cactus in Santa Fe-look colors. Peach was a color that was just being added to the mix, so the only color that is isn't "right" is the blue of the sky. Some viewers actually laughed when they saw this -- I glad they "got it" and saw the humor and sarcasm in it.

So if this look was profitable, why didn't I pursue it? Because it was a trend -- nothing to build a lifetime career out of. After all -- where is all that Santa Fe artwork today? Certainly not on collectors' walls or in art museums!

Eventually, mauve and teal faded into beiges and earthtones. Desert and pueblo subjects seemed to disappear. (One artist tried to discourage me from painting desert landscapes because that subject came and went -- I don't think he realized I wasn't making mauve and teal desert landscapes!)

And I hope that the paintings I'm making today will be around longer than the Santa Fe look of the '80s.

 

Visions of the Night

As you may know, a "nocturne" is a work of art or music that is all about the night -- typically, night with a full moon.

It's amazing how magical nocturnes are! Provided a landscape feels like a safe place to be in, the darkness + moonlight casts a spell as nothing else can.

I've painted less than a handful of nocturnes only because they can be too dark for people to hang on their walls, especially if rooms are not brightly lit during the evening hours. But I suspect I may do more of them -- possibly scenes that are not desert. I absolutely love the look the full moon gives to the land, as it has been the last few nights during the "supermoon." (Full moon was last night, but it's still lookin' pretty darned wonderful out there!)

Mojave Nocturne

In these two images, you can see I sometimes make the night sky quite blue; other times, I tone it down quite a bit. We don't see much, if any, color when the light levels drop too low. We may think everything looks blue, but it's mostly shades of gray. (The sky MAY have a little blue in it).

What's amazing to me are the color photos (35mm slides) I've taken by moonlight. Given enough exposure, the pictures look just like daylight pix! The relative values, darks and lights in a moonlight scene are the same as they are in daylight -- things are simply darker.

AND -- just a couple of other differences:

1. The brightest stars show up in the nighttime photos;
2. Shadows have blurry edges. The moon moves enough during the time exposures to blur things.

Maybe someday soon!! More nocturnes!
 

Moonlit Desert

 

 

 

 

What to Paint, What to Paint

I don't know if other artists struggle with deciding what subjects to paint next, but sometimes I sure do! That's why I have to think in terms of future images even while I'm working to finish whatever I'm working on now!

I recently bought a canvas made of polyester -- it's supposed to last much longer than cotton or even Belgium linen. The size is 30" x 40" / 76cm x 102cm -- I prefer canvas for larger sizes just because they weigh so much less.

So what's the problem? Well -- do I paint Monument Valley or a redwood forest?

Admittedly, I've painted Monument Valley many more times than I've painted the redwoods. Yet, I feel like I've never caught the redwoods quite the way I've wanted to. The first time we saw them in Lady Bird Johnson Grove in Redwood National Park, CA, the morning sun was shining through the trees, and I was disappointed because I knew the forest would not photograph well -- bright spots of light next to deep shadows. (I was a photographer back then, not really a painter).

But then we rounded a corner, and a light fog had filled the forest. The air was lit up by shafts of sunlight breaking between the branches. We felt like we had stepped into heaven -- the blue sky that appeared beyond the hills showed through the fog, the ferns gave a lush carpeting of dark green and bright yellow-green from the sun. And, of course, we had those awe-inspiring giant trees rising to the skies in cathedral-like reverence.

Of course, it still didn't photograph quite the way we saw it, but the pictures + my memories help me remember how the redwoods looked that day. But I never got it right when I wanted to transfer my memories to the canvas.

Well, maybe NOW I'm ready to give it another shot. It won't have a waterfall like the image above (we never saw any waterfalls there), but I keep thinking there's a picture of heaven in my head, and it wants to be out in the open for all to see.

Maybe I've made up my mind about what to paint next!

SouthwestSpaces.com ... MarkJunge.com

Wildlife Moments

My newest painting, Looking for Dinner -- Redtail Hawk, depicts what could become one of those nature documentary-types of moments... or it could be nothing at all!
 

Looking for Dinner -- Redtail Hawk               11" x 14"

In the air, we see a redtail hawk sailing effortlessly over the Mojave desert, making one last pass for tasty goodies before the sun sets -- coming close to what could his/her dinner. That cute little desert cottontail bunny-rabbit probably doesn't know about the hawk yet, but it's OK as long as it stays put. But if it hippity-hops into the open, it just may become a meal!

I won't reveal where the bunny is -- I hope you can see it. But I wanted to do a piece that tells a story -- as brief as it is. Prey-predator relationships. Life and (maybe) death in the surrealistic desert.

The setting is Joshua Tree National Park, with some of its namesake plants scattered about. The dominant tree is leaning toward the south -- unfortunately, Joshua trees have a bad habit of growing toward the sun. When they get bigger, they're off-balance, and in time will topple over. Not ALL JTs work out their self-destruction in this way, of course, but it isn't unusual to find places where all or most of the JTs have that characteristic lean.

The small mountain in the background has become one of my favorite geological features in the Park to paint. Most of the hills and formations in Joshua Tree National Park are unnamed officially -- often, the climbers come up with names that they share with each other, but the National Park Service never went around naming everything. So I just call this mountain "the peaks." I like all of the pointy projections for some reason. This paintings shows "the peaks" reasonably accurately (the peak on the far left is shorter than I've made it here).

The hawk is the sharpest item detail-wise and contrasts strongly with the lighted area of the peak behind it. It's also located at one of "golden mean" points of the composition. All this tends to make you look at it, although the JT in the foreground does some of that, too. The bunny, of course, blends into its background -- natural camouflage.

Wildlife moments. Kinda fun sometimes!

www.SouthwestSpaces.com
www.MarkJunge.com