All new: "In the Mojave" is a scene in Joshua Tree National Park, CA. This involved one of the few times in my life (years ago) when I scrambled up a boulder to get more of a bird's-eye view.
8" x 10"/20cm x 25cm, acrylic on panel. No AI. Enjoy!!
Mark Junge
www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com
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| In the Mojave 8" x 10" / 20cm x 25cm |
Sonoran Desert Moon is the latest in my never-ending series of desert paintings!
The size is 18" x 24" / 45.7cm x 61cm, a size that was always my favorite size, but I don't tend to work that "big" anymore.
The scene is in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, AZ, looking toward the Sonoita Mountains of Mexico. (I've seen the mountain range spelled "Sonoyta" -- I don't know which is the favored spelling). I sort of thinned out the vegetation somewhat, and I've never had the pleasure of seeing the view from a bird's-eye perspective.
In any case, I followed a 19th century Hudson River School tradition by painting the landscape this way. I added cloud shadows and a quarter moon that is partially obscured by clouds. (I actually painted in more clouds than I had intended to, but I decided to leave them. Maybe I'll do another piece similar to this, but with fewer clouds).
Enjoy!
Mark Junge
www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com
A nurse tree is one that provides shelter and a certain level of protection for other young plants; in this case, a saguaro cactus. Here, a palo verde tree in bloom offers shade to the cactus, enabling it to grow to a large size without getting burned in the scorching desert sun. (The tree is also giving shade to a desert cottontail bunny-rabbit!)
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| The Nurse Tree 8" x 10"/20cm x 25cm |
Mark Junge
Desert Adobe is a painting where my imagination took over. The distant mountains are based loosely on the Coxcomb Mountains of Joshua Tree National Park, CA. But the rest of it, including the house, are figments!
I wanted to create a sense of aloneness. Would someone living here ever feel lonely? Is the house even occupied, or is it abandoned? Who knows?? I'll leave that up to the viewer!
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| Desert Adobe 8" x 10"/20cm x 25cm |
Mark Junge
www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com
I mentioned last time I was working on a scene from Joshua Tree National Park, and I posted the photo I was using as a reference. Well, it's finished!! I even included a desert cottontail bunny-rabbit, which I haven't done in a while since it's a little hard to paint them when the artwork is small!
One Desert Morning 18" x 24" / 45.7cm x 61cm
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| Detail -- the Bunny-Rabbit! |
Mark Junge
Here it is, June already, and the year is almost half over!! Good grief!!
Late last month I went into nearby Joshua Tree National Park before the heat would set in and dry up whatever wildflowers were left. Even so, there weren't as many as I had hoped, but I still got some awesome material for more paintings.
I'm working on one now, although I'm being rather pokey about it. I seem to have developed a major lazy streak!! (But then -- after being a workaholic for so many years in college and after, I think I'm entitled).
This is a hill I'm painting numerous times before, each a little different from each other:
Continuing the continuation!!
Mark Junge
I've mentioned before: in April we took a trip to San Antonio, TX to see the total solar eclipse. Well, it was cloudy and all we really saw was the darkness that fell during totality.
But: I did manage to collect material coming and going that would turn into paintings! One of these is Texas! that shows the beautiful Hill Country of that state. Another piece, Desert View, shows the Arizona desert when your back is to Picacho Peak near Tucson. (I didn't include the I-10 freeway or the buildings that are actually out there!)
Click on the images to enlarge them.
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| Texas! 11" x 14"/ 27.9cm x 35.6cm |
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| Desert View 8" x 10" / 20cm x 25cm |
Stay tuned!!
Mark Junge
