Art in Cyberspace

Ahhh...I finally got around to updating my Website (which, in case you missed it, is http://www.southwestspaces.com).

I now have "Add to Cart" and "View Cart" buttons beside the paintings, making it easy for N-E-1 to acquire one of my desert or western landscape paintings. I'm always excited about the idea of someone adopting one of my paintings. For a small adoption fee, of course!

Doing all this has definitely cut into my painting time, but in these economic times, I realize I need to spread the ol' eggs around into as many baskets as possible.

So the next step might be to figure out how to increase my presence in search engine results, which won't be easy. If you Google "desert paintings" or "desert art," you will get literally millions of hits -- and I'm not even in the top 100 pages of hits! It may be too late in the Internet game to wiggle my way closer to the top, but I gotta try anyway. It'll definitely take time -- that's why I need to get things moving NOW.

See ya in cyberspace!

Lotsa Space -- No Time

Here's another picture from my quick trip to Joshua Tree National Park yesterday. As you may know from previous posts, I like to paint scenes like this: lotsa space, overlapping mountains that become more obscured by distance, and the surreal forms of the desert.

You may be asking yourself: "Self -- why does this Mark Junge dude keep posting photos of the desert instead of his paintings"? Well, frankly, it takes a long time to get paintings done, especially when life gets busy (like, for example, going into Joshua Tree National Park instead of the studio). But I've also lost time from having to get some work done on our pickup truck, wedding anniversary stuff, having to convince our mortgage lender we have enough flood insurance (yes -- flood insurance...we live in the desert on a hillside!) and other distractions.

However, you can, of course, visit my Website (http://www.southwestspaces.com), which hasn't been updated in a while, but at least you can see some paintings! And someday, you may see a painting of the above photo.

If I can find the time.

A Desert Lizard

I made a quick trip to Joshua Tree National Park today for some inspiration and to see how the fall-flowering shrubs were doing. I didn't see as many flowers as I would have liked, but there were some. Perhaps I can post some pix of scenes that inspire me beyond belief to paint.

But first, I must share a picture I took of a lizard. I think I saw more lizards than flowers. Cute little guy, isn't he? Or she? I don't know how to tell males and females apart. I'm sure, however, they can tell; otherwise, we would soon run out of lizards! Regardless, I expect this little lizard (about 6"/15cm nose to tip-of-tail) to appear in some paintings someday.

I'm not sure of the species, but I believe this is one example of a side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana). The coloring varies somewhat, and this one appears to be banded rather than blotched. But you know--even lizards gotta do it "their way"!

More desert pix to follow.

Pumpkin Fairies

I just had to do a painting of a Jack O' Lantern and fairies. As a landscape painter, this is a little outside of my realm, but it's fun to do something different once in a while. Size is 14" x 11" (36cm x 28cm).

I've considered approaching greeting card companies to see if they'd be interested in licensing rights, but I don't know...most Halloween cards are either photographs or cartoon-style illustrations. Not sure if this style would go over with that crowd.

But at least, I got it out of my system!

Halloween

My brother sent me this pic. Love it!!

A Squeaker in Disguise

The Wiffee and I acquired a very cute and adorable guinea pig over a month ago. As with bunnies, we melt at the sight of guinea pigs. Because of their tendency to whistle and "squeak," we often refer to guinea pigs as "squeakers."

The former owner was unable to keep the squeaker (named Gracie) because of changes in work schedule, kids and a pet dog. Gracie has a quieter environment now, and we have time to hold her (she's VERY well socialized!) and give her goodies to eat.

She's a "rough-haired" type, meaning her fur always looks disheveled, and is black and white (the brownish coloring in the photo isn't really there). Sometimes she looks like a skunk without a tail!

A squeaker in disguise!

The Coming Holidays

Funny thing about me (well, one of the funny things about me, anyway) -- many people talk about having, or not having, the Christmas spirit when that holiday arrives.

I'm subject to that same malady. But in my case, I also have to get into the autumn "spirit," usually by mid-September. Then I have to get into the Halloween spirit and the Thanksgiving Day spirit before I can get into the Christmas spirit. Without that sequence, Christmas comes and goes, and it's just another day except for all the decorations we have up and the gift giving and receiving. The Christian aspects of the day are still there, of course, but I really like the whole package.

Christmas 2007 ended up being one of those "just another days" that seemed to create a lot of stress and busy-ness. I never "got into it." To add insult to injury, I even got sick that day -- and a few days later, my mother-in-law suffered a stroke and died on New Years Day.

This year, I'm determined to immerse myself in the thoughts, images (especially the images!), sights and sounds of the seasons. I'm even working on my first-ever Halloween-themed painting -- not because I expect to make money on it, but because I simply want to do it.

Since I'm no longer surrounded by fellow employees who decorate their cubicles and do things that remind me of the holidays, I have to work a little harder at it on my own so I can enjoy the times. Already I feel autumn is slipping by me. My work is cut out for me.