Three Things I've Learned About Painting

I've been painting for what seems like forever. Like many other activities, one usually gets better with years of practice.

Making art has been like that. Some of it is just about learning how to get the paint on the canvas and to make the finished item look the way you want it to.

But I've learned three distinct principles that the Old Masters apparently knew that add so much to the power of a painting.

• The Golden Mean. Briefly, the Golden Mean is a proportional tool that, in two-dimensional art, is a focal point of intersecting lines at given distances from the edges of the work. The eye is drawn to these point locations and automatically makes you look at them (or it). Four of them potentially exist at once, but the artist chooses one that works the best for the image s/he wants to use. It's a similar concept that photographers use known as the Rule of Thirds; only, the Golden Mean places the point of interest closer to the center: 0.382 distance from the length and width, unlike the Rule of Third's 0.333.

Each of the four points near the center represents the rectangle's Golden Mean. Any of these are the best places to locate the most important feature or subject of a painting.

• Selective Focus. Friend and amazing artist Virgil Elliot pointed out this principle --  the area of interest (probably located at the Golden Mean) should have sharp edges, and the other edges should be softened. Again, this tends to make you look at the important area and more closely resembles how we actually see things -- what we stare at is sharp, and the rest of the world appears more blurry to us. (To see Virgil's website, click here).

• Contrast. The eye likes contrast -- very light against very dark. Painters can use this to their advantage -- make the important area contrasty -- even white next to black -- and soften the contrast on the rest of the painting.

That's my three-point message. Using one of my own paintings to illustrate all this, let's examine the piece in light of these principles:

On Waves of Sand   20" x 24"

The Golden Mean point I used is to the lower left of center. The sharpest spot (hard to see in this small reproduction) is the creosote bush with a blowing sand cloud behind it. And the area of highest contrast is the bush and the sand cloud. (The white on the mountain peak is brighter than the blowing sand, but I kept the contrast up there low, so it doesn't grab your attention as the bush does.

After I learned these things -- one years ago, some quite recently -- I then noticed how painters of previous centuries did this stuff. The nice thing about being taught traditional approaches to art is -- one doesn't have to reinvent the wheel.

There is a lot more involved to making great art than just the above three fundamentals. But, in my opinion, learning about them helped me enormously as an artist. Next time you go to an art museum or even a gallery that carries some really good work -- look for these qualities in the paintings. The great paintings of the past and present have them. These are some of the characteristics one looks for in evaluating and judging art -- and separating the wheat from the chaff!

 

I Gave You All the Best Years of My Life

I've had the old Mac Davis song, Roll and Roll (I Gave You All the Best Years of My Life) on my mind a lot lately. With a few word changes, the song could be about me as I pursued a career making fine art. So much of the art world has changed over the years, even since I started making and selling art.

To make matters "worse," my pictorial interests are in the art of the past, especially the 19th century. I know traditional art still supposedly sells in this country, but the obsession with impressionism, digital art, fantasy, animé et al leave me feeling like I don't belong in this century. In southern California, the avant garde seems to be what people are looking at for their homes and offices. Stuff that I don't do. Art world --  "I was always just one step behind you."

We'll see what happens during the rest of 2016. After that, if I haven't moved forward, painting may become a hobby, possibly with occasional sales only. Maybe.

First Light -- Yosemite Valley     24" x 36"

Roll and Roll (I Gave You All the Best Years of My Life)

Oh, I can still remember
When I bought my first guitar
Remember walking from the shop
To put it proudly in my car

And my family listened fifty times
To my two song repertoire
I told my mom her only son
Was gonna be a star

Well, I bought all the Beatles records
Sounded just like Paul
I bought all the old Chuck Berrys
78s and all

And I sat by my record player
Playing every note they played
I watched them all on tv
And copied every move they made

Aw, rock and roll, I gave you all
The best years of my life
All the dreamy sunny Sundays
All the moonlit summer nights

I was so busy in the backroom
Writing love songs to you
While you were changing your direction
And you never even knew
That I was always just one step behind you

Well, '66 seemed like the year
I was really going somewhere
I was living in San Francisco
Wearing flowers in my hair

Singing songs of kindness
So the world would understand
The guys and me thought we were more
Than just another band

Aw, rock and roll, I gave you all
The best years of my life
All the crazy, lazy, young days
All the magic moon at nights

I was so busy on the road
Singing love songs to you
While you were changing your direction
And you never even knew
That I was always just one step behind you

Well, '71, I was all alone
When I met Sarah Jan
I was trying to go it solo
With someone elses band

And she came up to me softly
And she took me by the hand
She listened to my problems
And she seemed to understand

And she followed me to London
To a hundred hotel rooms
Through a hundred record companies
Who didn't like my tunes

She followed me back to Tennessee
Where she finally made me see
I'm just a plain old country boy
That's all I'll ever be

Aw, rock and roll, I gave you
All the best years of my life
All the dreamy, sunny Sundays
All the moonlit summer nights

And though I never knew
The magic of making it with you
I'm getting along with my country songs
Doing what I was born to do
But I was always just one step behind you

Aw, rock and roll, I gave you
All the best years of my life
All the dreamy, sunny Sundays...

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). ☺
 

The Lady and the Horses

My latest painting, Jan with Candy and Mango, is a commission that features a long-time friend and two of her equine pals -- a pony named Candy, and Mango the half-Arabian horse.

The horse owner Jan is dressed in 1930s-era attire and is posing with one each of her ponies and horses. I saw a picture she had taken, and it already had a dreamy look to it. So I wanted to capture that look, make Jan the star of the painting, and render the horses as accurately as possible. I "zoomed-in" on the original image, giving the subjects what photographers call a "telephoto perspective." So we don't see the normal foreshortening of the lady's or horses' features.

I worked mostly from a rather pixelized digital photo, but I was able to supplement that image with additional pictures I was able to obtain. Some items I had to do a little educated guesswork -- thankfully, I had additional pictures of all three critters☺, and I've been around horses enough in the past so I remembered sufficient detail about horsie anatomy and tack.

Best of all, the horse owner has seen MY digital images of the finished painting, and SHE seems pretty pleased with the result! I'm in the process of varnishing the piece now, and I expect to be able to deliver it to Jan next week.

Show at Old Town Gallery & Gifts, Yucca Valley, CA

I have a show going on at Old Town Gallery & Gifts in Yucca Valley, CA. (Their website is here).

The reception was on Sunday, April 17th. The show ends on May13th -- just a few weeks from now! So, this would be a good time to run over there and see what you may want to add to your art collection!
 

This is a view of my paintings as one would face to the east. Mostly desert subjects, but not all of them.







  

And this is the view looking toward the west...or northwest, actually.









The three "Under $300" paintings. (They're 11" x 14" and are priced at $175 each).

So -- this is my first local showing in years. A lot depends on how well things go at Old Town Gallery & Gifts before I decide about future shows, although I already have something lined up for June, 2016 in the nearby town of Joshua Tree.

Let's hope!!

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.

 

Things About April 6

It's April 6, 2016 -- a day noteworthy for several reasons...

It's my birthday. Let's just say I'm old, and we'll leave it at that.

On a sadder note, country music legend Merle Haggard died to day at age 79. I can't say I'm much of a C&W music fan, but it's still a little hard when the legends of the genre go.

Sadder yet -- the "Painter of Light" Thomas Kinkade died today in 2012 at 54 years of age. Cause of death was supposedly "acute intoxication" from alcohol and Valium.

I never met TK, but it sounded like he had some major struggles with his inner demons resulting from a bad home life as a child. It's unfortunate that people, including parents, don't realize how much emotional damage they can create in someone -- damage that, like scar tissue, impedes total recovery back to normal.

I always thought that TK's paintings of cozy English-style homes glowing with warm light and colorful flower gardens were his way of trying to capture a happy life he never knew. Obviously, his art struck a nerve with many buyers who loved his romanticized imagery.

Some people, including other artists, thought his work was "overly sentimental" -- I guess that means the artwork was pretty and not ugly...not suggesting the reality of the ugliness of life, including TK's own life, but focusing only on the beauty that can be found.

I never saw the problem with TK's work, although he did seem to work by formula, and in time I became a little bored by seeing essentially the same rehashed material over and over again.

But what he did, he did well. And those other artists don't -- and probably never will -- enjoy the popularity that Thomas Kinkade had, although it bothered him tremendously that he wasn't accepted by the art elitist types out there.

I wish he could have simply blown the elitists off, but TK still had those demons eating away at him.

Valley of Peace -- Thomas Kinkade

 So, Tom -- I hope you're with God right now, resting and free of life's slings and arrows. Maybe you have your own "valley of peace."



 

ANOTHER Little Desert Painting

I finished another little desert painting for my "Under $300" series of works -- possibly the last for a while, until I see how well received they are by the art collectors out there!

No title yet, really, so I'm just calling it Joshua Tree 03. The size is 8" x 10" / 20cm x 25cm. Obviously (I think!), I wanted to draw attention to the almost-a-silhouette of the Joshua tree against the bright clouds.

I'll be adding this to my website soon, and I expect it will be available in one of the local businesses by mid-April. More on this later.

It will be Easter in a couple of days. Happy Easter!

 

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.