A Flash of Color with a Sweet Tooth

Hummingbirds aren't the only birds that like hummingbird feeders!

We have two species of orioles that live in the desert. (I have seen a third species, but it's more of a visitor, not a resident). Pictured is one of them -- a hooded oriole. (It's hard to see because he's facing away from us, but he has a yellow-orange head with a black "hood" under his beak).

While many of the colors here in the desert are muted, some are not. Seeing this flash of bright yellow-orange against a deep-blue sky is breath-taking. A flash of color with a sweet tooth!

The Inspiration and the Painting

This is one of the few time I feel a side by side set of pictures is warranted.

The photograph on the left shows a view of an area near Eureka Peak in Joshua Tree National Park, CA. The image on the right is a painting I made from the photo. The size is 8" x 10"/20cm x 25cm.

I made a couple of minor changes when I made the painting mostly in the interests of simplifying the painting and to add a little more color to the scene. This is what I call an "eBay painting" -- one that I do somewhat quickly, without the time-consuming glazes I normally use when I paint the material you see on my Website. Thus, I can sell "eBay paintings" much more inexpensively than I could my Website paintings.

I'll be posting this piece on eBay soon. I also want to try another site someday, etsy.com. Etsy is limited to fixed-price handmade items, unlike eBay which is an auction site for almost anything. Stay tuned...ah, um, I mean, keep checking your computer!

27 May -- Update: This painting is listed on eBay as of tonight. You can find it quickly by searching for the item number: 320376968859.

If You're in Germany, Look Me Up!

I was doing a Google search for my Website after hearing about some sites being infected with a virus and Google places a warning beside the infected sites. No Google warning (so far, thank God!), but I did discover southwestspaces.com is mentioned on a German Website! Some of the text is in English, and some is in German:

http://www.123people.de/s/mark+junge

So I appear on a site that mentions a number of Mark Junges (including a writer in Wyoming who contacted me years ago), but I wasn't searching for my name -- I was searching for my Website. Apparently, the two are indelibly linked.

Either way, people in Germany can find me!

A Wildlife Moment

Every so often, we hear evidence of cats outside who are obviously disagreeing about something. That's not that unusual for most folks, I guess, although around here, leaving pet kitties outside isn't a good idea. Too many coyotes would LOVE to make a meal out of those furry felines.

Last night before going to bed, I heard that characteristic "whhhaaarrrr!" of cats who were thinking about "gettin into it," except the two cats somehow sounded meaner than usual.

Being a moonless night, I flipped on a spotlight fixture so I could see what was going on out there. I was quite surprised to see not house cats, but bobcats, squaring off and making truly nasty, scary noises. I quickly turned the light off again so, if they decided to turn physical, I wouldn't put the bobcat facing the blinding lights at a disadvantage.

Well, the felines "whhhaaarrr'ed" at each other a while longer, then all was quiet. Perhaps next time (and I'm sure there will be a next time), I'll try to take a picture that might be useful for a painting some day.

But this is one of the things I love about living in the desert. It's still rural enough here for these kinds of "wildlife moments" to happen for us to see. And it provides inspiration for art.

Is It Real, or Is It...?

Pictured is one of my favorite species of lizards to "hide" in a desert painting.

It's a zebra-tailed lizard (Callisaurus draconoides), a species that is fairly common throughout the Southwestern deserts. I've seen them a number of times and have even been lucky enough to take some pictures of them before they disappear within the blink of an eye.

This particular individual, however, is a sculpture. It looks real, but it's made of polymer clay. (Polymer clay can be "fired" in a standard household oven, unlike dirt-style clay which must be fired in a high-temperature kiln). He (or she?) was made by an artist friend who for years has been making lizards, snakes, frogs and turtles. Lately she's been adding more colorful/decorative critters to her production.

The artist's name is Sandra Lee, and you can see what she's been up to here: http://picasaweb.google.com/SandraLeeandNat

I have quite a collection of her sculptures, most of which have appeared in numerous paintings. These, plus with the help of the photos I've taken of these desert reptiles, have aided me greatly in adding just a little life to my desert artwork.

Cactus Flower -- Future Painting

This little beauty was blooming last week, and I thought I should take a picture of it since this was the last bud. I knew it would wilt within a couple of days, and I wanted to get a photo with the cactus backlit.

Why backlit? I have an idea for a painting that involves a night scene with the full moon in the sky and this cactus in the foreground.

I don't know exactly when I'll get a chance to work on this particular idea. But when I do, I'll already have the materials I'll need when flowers are not available. Since it'll be a night scene, I'll be altering the colors, so an exact color match isn't necessary (although I did some color-matching for these flowers a long time ago when I painted a flower from life).

I've sometimes said in artist's statements: I live to paint; and when I'm not painting, I'm thinking about future paintings. That last point is what I was doing today: collecting reference material for the day when I'll need it.

Busy Busy Busy!!!

...or is that bizzee bizzee bizzee?

I'm still working on getting paintings done, of course, but I spend more time these days marketing myself, especially via my Website.

Plus--we're preparing for a different kind of painting: the trim on the house needs to be scraped, primed and painted. Then I need to install rain gutters (which I removed the last time we painted but never replaced). We painted the trim a few years ago, but the paint didn't last -- we suspect water was running off the roof and leaking under the edge flashing. But we had the roof fixed up a year ago, so new trim paint should last longer.

Funny--this kind of painting doesn't give the same satisfaction as fine art-style painting. However, it'll be nice to get it done and the rain gutters put up.

Meanwhile, the promotion continues, and hopefully I'll have enough energy to do the type of painting I need to do!!!