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!