More Insights from the Art Show

I have to say -- there are some things that happen at art shows that can make doing them worthwhile even when nothing sells, as with the show at the San Bernardino County Museum, 20-22 November 2015. I wrote about this in the previous entry, but three things struck me when talking with potential buyers that will affect what I do for the "Art-on-a-Budget" series of artworks I'll be making:

1. People like ocotillos in bloom;
2. People like skies with clouds, especially the small puffy "popcorn" clouds;
3. People like having the sun appear in the scene.

OK -- so -- I'll be painting lots of ocotillos, preferably with lots of colorful wildflowers around them. Always have clouds, and have more sunrises and sunsets --whether or not the image is a desert scene. Keeping these points in mind should be helpful in remembering subjects I like to paint anyway but also -- hopefully -- narrow it all down to subjects people will purchase.

(I've got these points written down so I'll remember them every time I sit at the confuser...uh, computer!)

Time will tell if these insights will be helpful or not. Meanwhile, I've got some painting to do and a website that needs optimizing so everyone can find it. It's gonna be busy!

By the way -- you can find my paintings at SouthwestSpaces.com or MarkJunge.com.

 

Things I've Learned at the Art Show

The art show last weekend came and went ... and NO SALES AT ALL!!! Grr-r-r-r...

I wasn't the only one. Other artists had no sales, or they sold only small, inexpensive sculptures or prints of paintings.

In spite my initial frustration and anger about how it all turned out, I think I picked up on a few things that may help me move ahead.

-- There is no "economic recovery." It's a lie the politicians -- especially the US president -- keep telling us. People liked my work, but I have to offer it more inexpensively.

-- All of the artwork at the show was realism -- no abstract, impressionism or other styles that seem to be more popular in southern California. (However, I was the only "pure" landscape painter -- everybody else had wildlife prominently featured in their works). So there may be hope in continuing to work in my favored style. 
Art shows just don't seem to work for me anymore. They haven't for a long time. And another artist told me many of the galleries in Scottsdale, AZ are closed up -- couldn't make it. This tells me to skip the art shows and to be REALLY careful with galleries -- they will not be my savior. I'll have to decide if I want to approach them at all at this time.

-- All of the paintings I showed received a positive response. I'll continue with desert paintings, but I'll definitely add more other kinds of western landscapes, especially Colorado mountain scenes, with or without ruins of 19th century mines. These two pieces seemed to be the crowds' favorites:




Badlands, 18" x 24" / 46cm x 61cm

Springtime Ocotillo, 8" x 10" / 20cm x 25cm










So I'll be painting more ocotillos, desert mountains and flowers! And for the local market, I'll be painting Joshua trees with those fantastic monzogranite rock formations, too.


To make these paintings more affordable, I'll have to pass on doing the time-consuming, transparent glazing that I love. It gives the works a stained-glass luminence, but it does take more time to do. So the glazed paintings will be for galleries, a few rare selected shows or for me to keep! I'll offer the "art-on-a-budget" paintings on my website (SouthwestSpaces.com or MarkJunge.com) and to local merchants/galleries who may get tourists.customers who want memories of our beautiful Joshua Tree National Park.

Does this sound like a sound plan? I hope so!! At this point and in this economy, art is all I have. Maybe with the things I learned at the art show, I can still make it!

 

Coming Soon! VERY Soon!!

It's coming soon ... VERY soon!!

Waddaya talkin' about, Dude?

Why, the art show that I've been getting ready for! Below I've posted a map showing where this event is taking place -- in Redlands, southern California, east of San Bernardino. Next weekend -- 21-22 November 2015. This will be your opportunity to see some of my paintings in person and even add to your collection -- or to start one.

Below is more information about the museum and the show:

It's an indoor show (thankfully!) and it appears will be pleasant -- that should encourage people to go out and see the museum and some art!

So if you're reading this, I hope you'll make some plans to head to Redlands -- west of Yucaipa and east of the I-215 interchange with the I-10. You'll see the entries for the Federal Duck Stamp competition, lots of nature-related artwork and chances to visit some artists -- including ME!

See ya soon! VERY soon!!

 

 

Busy Busy!!

Phew!! Lots going on, it seems... and not enough energy to do it all! ARGH!!

Let's see... I've got an art show to continue to get ready for -- in about a month. More on this soon.

We've had computer issues to deal with -- all better, for now anyway.

I DID manage to finish two new paintings that will go into my book; you know -- the one about autumn, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and maybe Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. This time of year has always been quite visual for me, and I'm making and assembling a series of paintings about the season. I always look for books like that in bookstores, and I never find any. FINE!! I'll create my OWN &*%$# book!

Meanwhile, I'm continuing to paint landscapes that I hope to get hanging (and selling) in one or more galleries somewhere.

AND -- it appears I have a commission in the works! A gal in 1930s-era clothing with her two horses. It's be interesting and fun.

Finally, I have an Easter-themed painting I've been thinking about doing for our church (well, really The Wiffee's church, but that's another story). It would be nice to get it done and out of my head -- hopefully before Easter 2016.

Can I do all this before next Easter? Don't know -- don't have the energy or drive to work as hard as I used to. No doubt about it -- I'm incredibly OLD!! OLD!!!

Well, maybe I can still get a few miles out of this fossilized carcass before it's all over. Time to "go to my studio and make stuff."

 


 

Arches and Feathers

Arches and Feathers is a reworking of a painting I "finished" in 2007. As is sometimes the case, it seemed like the painting needed a little tweaking...and finally, I stripped the removable varnish on it and set about to do some tweaking. (And repair a little damage that stripping the varnish caused).

And I think I finally have what I want!

Arches and Feathers                                 24" x 36"

The original 2007 work was the second in a series of three paintings I made of this formation in Arches National Park, UT. Balanced Rock appears in the distance on the left. This view was inspired by a painting by living artist D. Michael McCarthy, although this is not a copy of his artwork. (I wish I could have purchased his painting when I saw it in a gallery in Scottsdale, AZ!) I'd say we were both inspired by the magnificent work of the 19th century artist, Thomas Moran.

I included a redtail hawk turning and banking to its left. It's in shadow and appears dark (almost black). Placing it against the brightly-lit rocks created a focal point that draws the eye into the composition.

This little guy wasn't in the first version of the painting -- I think s/he adds a little life and even more mystery to the scene.

Besides, I read of another landscape artist who said he was told by an Indian friend that seeing hawks brings good luck and, if one appears in a painting, it brings good luck in sales! I hope that's true!

I still need to apply the finishing coats of varnish. I hope this will be a good attention-getter at a show I'll be doing in November (more on this later) and that the hawk will bring some luck, too!

SouthwestSpaces.com
MarkJunge.com

Badlands

Badlands is my newest painting!

Badlands              18" x 24" / 46cm x 61cm

This piece show the Carrizo Badlands overlook of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, CA. This is one of my favorite sites in the park, with the rugged hills, lots of ocotillo (those stick-like things with the red flowers at the tips) and lots of space to mediate on.

I don't do paintings of badlands formations very often. Frankly, badlands have a LOT of stuff to paint, and sometimes I'm just not patient enough, although I know I have to be to get the look I want.

I think I like the way this one turned out!


Your educational info:

• "Anza" refers to Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza, 1774;
• "Borrego" is Spanish for "sheep," especially a youngun;
• "Carrizo" is apparently the Spanish vernacular name of plants found in a carrizal, an area of reeds;
  
• "Ocotillo" (oh-koh-TEE-yo) = “little torch” in Spanish.

An Early Influence

Way, way back a long time ago (early '70s, when I was majoring in art at Cal State LA), I used to visit a weekly outdoor art show that took place on the grounds of Griswold's Old School House (in Claremont, CA), a complex that included a restaurant/smorgasbord, hotel, theater and shops. One of the regular artists there was a German immigrant who painted Southwest desert landscapes.

In my opinion, he was the best artist there in terms of achieving that classical, traditional look to scenes that the Old Masters never actually got to see. The artist typically had a mountain more-or-less centered, with either saguaro cactus or Joshua trees and lots of wildflowers. The works had such an old-world, skilled feel to them, and the landscapes appeared warm and inviting.

I wish I could have bought one of his paintings, but I wasn't working and didn't have the money for them, even though they didn't strike me as expensive. He often invited me to visit him at his studio and gallery in Pomona, but I never did.

And I never got his name or even a business card! At that time, I didn't realize that he would be an early influence on my present-day painting; in fact, he was really my first influence.

So I've been searching and searching for him, realizing he's probably deceased by now. What used to be called Griswold's has no records of that time.

Then, finally last night, I must have stumbled upon the correct search terms on Google, and I think I found him!

Karl Von Weidhofer

The Internet has only a handful of images of his artwork, but they resemble the ones I remember seeing at the art shows.

Desert Landscape          Karl Von Weidhofer

Sorry -- this was a small image, so the resolution isn't very high. And the composition isn't what I remember about the paintings I saw -- this view opens up in the middle instead of being blocked by a mountain.

Still, it should give you an idea of what it was that inspired me, even though I didn't know these paintings would come back to haunt me years later. The seed had been planted, and -- typical of my life in general -- it was a late-bloomer. And it blooms to this day.

This is a short bio of Karl as I found it in several places online:

Karl Weidhofer was born in East Prussia, Germany on June 8, 1920.  Weidhofer was in the German army when captured by the Russians during WWII.  While imprisoned for four years, he was taught to paint by a fellow prisoner. After the war he was reunited with his family in Bavaria.  He married and in 1954 moved to southern California.  For many years he worked as a lab technician for Pomona Tile Company while painting in his leisure.  In 1968 he became a full-time artist and began exhibiting his paintings in art shows held in malls and parks in southern California and the Southwest.  Weidhofer died at his home in Pine Grove, CA on Nov. 3, 2001.  Best known for his desert landscapes...

So -- is Karl the artist I remember? Maybe. The times and places mentioned in the bio would match where and when he would have been re: Griswold's in the early '70s.

He is indeed deceased -- lived to be almost 81 years old. I'll never get to tell him how he impacted my art forever.

But I'll continue to paint knowing Karl DID have that impact -- along with other artists who have shown me additional gems such as dramatic skies and lighting -- something Karl didn't get into.

Maybe you're painting right now in heaven, Karl. RIP.