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

Here we're looking south with Cheyenne Mountain in the distance. In early summer, yucca plants send up their bouquets of creamy-white flowers in miniature versions of the spires.

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

Some parts of this area were extremely crowded, with lots of people and cars wanting to get up close (and into) the fields of flowers. However, I tend to like more expansive vistas and was perfectly happy being down the road from the crowded spots.

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)

 

Diorama Doings

Work continues on the diorama I'm making for the Hi Desert Nature Museum in Yucca Valley, CA. Unfortunately, the process of trying to sell our house and buy a mobile home has greatly slowed me down, which is quite frustrating. But I work as best I can. It's hard, too when I'm airbrushing some vegetation -- I have to do it in the garage, and it's been around 100°F / 39C lately. That's when I find out how much I can sweat!!

The diorama isn't quite finished yet, but here's how it looks so far. The glass front is in place -- sorry about the reflections!

 

Plodding Along

Plodding along...that's been what I've been up to lately. Not in the same spirit as the tortoise and the hare, but I've felt an awful lot like a tortoise lately.

The Tortoise and the Hare

(The pictures are details I cropped and enlarged out of two different paintings. Sorry about the blurriness!)

The Wiffee and I are getting ready to sell our house and move into a mobile home. It's simply gotten too expensive here in the state of California to stay in our house any longer. Taxes, insurance premiums, fees as well as living expenses keep going up, and the income isn't increasing at the same rate.

So we've been working on packing, staging our house, stuff like that.

Meanwhile, I've still got a habitat diorama to finish for the local nature museum. It figures that I have to deal with both of these issues at the same time!!

Here's how the background painting for the diorama finished out:

Admittedly, the painting appears much more detailed when seen in person than it does in this small photo!

And as for paintings -- well, that's fallen by the wayside for now. Too busy, too tired, all that stuff -- I just can't seem to continue on a painting I began a month or so ago. Someday!

Hopefully, I'll finish the diorama next week and I'll post pictures of it here! Until then...

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

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)

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

From the title, you may guess there will also be a Nighttime Diorama as well. Once the background is finished (with more small rocks and additional plant species), the foreground will be the three-dimensional component with ground, rocks, taxidermy animals and some plants. I'm making the 3-D foreground, too, although I don't know yet if I'll be placing the critters where they belong, or if the museum staff will handle that.

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)

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)

Clouds

Clouds                            8 x 10 / 20cm x 25cm

Clouds is the title of my latest painting, finished -- at long last -- this past weekend. (Sometimes it seems to be harder and harder to work on paintings and to finish them in a timely manner -- so frustrating!)

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)

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 love these birds-eye views of the desert that show the infinite, wide-open spaces of the landscapes that seem to stretch out forever.

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)

 

Year's End

Well, it seems Christmas is over (sigh...), 2018 is almost done with, and soon it'll be 2019!

WHERE, exactly, did 2018 go? I know time seems to speed up when you get old, decrepit and dilapidated (like me☺), but... come on!! 

OK, so -- I've been working, on and off, on a small painting. At the same time, I decided it's time to revamp my website to make it more compatible with what search engines are looking for. More on this topic soon.

Also, I seem to have lots of ideas for images to paint, but I've gone back to being kinda unmotivated, which is something I need to work on. I can't be that way. Not if I need to survive financially!

I read an online article claiming that the number one obstacle to making it as a professional artist is: the work simply isn't good enough. It can't compete with all the artwork that's out there. The article went on to describe the misadventures of a female artist whose experiences seemed quite similar to mine.

I'm sure this position is true -- for many artists, and maybe for me, too. But I can't ignore other possible reasons why obstacles exist. This is something I've been contemplating a lot. 

So this is where things stand. I'm hoping website sales will increase in 2019, when people are able to find me! Right now, if you Google "desert paintings," my site isn't even in the first 100, although I used to be in the top 5, and sometimes I was even #1!! Gotta fix that, too.

So I hope Christmas was awesome, that this year has been good to you and that 2019 will be a fabulous year for us all!!

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

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)

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 scene is based on a view in Joshua Tree National Park in southern California, USA. It's rare to see the desert like this even when it rains, but it certainly does happen. The landscape is brightened by autumn-blooming wildflowers -- the larger rabbitbrush and the smaller desert marigold in the immediate foreground.

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)

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!

 

Sedona

Sedona is the title of my latest painting. It depicts Cathedral Rocks just outside of Sedona, AZ. The size is 8" x 10" / 20cm x 25cm.

Sedona                                                8" x 10"

Besides being a beautiful area, Sedona, Arizona is reputed to be a place of mystical energy and vortexes and such. I won't pretend I understand all that, but I'm hoping I captured just a little of that mystery.

I'll soon be sending this to the gallery in Wickenburg, AZ. In case you'd like to visit this and other paintings of mine, here is the address and telephone number:

60WestGallery Fine Arts
220 E. Wickenburg Way
Wickenburg, AZ
541-206-2543

Maybe I'll bump into you there! Thank you for your support!

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

Ghosts

It's less than a week until Halloween, a day I enjoy even though Christians aren't supposed to. 😇

I do all kinds of things to "get me in the mood," so to speak, and I decided to watch some videos of movies that -- if not Halloween-themed -- at least touch on the supernatural and afterlife.

Today, I watched Ghost -- not exactly scary, but a very moving love story. Patrick Swayze, as Sam, spends most of his time as the deceased -- a ghost who continues to love Molly (Demi Moore). A beautiful story!

Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze

Movies like this make me wonder what life after death is really like. The Bible and other religious references don't go into much detail, but Near Death Experiences and sightings / interactions with alleged "ghosts" imply there's more to being deceased than meets the eye.

The movie raises some questions that we science geeks tend to ask. Sam the ghost can pass through walls, doors, even people; yet, gravity apparently still affects him and the other ghosts in the movie. He doesn't float away, doesn't sink into the floor or street (even when he falls), and is able to run, walk and move along on subway cars, so friction must be a quality that affects ghosts, too.

Do ghosts exist among the living on the planet? I can't say -- there's no experimental evidence one way or the other to say they exist or they don't. But some people have had experiences with poltergeists, and at least one gal I know says she hears the voices of the departed -- and I have no reason at this time to think she's pulling my leg.

I do believe in a heaven and a hell, but maybe there's a "limbo" state where certain souls of the deceased wait until Judgement Day. Or maybe everyone who dies goes straight into the limbo state, awaiting the decision to allow them to enter heaven or be cast into hell.

There's only one way to find out, but I suspect I would be unable to blog about what's "on the other side," or behind the veil, or whatever, as Sam learned to do as a ghost. So I'll just keep wondering!

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

 

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)

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)